Product Description

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/FANTASY UPC: 794043120435 Manufacturer No: 1000038167

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2229 in DVD
• 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, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Icelandic, Russian
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .30 pounds
• Running time: 113 minutes

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

Its ok
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
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?
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.