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The Golden Compass (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition)
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Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
Find all by New Line Home Video
Directed By: Chris Weitz
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Theatrical Release: December 7, 2007
Average Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
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Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ben Walker (IX), Freddie Highmore
In a wondrous parallel world where witches soar the skies and Ice Bears rule the frozen North a young girl sets out on a quest to save her friend.System Requirements:Running Time: 113 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 794043120114 Manufacturer No: 1000037811
User Submitted The Golden Compass (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition) Reviews
October 8, 2008
Safe movie --avoids main issues
None of the quasi scientific aspects of the book makes it into the movie. Character development, poor in the books, is of course worse in the movie. But most significant in comparison between the book and film is the avoidance entirely of who the Magisterium represents and so who the war is really against. As a result the plot must seem simply baffling to those who have not read the trilogy. The bears become the most interesting thing and it makes sense why an Oscar went in that direction. In short, this one is not a keeper. I have no interest in watching it again to seek nuances I might have missed nor would I be interested in seeing the other two books treated the same way. But as an interesting movie for kids it was beautifully done. The heroine will be good for girls who need more examples of young girls doing well and it should tweak imaginations.
September 28, 2008
Can negative reviews kill what could have been a fantastic series?
Unfortunately, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials never gained the
fame and mass following of JKR's Harry Potter. But his series was one
of my favorites as a child, and now this first movie is a visual treat,
and welcome reminder of how wonderful the books were.
Unfortunately, we marketed the movie all wrong in the US, and labeling
the series as the "anti-Narnia chronicles" did not help boost its
popularity among the audience here, which reveres CS Lewis's creation.
Please understand, there is nothing about His Dark Materials that
detracts from the wonder and Christian themes found in Narnia. If
anything, having read the two series side by side as a kid, I was able
to appreciate the parallels between stories, as well as the different
worldviews of each author.
I think children and adults alike will enjoy this movie tremendously,
regardless of religion or worldview, regardless of whether or not they
have read the books. My boyfriend was not familiar with the series,
but enjoyed it as much as I did. In fact, he was the one who informed
me that the next 2 movies are not currently in production, as it
failed to crack $70 million in the domestic box office despite huge
success overseas. In fact, it is the first film to ever crack $300
million internationally without reaching $100 million domestic. An
astonishing disconnect, really.
The producer has vowed to make the 2nd and 3rd movies, and I'm
crossing my fingers they do a better job marketing the movie (and that
critics aren't so quick to trash it!) This series has real potential.
September 15, 2008
Um, somebody forgot to finish the movie...
I read His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) (suffered through it to be more accurate). Then I watched the Golden Compass. I was grateful that it left out a lot of the banalities of the book, but then the movie ended with about a third to a quarter of book left to go.
I saw the credits start to roll and I thought "Huh! Where's the rest of the story? WTF?"
Other than that, I felt the movie represented the book very well. If only they had finished it.
September 10, 2008
Very good.
What a movie. Kidman, Craig, and Dakota Blue Richards portraying the main characters. Excellent acting, really good special effects. The movie follows the book closely, however, it could've been a bit longer as it might be a trifle difficult to follow without having read the book first. I read the book and really enjoyed it and the movie is equally good. I make a point of not listening to those fanatics on either of the good/bad side as this is a fantasy and a very good one at that. I say it's fun for everyone.
September 9, 2008
Rushed and disjointed
How disappointing. The story is rushed and disjointed, trying to fit way too much material into the time allowed. Since I had read the books, at least I knew what the story was supposed to be. If you didn't read them, then forget about it.
The only positives I can mention are that the movie is nice, appearance-wise, and the armored-bears are kind of cool.
The ending is abrupt and unsatisying. Of course, they are setting it up for a sequal but, considering how badly this movie was done, a sequal seems unlikely...
Not recommended.
September 5, 2008
Atheist blather
The author made no effort to hide his anti-catholic and atheist viewpoint. While the movie itself made for decent science fiction, the story line will definitely feel like a slap in the face to any person well versed/educated in philosophy or theology.
I'd skip this and buy something with a better message (like Chronicles of Narnia).
September 2, 2008
Decent
Started kind've slow but then got interesting. Movie is part 1 of a 3 part trilogy and sets up for the next one....if there will be one. Movie got a bad rap worldwide due to the possible "religious" aspects of it etc...remember it is FICTION!
