My latest MSN DVD column is up, in which I mull over the legacy of the “Harry Potter” films as a starting point for young viewers to discover the last few decades of British cinema.

No, really — just imagine their little faces when they grow up to watch Professor Snape face off against Bruce Willis in “Die Hard”, or Dumbledore humiliating Helen Mirren in “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover”. Actually, best not do that; Michael Gambon is a very sweet man, as I discovered last week when I met him and a dozen other “Potter” folk in New York. Here’s a link to the (raw) video of my interview with Gambon and Robbie Coltrane; more will be going up soon at MSN, and I’ll provide linkage as it becomes available.

I’ve said it before, but I’m happy to say it again: Somehow, the “Harry Potter” movies have transcended their genre trappings to become real cinema. And who’d have seen that coming back in the Chris Columbus days?