The Golden Compass [2007 film]

by Chris Weitz (Director; screenwriter)

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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 becomes the keeper of the Golden Compass, she discovers that her world and all those beyond are threatened by the secret plans of Ms. Coulter. With the help of Lord Asriel and a group of unlikely allies ready to stand at her side, Lyra embarks on an extraordinary quest that celebrates friendship and show more courage against all odds. show less

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8 reviews
This movie's main issue is its lack of an ending -- but few people dare hold that against, say, "Empire Strikes Back". Other than that, it is a great fantasy adventure, building a compelling world which only very occasionally fall a bit flat (the witches, for all of Eva Green's enormous charisma, never quite feel like they fit to me). Really a shame that it never found its audience, as this could have been the start of something very special if they had gotten to finish the story.

Also, where else can you see Ian McKellen and Ian McShane fight to the death in polar bear form, I ask you that.
Although the sets and costumes are well-done, and the actors are competent, the story-line was tendentious and full of holes. It is possibly the result of adapting a book, but the editors & director should have patched it better.
I never achieved any suspension of disbelief.
½
Yeah, there were differences between the book and movie and I absolutely recommend the book to anyone who enjoyed the movie. That said, the movie is actually pretty fun and I enjoyed it, it was still relatively accessible to people who had never read the book and the fight/flight scenes were a lot of fun to watch. And oh, Sam Elliot,
Lyra sets off on an adventure to rescue her friend Roger when he is kidnapped by the gobblers having to run away from Mrs. Coulter, meeting an aeronaut, hiring an armored bear and teaming up with the Gypitans. The characters are well developed mostly visual through the movie, but they are consistent with Pullman's descriptions in his book. The plot is done well, holding the watchers attention throughout, viewers that are familiar with the books may be disappointed since everything is not included. The setting is done through great visual effects and fits perfectly with the descriptions that are given in the book. Overall this is a good adaption of Pullman's book and would be good for a public library video collection aimed at teens and show more readers of His Dark Materials Trilogy. show less

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Director; screenwriter
25+ Works 5,689 Members

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Bates, Kathy (Actor (voice))
Braham, Henry (Director of photography)
Carter, Jim (Actor)
Elliott, Sam (Actor)
Green, Eva (Actor)
Highmore, Freddie (Actor (voice))
Honess, Peter (Editor)
McKellen, Ian (Actor (voice))
McShane, Ian (Actor (voice))
Tent, Kevin (Editor)
Thomas, Kristin Scott (Actor (voice))
Walker, Ben (Actor)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Golden Compass [2007 film]
Original publication date
2007
People/Characters
Lyra Belacqua; Pantalaiman; Lord Asriel; Iorek Byrbison; Marisa Coulter
Related movies
The Golden Compass (2007 | IMDb)
Disambiguation notice
This is the film. DO NOT combine it with the book.

Classifications

DDC/MDS
791.43Arts & recreationRecreation, sports, and performing artsPublic performancesMotion pictures, radio, television, podcastingMotion pictures
LCC
PN1995.9 .F36 .G65346Language and LiteratureLiterature (General)Literature (General)DramaMotion pictures

Statistics

Members
583
Popularity
50,136
Reviews
6
Rating
(3.24)
Languages
English, French, German, Spanish
ISBNs
10
UPCs
8
ASINs
28