Anyway, the polar bear scene is pretty sweet and looks good on bluray.
August 31, 2008
Well, it's pretty to look at
True, it's been a about three or so years since I've read Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, the books upon which this film is based, if you didn't know. But as that time three years ago was my second time going through the trilogy, I still like to think I had a decent memory of them along with a decent opinion. At the risk of offending fans, I always felt Pullman's characters--Lyra, Mrs. Coulter, Will, the whole gang--to be on the weak side of characterization, a few hops from being completely two-dimensional. STILL, I thought the story and theme to be on another plane entirely, certainly enough to make the books as famous as they are and even flesh out an entertaining movie.
I promise, I tried my best to like this movie, for the sake of those books. For the sake of Sam Elliot and the goddess Nicole Kidman. Heck, even for that cute little new girl. They all did their best, but frankly this movie was fluff, and it's hard to work with fluff. How could they take such thought- and controversy- provoking books and turn them into fluff? I'm hardly an atheist, but I had appreciated the story's urge for free thought, free will, and a keener look at authority. The smidgen they put in here was all too welcomed, but not enough to give this movie proper heart and soul.
What we are left with is a rushed train of lovely cinematography, scenery, and special effects that accompany an equally rushed plot. Yes, there is a lot of story to get into this movie, but making that the priority left me cold toward these characters who were weak in the book and utterly two-dimensional on screen. I felt like I was an infant teenager being instructed in the ways of generic fantasy. Talking bears? Soul-daemons? Other worlds? Texas as a country? Wonderful, fantastic ideas that appeared on the big screen like toys in hurried images.
I'm sorry, but while the director was having fun with the camera, the audience was confused by the random jumping from scene to scene, plot to plot.
So maybe it was a tragic result of putting a plot-based rather than character-based story in a movie that led to all story and show and no emotional depth. Maybe it was a tragic result of playing it safe by removing all blatant references to religion. Maybe I'm just a whiney book purist.
All I know is that the result was flashy, heartless, and boring.
August 29, 2008
Movie: 2/5 Picture Quality: 3~4/5 Sound Quality: 4/5 Extras: 4/5
Version: U.S.A / Region A
VC-1 BD-50
Running time: 1:53:17
Disc size: 48,426,421,480 bytes
Movie size: 25,958,633,472 bytes
Average Video Bit Rate: 22.63 Mbps
DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 24-bit
(BonusView) PiP Secondary Encode
VC-1
Movie size: 21,609,013,248
DTS 5.1 1509Kbps 24-bit
Contains moderate to heavy application of Digital Video Noise Reduction (DNR)
August 28, 2008
Didn't read the book.... sorry
I never heard of the books but then as far as i knew young Mr. Potter was all the rage. I had to give this film a pass when it first came out even though I wanted to see it. Life got in the way and many moons later I finally viewed the film on DVD, a rental to boot.
I have to say, I'm not sure why this film has so many mixed reviews when I, my wife and college age daughters all loved it.
Why? Because we did. We found the characters to be both complex and sympathetic. The story is very intriquing and well paced. I'm glad it was rated PG13 because it had a few rough spots (the polar bear warriors fighting was particularly savage). As I don't own this film (a problem I'll rectify soon) I have to forego with explicit descriptions and character's names since it has been a few weeks since we viewed the film. Despite that it left its mark on me. The young lady (Lyra?) was a treat. She was payed with just the right amount of precociousness and innocence as well as drive to make her the perfect foil for adults who disregard youth as simply precocious and naive. Her rescues, escapes and minor triumphs are all worthy of acclaim. Her friends (rescuers and defenders) may have their agendas but they also sincerely help her. The polar bear warrior king was (voiced by Ian McKellen) was perfect as her loyal protector with a history that needed to be resolved.
I've read the complaints about this film and was prepared for the worst. It's too bad their noise prevailed in making this film so unpopular.
Now, thanks to that rabble, I'll have to read the books to get to the finish of the tale. That's not so terrible but this franchise deserved better than it received at the box office. I'm sure the nay-sayers are delighted in their results.
As for the complaints that this film (and the books?) impugned "mother church", well, I saw no such evidence to validate those claims.
No surprise there.
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