The Golden Compass (2007)

Director:

Chris Weitz

Writers (WGA):

Chris Weitz (screenplay)
Philip Pullman (novel)

Release Date:

7 December 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

"It is the Alethiometer. It tells the truth. As for how to read it, you'll have to learn by yourself."

Plot:

In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.

Plot Keywords:

Necklace | Talking Animal | Narration | Orphan | Candle

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 3 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Mrs. Coulter
Daniel Craig	...	Lord Asriel
Dakota Blue Richards	...	Lyra
Ben Walker	...	Roger
Freddie Highmore	...	Pantalaimon (voice)
Ian McKellen	...	Iorek Byrnison (voice)
Eva Green	...	Serafina Pekkala
Jim Carter	...	John Faa
Tom Courtenay	...	Farder Coram
Ian McShane	...	Ragnar Sturlusson (voice)
Sam Elliott	...	Lee Scoresby
Christopher Lee	...	First High Councilor
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Stelmaria (voice)
Edward de Souza	...	Second High Councilor
Kathy Bates	...	Hester (voice)

Also Known As:

À la croisée des mondes - La boussole d'or (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Brújula dorada, La (Argentina) (Spain) (Venezuela) [es]
A Bússola Dourada (Portugal) [pt]
A Bússola de Ouro (Brazil) [pt]
Altin pusula (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Asteri tou Vorra, To (Greece) [el]
Bussola d'oro, La (Italy) [it]
Goldene Kompass, Der (Germany) [de]
Guldkompassen (Sweden) [sv]
Gyldne kompas, Det (Denmark) [da]
Gylne kompasset, Det (Norway) [no]
Kuldne kompass (Estonia) [et]
Kultainen kompassi (Finland) [fi]
Zlatý kompas (Czech Republic) [cs]
Zlatni kompas (Serbia) [sr]
Zloty Kompas (Poland) [pl]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | Icelandic | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43880) | Brazil:10 | Argentina:13 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Taiwan:PG-12 | Germany:12 | UK:PG | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | South Korea:All | Sweden:11 | Ireland:12A | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | New Zealand:PG | Malaysia:U | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Since Iorek, the armored bear, is computer generated, all actress Dakota Blue Richards had to interact with was a large, oval-shaped piece of fur without a head, legs or the rest of its body. When Richards spoke her lines, Iorek's reply could be heard coming from speakers somewhere on set.

Goofs:

Continuity: Right before Lord Asriel is captured, he slides over a cliff of ice. In the first shot of him when he reaches the bottom, he has a large scrape on one side of his face, but in the next and following scenes it is gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Serafina Pekkala: There are many universes and many Earths parallel to each other. Worlds like yours, where people's souls live inside their bodies, and worlds like mine, where they walk beside us, as animal spirits we call daemons.
Stelmaria: Are we going to see the child?
Lord Asriel: I should think so.
Serafina Pekkala: So many worlds. But connecting them all is Dust. Dust was here before the witches of the air, the Gyptians of the water, and the bears of the ice. In my world, scholars invented an alethiometer - a golden compass - and it showed them all that was hidden. But the ruling power, fearing any truth but their own, destroyed these devices and forbade the very mention of Dust. One compass remains, however, and only one who can read it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Lyra

A real let down

Having seen the Golden Compass I can honestly say Im hoping they don't make a follow up.

The story was truncated beyond the necessity involved in translating a book to film, the intricacies of the characters (especially Lyra) were swept over with a series of single scene expositions, that despite the talents of all the actors involved failed to accurately portray their persona's or motivations.

Whether or not you agree with Pullmans subtext in the book or not, the film failed miserably to deliver any semblance of the authors story.

On the plus side the Daemons and other effects were expertly achieved, fantastically voiced. The actors did their best with what came across as a disjointed, amateurish script. Key plot hocks were evaded, key sub text elements were missing and the directors clear priority of not offending any member of a dogmatic organised religion shone through the entire production.

In a few words: Great actors and effects in an unworthy script that was neither a faithful production of Pullmans work nor anything other than a flawed attempt to achieve box office takings.