In a wondrous parallel world where witches soar the skies and Ice Bears rule the frozen North, one special girl is destined to hold the fate of the universe in her hands. When Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) becomes the keeper of the Golden Compass, she discovers that her world – and all those beyond – is threatened by the secret plans of Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman). With the help of Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) and a group of unlikely allies ready to stand at her side, Lyra embarks on an extraordinary quest that celebrates friendship and courage against all odds. Based on author Philip Pullman's bestselling and award-winning novel, The Golden Compass tells the first story in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.
Product Details
- Brand: Warner Brothers
- Released on: 2008-04-29
- Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
- Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
- Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Original language: English, Icelandic, Russian
- Subtitled in: English, Spanish
- Number of discs: 1
- Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
- Running time: 113 minutes
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A fantasy epic with more than a passing resemblance to the Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia film franchises, The Golden Compass takes place in an alternate universe where each human's soul is embodied in a companion animal called a daemon. Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), an orphan who's lived most of her life among the scholars at Oxford, is intrigued when her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), announces his plans to travel north to investigate the source of some mysterious particles called Dust. Lyra has little hope of following her uncle until a mysterious woman named Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman, at her most icily beautiful) asks Lyra to travel north as her personal assistant. All is not as it seems, however, and the disappearance of Lyra's friend Roger (Ben Walker) sets her on a dizzying adventure. She does have an alethiometer, or golden compass, that can help her see the truth, and a number of companions, including her shape-shifting daemon, Pantalaimion (voiced by Freddie Highmore of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), polar-bear warrior Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen), Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), and witch queen Serafina Pekkala (Craig's Casino Royale co-star, Eva Green). Even before its release, The Golden Compass was the subject of controversy over its perceived anti-religious themes. While it does involve an oppressive institution called the Magisterium, it's not overtly religious, particularly to a young viewer. The movie's PG-13 rating should be taken seriously, however. Suitable for an older audience than Narnia (though younger than The Lord of the Rings), it deals with complex concepts, violence (though largely bloodless) and implied death, children and animals in peril, and an unrelentingly ominous and unsettling mood.
Despite a few changes and rearrangements, the overall plot of the movie is remarkably faithful to its source material, the first installment of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It doesn't finish the book, however, and--much like The Fellowship of the Ring did--leaves the viewer hanging in anticipation of the next film, The Subtle Knife, due in 2009. So even though The Golden Compass is impressive--especially with its spot-on cast and terrific visual effects--we probably won't know its full emotional impact until the story is complete. --David Horiuchi
Customer Reviews
A Big Nothing...
I am a devout, strict Roman Catholic, so this movie, and the others to follow in the series...along with the books that accompany it, are garbage to me.
The author has said that the theme is about killing God, so I would not support him even in the slightest way.
Yawn
As a fan of fantasy/action movie I had high hopes for this movie but actually fell asleep watching it. The story was the Achilles Heel of this movie. It was all over the place and just didn't hold together. An allstar cast could not pull this out. I am guessing this is yet another case where the movie does not do the book justice.
The two things that really stood out were some of the atmospheric special effects and the acting of Dakota, who was excellent as the young heroine.
But nothing can save a wandering story with lots of holes that leave way too many questions.
The Golden Compass (Full-Screen) Book 1
All I can say is "WOW"!!!
Anyone who loves good storytelling and max animation should see this movie and guess what?
This is only part one so imagine the other 2 :)
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