The Golden Compass (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
by Chris Weitz
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DVD details
Actor: Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Freddie Highmore, Ian Mckellen, Nicole KidmanDirector: Chris Weitz
Brand: NEW Line Home Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Icelandic (Original Language); Russian (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: Widescreen, 2.35:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-29
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: New Line Home Video
Product features:
- In a parallel universe where witches rule the skies and armoured bears are the bravest warriors, young Lyra Belacqua journeys from her home among the scholars at Oxford to the far North to save her best friend. Based on the first book in the Carnegie Medal-winning series, His Dark Materials. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 Age: 794043120435 UPC:
DVD Reviews of The Golden Compass (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: Unraveling the Mystery of Dust in the Far North
Summary: 3 Stars
WARNING: This review may contain spoilers!
I suppose it's not surprising, what with the current trend of adapting fantasy literature into films, that Philip Pullman's novel The Golden Compass should become a major motion picture. What is surprising is who ended up writing the screenplay and directing the film. Chris Weitz, best known as one of the producers of the American Pie films, seems an odd choice to adapt the epic fantasy story for the silver screen and yet his commercial success gave New Line Cinema the courage to greenlight the project.
Adapting Philip Pullman's novel proved to be a daunting task and though much of the more controversial subject matter within the plot has been omitted, the film is fairly faithful to the conceit of the book. But the film suffers from a lack of thematic depth, which can be attributed to the removal of the book's religious and political commentary.
It should also be noted that the film ends in an abrupt and emotionally unsatisfying manner. Apparently this is because the studio was not confident that the film would be successful and they didn't wish to end the film with a cliffhanger.
The story, which is set in a universe parallel to our own where people's souls take on the physical form of animals called dæmons, follows a feisty and rebellious young girl named Lyra Belacqua, an orphan who lives at Jordon College in England. After a series of widespread kidnappings Lyra half-jokingly promises to rescue her best friend Roger if he is ever kidnapped. Little does she suspect that such a thing will actually happen.
When Lyra's uncle, Lord Asriel, makes a visit to the college to announce a startling discovery in the Far North, Lyra has no idea of the far-reaching implications. Lord Asriel has discovered a connection between the mystical substance Dust and the divisions that separate parallel worlds. This controversial revelation places both he and Lyra under the watchful eye of the Magisterium, a vast totalitarian government, which uses religion to subjugate the masses. But all is changed when the beautiful and authoritative Mrs. Coulter invites Lyra to join her at her home and then journey with her to the Far North.
Before her departure, Lyra is given a tremendous gift from the Master of the College, who bestows unto her an alethiometer (or Golden Compass). The alethiometer has the power to tell the truth to anyone who can read its symbols.
At first Lyra relishes the attention and the luxuries that Mrs. Coulter showers upon her, but then Lyra begins to see a controlling, manipulative side to her new guardian. One night Lyra and her dæmon Pan come across a list of children's names and to her shock, she finds Roger's name is on the list. She then realizes that Mrs. Coulter is behind the kidnappings. Lyra runs away, but she is pursued by sinister agents. Luckily she is rescued by Gyptians, a nomadic people, who are seeking revenge on the Magisterium.
Learning to read the alethiometer, Lyra soon realizes that a great destiny is set upon her. She meets and befriends an Armoured Bear named Iorek Byrnison, a beautiful witch named Serafina Pekkala, and an aeronaut named Lee Scoresby. Lyra continues her travels north, and along with her new allies, overcomes many perils including savage Armoured Bears, and soldiers.
Yet nothing can prepare Lyra for what she finds in the Far North. There she learns what became of the kidnapped children and the horrible truth about Mrs. Coulter. In the end Lyra and her companions must face the power of the Magisterium, and either succeed in freeing their world and all others from its tyrannical grasp or die trying.
The film features a spectacular cast including Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra, Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter, Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel, Sam Elliott as Lee Scoresby, and Eva Green as Serafina Pekkala. The film also features Christopher Lee, Derek Jacobi, and the voices of Ian McKellen, Freddie Highmore, and Kathy Bates. The entire cast is superb especially the young Dakota Blue Richards, whose portrayal of plucky heroine Lyra has unfairly been overlooked by most critics.
The Golden Compass, which is the first part in a trilogy, failed to become a hit in the U.S., so it's questionable whether or not the next two books in the series shall ever be adapted into films. Sadly, this means that the adventures of Lyra (at least cinematically) are left without an ending. This certainly detracts from the enjoyment of watching the film, but perhaps there is still hope that the next two books will be given a cinematic treatment and thus provide viewers with a sense of closure.
It's unfortunate that the film was a Box office disappointment and that we may never find out how Lyra's adventures come to their end, but there are reasons for the film's poor reception from audiences. One of those reasons is New Line's overly ambitious and foolhardy marketing strategy. In the very first trailer they dared to make a comparison between this film and the beloved The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. This in itself was like committing Box Office suicide. Another reason for the film's failure to attract large audiences is the controversial thematic materials of the books. A major theme of Philip Pullman's books is that of rebelling against authority and religious dogma. Cleverly (and some would say subversively) exploiting taboos within Judaeo-Christian beliefs, Pullman weaves a tale of redemption, not through a higher power but through the power of the self. As a result the Catholic Church boycotted the film, deeming it heretical in its content.
Overall, The Golden Compass is an admirable yet deeply flawed epic. Though it features a strong cast and gorgeous visual effects, these can also be found in the Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia series. What really hurts the film is the inexperience of its writer/director and the lack of faith that the studio placed in him. It's ironic, but ultimately the film about a Golden Compass finds itself lost.
Also recommended:
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Harry Potter: Books 1-7 by J.K. Rowling
The Wrinkle in Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Description of The Golden Compass (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
In a parallel universe where witches rule the skies and armoured bears are the bravest warriors, young Lyra Belacqua journeys from her home among the scholars at Oxford to the far North to save her best friend. Based on the first book in the Carnegie Medal-winning series, His Dark Materials.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
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