Harry Potter fans have been left stunned after learning that there are two versions of the first movie.
Now, the Harry Potter film series is perhaps the most beloved modern movie franchise on the planet. Spanning eight movies, viewers watched as actors Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) brought J.K. Rowling's books to life on the big screen.
The result? A film series that has left generations young and old enchanted by magic, spells, witches and wizards. In fact, with movies, books, merchandise, theme park rides and more all available, there are some "Potterheads" out there that truly think they know everything about the "wizarding world".
That is, until the official Harry Potter Facebook page shared a video with the caption: "Raise your hand if you had no idea there were two different versions of this movie".
In the video, which has been viewed more than 8 million times, a scene from the first Harry Potter movie unfolds with the main trio discussing the Philosopher's Stone... or is that, the Sorcerer's Stone?
This scene in question shows young Hermione educating Ron and Harry about the mysterious object and its "astonishing powers". But, as you can see from the video below, there are several differences:
After going viral on Facebook, many fans took to the comments section to share their thoughts.
One person wrote: "I didn't expect any of that.. what else did she say between English and American?"
Another said: "That must've been a pain for Emma to film."
"I've only seen the British version apparently. That was a huge waste of money for them to be honest. If I ever hear a word in a movie that I don't know (which is rare), i hit pause and go grab a dictionary," another commented.
But why the change in the first place?
You see, in the United States, the first Harry Potter book was released under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, whereas, the rest of the world received Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
This change was apparently made due to concerns that American audiences might not be familiar with the concept of the Philosopher's Stone and would be pulled in by a more magical title.
In his 2015 Rowling biography, Philip W. Errington documented how Arthur A. Levine of Scholastic - the publishing house responsible for publishing the novel and who paid $105,000 for the US rights to it - requested the name change.
"Levine noted that he needed a title that said ‘magic’ more overtly to American readers," Errington wrote. “He [Levine] continued, ‘I certainly did not mind Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone but I can see, if you forget now what happened after, ... why a book that is titled Philosopher’s Stone might seem more arcane or something.
"So the title that I had suggested to me and which I then turned to [J.K. Rowling] was Harry Potter and the School of Magic. Jo very thoughtfully said, 'No ― that doesn’t feel right to me ... there are objects that I would like. What if we called it the Sorcerer’s Stone?’”
Thus, the new title was born.
Understandably, Rowling would have preferred the original title be kept, given that there is such a thing as a Philosopher's Stone, and talk of it has been around since the Middle Ages. Buzzfeed details that the mystical stone is an: "Alchemical substance of legend capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold or silver. It is also able to extend one's life and called the elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and for achieving immortality."
Hence, we ended up with differences in scenes like the one in the above video.
Of course, these differences are relatively minor and do not significantly alter the overall story or tone of the film. The core plot, characters, and magical world remain consistent across both versions.
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