and the four children are like, the gospels or something. "[42] Denny Wayman of the Free Methodist Church made the assertion that The Golden Compass is a "film trying to preach an atheistic message. First Chris Weitz, then Anand Tucker, and now Chris Weitz is listed again as the director for the project. Was this review helpful to you? Shippin' Out December 3-7: Golden Compass, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Use the HTML below. A wise Gyptian elder named Farder Coram is able to decipher the compass. The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on the 1995 book Northern Lights, the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials. [45] Some religious scholars have challenged the view that the story carries atheistic themes,[46][47] while in November 2007, a review of the film by the director and staff reviewer of the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) appeared on the website of the Catholic News Service and in Catholic newspapers across the country. Chapter One 11-year-old Lyra and her dæmon, Pan, sneak into the Retiring Room at Jordan College so they can see what the Scholars do in there. Click the "Install Game" button to initiate the file download and get compact download launcher. The Question and Answer section for The Golden Compass is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. The project was announced in February 2002, following the success of other recent adaptations of fantasy epics. Daniel Craig unfortunately features very little, but he delivers a great performance. He tells her that it is capable of telling the truth, but he can't tell her much about how it works. She reveals she is Lyra's mother but was forced to give her up; Lyra realises that Asriel is her father. Few individuals can decipher its symbols. But there were those who feared the particle and would stop at nothing to destroy it. In The Golden Compass, all human beings and all witches have what is known as a daemon, which represents a person’s spirit or inner being. After consulting with Magisterium agent Fra Pavel, Mrs. Coulter sends two mechanical spy-flies after Lyra. The witch queen, Serafina Pekkala, tells Lyra the missing children are in an experimental station called Bolvangar. "[72] Leonard Maltin gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, and said that "Richards is persuasive" and that it "does a good job of introducing us to an unfamiliar world." Ragnar, who usurped Iorek's throne, initially appears to be winning; Iorek feigns weakness and kills Ragnar, avenging his father and regaining his kingdom. [69] James Christopher of The Times of London was disappointed, praising the "marvellous" special effects and casting, but saying that the "books weave a magic the film simply cannot match" and citing a "lack of genuine drama. But the best thing from the point of view of all who care about the story is his awareness that it isn't about computer graphics; it isn't about fantastic adventures in amazing-looking worlds; it's about Lyra. the golden compass trilogy seems like a natural progression in christian literature. Written and directed by Chris Weitz, it stars Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green and Ian McKellen. In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm. It's a hybrid or amalgamation, and that's what this movie is about from a design perspective. About Me "Not all those who wander are lost" - JRR Tolkien. [51] Director Weitz says that he believes His Dark Materials is "not an atheistic work, but a highly spiritual and reverent piece of writing",[33] and Nicole Kidman defended her decision to star in the film, saying that "I wouldn't be able to do this film if I thought it were at all anti-Catholic. Since Weitz was an admirer of Stoppard's work, he decided not to read the adaptation in case he "subconsciously poached things from him. "[25] (The San Francisco Chronicle found this "truncated" ending abrupt. There, characters’ inner selves exist as physical companions that take the form of animals called dæmons. "[83] Although producer Deborah Forte had, in March 2008, expressed optimism that the sequels would be made,[84] by October 2008, the two planned sequels were officially placed on hold, according to New Line Cinema, because of financial concerns during the global recession. Based on the award winning novel, The Golden Compass is an exciting and epic fantasy adventure. He hoped, however, that the rest of the trilogy would be adapted with the same cast and crew. But its Nicole Kidman who practically runs over the hills with this movie. Who actually directed this. They see the … While praising the portrayals of his characters by Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards, Pullman said that he was disappointed with the final film and New Line's re-editing of it. The review suggested that instead of a boycott, it may be appropriate for Catholic parents to "talk through any thorny philosophical issues" with their children. There are worlds beyond our own - the compass will show the way.. After overhearing a shocking secret, precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua trades her carefree existence roaming the halls of Jordan