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List Price: $28.98 | | Label: New Line Home Video
Salesrank: 6790
Released: April 29, 2008 |
| Our Price: $4.73 |
| Used Price: $3.65 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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
The Golden Compass (Full-Screen Single-Disc Edition) Reviews:
Its ok 
2008-10-11 - This was an enchanting story with great CGI. Acting was well done as well. Just took a bit of time to develop and when it got interesting it ended... I'd compare this to Chronicles of Narnia and Stardust
Safe movie --avoids main issues 
2008-10-08 - 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.
Can negative reviews kill what could have been a fantastic series? 
2008-09-28 - 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.
Um, somebody forgot to finish the movie... 
2008-09-15 - 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.
Very good.
2008-09-10 - 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.