College for an … And with so much to cover, the editing between scenes can be choppy and the digital effects uneven. Tucker felt the film would thematically be about Lyra "looking for a family",[6] and Pullman agreed: "He has plenty of very good ideas, and he isn't daunted by the technical challenges. The film was released on 5 December, 2007 by New Line Cinema. Lyra’s compassion is so strong that in order to defend Tony’s honor Pantalaimon takes the form of a snow leopard. [81] When The Golden Compass did not meet expectations at the United States box-office, the likelihood of a sequel was downplayed by New Line. [1] Despite this, the film's fortunes rebounded as its performance outside the United States was described as "stellar" by Variety,[62] and as "astonishing" by New Line. Lyra overhears Mrs. Coulter telling the station scientists that Asriel escaped and has set up a laboratory. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization. In July 2009, Weitz told a Comic Con audience that the film had been "recut by [New Line], and my experience with it ended being quite a terrible one";[4] he also told Time magazine that he had felt that by "being faithful to the book I was working at odds with the studio. [6] Weitz said "I'm both the first and third director on the film … but I did a lot of growing in the interim. The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film based on the 1995 book Northern Lights, the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials. "[28] Youyoung Lee wrote in a December 2007 Entertainment Weekly that the film "leaves out the gore", such as the book's ritualistic heart-eating that concludes the bear fight, "to create family-friendlier fare. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world. Its a great film to watch for Christmas and will hopefully do well at the box office so the Subtle Knife is made very soon.The biggest surprise of the cast definitely comes from Dakota Blue Richards as the lead, Lyra. After recovering it, Iorek joins the Gyptian trek northward, along with Scoresby. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray formats in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2008, and the United States on April 29, 2008. The Golden Compass is set in a universe that is parallel to our own. The project was announced in February 2002, but difficulties over the script and the selection of a director caused significant delays. Lyra later discovers that Mrs. Coulter is head of the General Oblation Board and realizes they are the "Gobblers.". Pantalaimon is the external expression of Lyra’s soul. Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in the world. "[73], Pullman himself was described by a London Times interviewer as sounding "ambivalent" and "guarded" about the film, saying in March 2008: "A lot of things about it were good… Nothing's perfect. The production of the painting was spent more than 180 million dollars, and the total collection amounted to about 70 million. [28] (Neither deviation from the book features in Scholastic Publishing's The Golden Compass: The Story of the Movie novelisation.) Her uncle, Lord Asriel, a noted explorer and scholar, has been absent seeking the elusive Dust, a cosmic particle that the Magisterium forbids to be mentioned. But for now I just need to get over my slight disappointment of it. With Dafne Keen, Amir Wilson, Kit Connor, Ruth Wilson. I have a few major problems with this mainly, mainly I suppose because of the changes from the book, in fact had I have not read the book I most probably would have completely adored the movie rather than have just liked it. [63] In the United Kingdom, the film grossed $53,198,635 and became the second-highest-grossing non-sequel of 2007 there (behind The Simpsons Movie). By July 6, 2008, it had earned $302,127,136 internationally, totaling $372,234,864 worldwide. According to studio co-head Michael Lynne, "The jury is still very much out on the movie, and while it's performed very strongly overseas, we'll look at it early 2008 and see where we're going with a sequel. Thankfuly the bear fight is as incredible as I hoped for, it ends in very cool way, and the final battle at Bolvangar, while way too short is definitely well done. In an alternate Earth, a powerful church called the Magisterium strictly controls the populace's beliefs and teachings. It received a much better reception than the film adaptation. Club argued that through the use of a spoken introduction and other exposition-filled dialogue, the film fails by "baldly revealing up front everything that the novel is trying to get you to wonder about and to explore slowly. The project was announced in February 2002, but difficulties over the script and the selection of a director caused significant delays. "[16] Some commentators indicated that they believed both sides' criticism would prove ultimately impotent and that the negative publicity would prove a boon for the film's box-office. The video game for this film was released in November 2007 in Europe and December 2007 in North America and Australia for the PC, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and the Xbox 360. The Golden Compass in my eyes was the must see film of this Christmas. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Sega.[80]. The daemon dies when the person dies. ", "A message from Chris Weitz to His Dark Materials fans", "Unholy Production With a Fairy-Tale Ending", "A message from Philip Pullman to His Dark Materials fans", "12 Minutes 49 Seconds with Chris Weitz, Director of New Moon", "Philip Pullman film stripped of religious themes", "Film Sells Atheism To Kids; Major Protest Launched", "Some Catholic Leaders Upset Over New Nicole Kidman Movie", "Christian Groups Claim Pro-atheist 'Stealth Campaign' in Nicole Kidman Fantasy Film, "Philip Pullman: Catholic boycotters are 'nitwits, "God in the dust: What Catholics attacking, "Chris Weitz Interview, Director The Golden Compass", https://oneroomwithaview.com/2014/09/20/best-films-never-made-20-chris-weitzs-golden-compass/, https://twitter.com/chrisweitz/status/1270472104664686593?s=20, "Jobs to go as New Line Cinema merged into Warner Bros", "The Golden Compass :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews", "Exclusive interview with Philip Pullman", British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "New Line pulls in pic scribe — Amini to pen second part of Pullman trilogy", "Does Golden Compass really put religion in the crosshairs", "Can fantasy epics survive the Credit Crunch Chronicles? ", "Catholics 'forced film chiefs to scrap Dark Materials trilogy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Golden_Compass_(film)&oldid=1022512982, Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Articles with dead external links from December 2020, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Peter's operation was so impressive that, well, I realised the distance between me and Peter Jackson… At that moment, I realised the sheer scope of the endeavor. A young girl is destined to liberate her world from the grip of the Magisterium which represses people's ties to magic and their animal spirits known as daemons. Also changing certain characters and changing certain facts just infuriated me all the more! Home; Contact Us; Great Escapades; Explore my world of travelling around the globe Explore my world of travelling around the globe Explore my world of travelling around the globe Explore my world of travelling around the globe. British singer Kate Bush wrote and performed the song "Lyra" which is played over the end credits. [39] The league hoped that "the film [would fail] to meet box-office expectations and that [Pullman's] books attract few buyers",[40] declaring the boycott campaign a success after a North American opening weekend which was lower than anticipated. [79] The film's soundtrack album was released on January 22, 2008, by WaterTower Music. But Lyra's greatest adventure would begin closer to home, the day she heard hushed talk of an extraordinary particle. The daemons can change form until settling into their permanent states at the end of puberty. Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures. At US$180 million, it was one of New Line Cinema's most expensive projects ever, a… after a point, he unrepentantly becomes jesus. [56], Shortly before the film's release, Weitz suggested that an extended cut of the film could be released on DVD, saying "I'd really love to do a fuller cut of the film"; he further speculated that such a version "could probably end up at two-and-a-half hours. [citation needed]. It was no ordinary life for a young girl: living among scholars in the hallowed halls of Jordan College and tearing unsupervised through Oxford's motley streets on mad quests for adventure. Lyra uses the alethiometer to locate Iorek's armour. [3], Reviews of The Golden Compass were mixed. [41], Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, agreed that the broad appeal of the film was a dangerous lure to the novels, which he criticised for carrying a clear agenda to expose what Pullman believes is the "tyranny of the Christian faith" and for providing "a liberating mythology for a new secular age. In Japan, the film was officially released in March 2008 on 700 screens, ultimately grossing $33,501,399; but previews of the film between February 23–24, 2008, earned $2.5 million. The Golden Compass, which starred Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, was the first of author Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy to be adapted for the big screen. "[16], According to producer Deborah Forte, Tucker wanted to make a smaller, less exciting film than New Line wanted. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Some religious organisations also cited for the source material's anti-religious themes. Need some help finding the best things to watch on Netflix? A teenager discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods. [21] British company Cinesite created the secondary dæmons. Children in that universe are being kidnapped by an unknown group called the Gobblers who are supported by the Magisterium. The Golden Compass comes to life in this trailer from TGS 2007. [77] It was also nominated for 2 Critics' Choice Awards in 2007 ("Best Family Film," and "Best Young Actress" for Dakota Blue Richards[78]), 5 Satellite Awards and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. [49] On December 19, 2007, the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published an editorial in which it denounced the film as godless. The other two superb characters, and my joint second favourite performances, come from Ian Mckellen doing the voice of Iorek, and Sam Eliott who is perfectly cast as Lee Scoresby.However despite the incredible performances its the cruel way things have been changed or cut that made me incapable of ever giving this higher than a 7/10. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Belacqua to the Arctic in search of her missing friend, Roger Parslow, and her imprisoned uncle, Lord Asriel, who has been conducting experiments with a mysterious substance known as "Dust". [5], On August 9, 2005, it was announced that British director Anand Tucker would take over from Weitz. Let our editors help you find what's trending and what's worth your time. It is most often in the form of a creature and is generally the opposite sex of the person to whom it is connected. Witches, however, have bird-shape dæmons that are able to travel long distances from their bodies. Nothing can bring out all that's in the book. Microscopic in size, the magical dust--discovered in the vast Arctic expanse of the North--was rumored to possess profound properties that could unite whole universes. When Lord Asriel himself appears, Lyra shows herself and warns him. Director Weitz said that "in the books the Magisterium is a version of the Catholic Church gone wildly astray from its roots", but that the organisation portrayed in his film would not directly match that of Pullman's books. The Blu-ray Disc features the same extras from the two-disc DVD edition. The Golden Compass is heavy on plot. The golden compass The golden compass The golden compass. The effects of the daemons are very well done, and the daemons themselves are pretty cool, most namely Mrs Coulter's golden monkey which will terrify kids for a while.The Golden Compass is hardly the new Lord of the Rings as many, including me admittedly, had hoped for, but thankfully it looks much more promising than the Narnia series and perhaps with a new director, and less editing, this series could really take off. I will never understand to this day why the polar bear fight was changed from near the end to the middle, and why the Bolvangar scenes are so unnecessarily rushed its almost cruel. Before its release, the film received criticism from many quarters, chiefly secularist organisations, for the omitting of criticisms of religions: the central theme of His Dark Materials. ", — Director Chris Weitz on his initial departure from the project, Best Original Score for a Fantasy/Science Fiction Film, Best Family Feature Film (Fantasy or Musical), Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress, This page was last edited on 10 May 2021, at 22:53. The Golden Compass is not a bad movie, its definitely better than the first Narnia movie and Harry Potter movie, but after reading the book I couldn't help but criticise because I know how amazing this movie could have been. A … Childhood Films That Are Darker Than They Seem. This is the only explicit mention of compassion in The Golden Compass. But Lyra's greatest adventure would begin closer to home, the day she heard hushed talk of an extraordinary particle. Upon reaching the station, Lyra reunited with Roger. Lyra has met her father only a handful of times. Iorek, Scoresby, the Gyptians, and flying witches led by Serafina join the battle. You sometimes are wrong about your characters. Krista. [74] In July 2009, after this possibility had been exhausted, Weitz told Time magazine that he thought the film's special effects ended up being its "most successful element. The movie also packs an emotional punch at times, the intercision scenes are pitch perfect and the ending is amazing in my eyes in terms of emotion. Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence, The Timeless Yet Underappreciated Allure of Eva Green, His Dark Materials: Every Episode Of Season 2 Ranked According To IMDb, Nicole Kidman Rumored To Be Getting Her Own Aquaman Spinoff Series, Everything Coming to IMDb TV in July 2020, 45 Young Adult Movies As Ranked by Teen IMDb Users, The Worst Yoga Award Winner for Worst Foreign Film. [59], On June 9, 2020. A preteen's life turns upside down when he befriends the new girl in school and they imagine a whole new fantasy world to escape reality. [6] Directors Brett Ratner and Sam Mendes expressed interest in the film,[6] but a year later, Chris Weitz was hired to direct after approaching the studio with an unsolicited 40-page treatment. Why don't we trust filmgoers? The Golden Compass is set in an alternate version of late-20th century Earth. [25] New Line Cinema commissioned Hossein Amini to write a screenplay based on the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, potentially for release in May 2010, with the third book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, to follow. Mrs Coulter was always my favourite character in the movie, and Kidman delivers an icy turn as the villainess. As a visual experience, it is superb.
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