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The Golden Compass [2007] | ![The Golden Compass [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BkTzME3xL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Chris Weitz
Actors: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ben Walker, Freddie Highmore
Studio: Entertainment in Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £7.97
You Save: £12.02 (60%)
New (18) Used (6) Collectible (1) from £4.99
Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 86
Format: Pal
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: Parental Guidance
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 109
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5017239195600
ASIN: B0010X8FLM
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: April 28, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New & Sealed - UK Region 2 - Just As Pictured by Amazon - 7 Day Returns (if unopened) - Covered by Warranty
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Perhaps it didn't ignite the box office in quite the way it'd been hoped, but that's little reason to pass over the qualities of The Golden Compass now it arrives on DVD. Based on the Phillip Pullman novel His Dark Materials--itself the start of the Northern Lights trilogy, the film isn't without a few problems, but emerges as a quality adaptation. And you certainly can't fault The Golden Compass for sheer ambition. The story, for those new to the series, is primarily that of 12-year old Lyra, who is in search of her friend who has been kidnapped. Naturally, this proves to be quite a challenging adventure, not least because it's through Pullman's vividly imagined world, crossing dimensions as Lyra travels. The film, while toning down and fiddling with some elements of the source material, stays quite close to the book, and it proves to be a good, if not Lord Of The Rings-standard, adaptation. What helps The Golden Compass, on top of the strong effects work and scope of the production, is a solid cast, featuring the likes of Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards. And it certainly whets the appetite for the next instalment in the series. Whether the muted box office returns put pay to that remains to be seen: for now, at least, The Golden Compass is a good, solid family movie that's easy to enjoy. --Jon Foster
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
 Amazing !!!! December 30, 2007
25 out of 38 found this review helpful
As a fan of the books who has read them all about ten times I was really excited when I heard the film was coming out. However, I was worried that it would ruin the book for me.
I found it an amazing film though. True, it wasn't as good as the book, but what film is? The film kept all the main aspects of the book in it, and the characters seemed to me just like they were represented in the book. The actors were brilliant and the special effects were outstanding!!!
My only complaint is that it had the title of the American book!!!
I recommend this to everyone whether they have read the books or not as it is truly magical and I can't wait for the Subtle Knife !!!
Taking it for what it is, actually pretty good April 30, 2008
9 out of 14 found this review helpful
Barcode: 5017239195600
I grew up with the His Dark Materials trilogy and it has since become a classic of modern literature, equally loved and praised by children and adults alike. I was won over by the characters and Pullman's visionary world and rightfully i was overjoyed when i heard a film was being made of the first book.
Having watched the film, i think i'm among the majority when i say there are quite a few flaws in the translation from text to screen. However, that said, it is far from a bad film and there are many far worse film adaptations of novels. Where The Golden Compass wins is on two strengths that it plays to perfectly - the casting and the overall looks and feel of the film.
Dakota is without a doubt the star of the film, capturing the roguish likeability of Lyra, her performance carrying you right through the film and ensures you care for the character, something which could have so easily gone wrong. Daniel Craig fresh out of Casino Royale is great as the majestic Lord Asriel (and we have his Bond co-star Eva Green as one of the witches too) and the beautiful Nicole Kidman serves up a perfect Miss Coulter, the perfect blend of coldness and elegance that is just as i imagined her character.
The visuals are fantastic too, CGI painting the world that is at once like ours but at the same time so different in striking reality. It is this combined with the characters that won me over to this film. I was embraced my nostalgia for Pullman's fantastic story and immersed myself in the film which looked and felt like the lush production that the books so rightfully deserved.
But what about those flaws? Well, the complete removal of the religious context pretty much tears a lot of the darker and more mysterious heart to the story from the film. Thus, the whole thing feels less gritty than the books and i don't see how they effectively continue this into the sequels which rely on religion even more. That's a real shame.
A lot of the plot is also cut out or re-arranged which is always understandable when converting a book as long as Northern Lights was into a family film but still, it just feels like so much is missing from the film that even while you're enjoying the visuals and character performances, you're left feeling just that little bit dissatisfied when the film's over.
Also, as other's have picked out, i think the armoured bears were done a great injustice, their culture has so much depth to it in the books but here, it feels as if they ran out of time at the end of the film so just glossed over them.
On the whole though, i would recommend this film, especially to someone who has never read the books, as at its heart, what made the books so magic is still here - i enjoyed the film and ultimately that's what matters the most. It's a tale of one girl and her demon taking on all the harshness and evil of the world in a coming of age story that has so much charm and imagination to it that you just fall in love with Pullman's world. Bring on the sequel and lets see where things go from there i say!
So much better than I was expecting April 27, 2008
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
Please, do not immediately stop reading- I am not the person who watches the films instead of reading the books, and then judges the author for a crap storyline. I usually hate book-movie films, such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings (which were all drivel compared to the books).
However The Golden Compass (Northern Lights as the book is called) steps forward as an amazing step to adapting books into films. I personally though the casting was superb- I could easily see and feel which character was which instantaneously. The acting was really good, the special effects were great, and the Daemons were done incredibly well! It was gripping and every aspect, from the sad to the action scenes were amazing.
As far as the proper story goes (as in the book), the film follows is almost PERFECTLY. Everything bar TWO scenes in the film were 100% exactly how they were in the book. Even 90% of the key conversations were WORD BY WORD adapted from the book to the film (trust me, straight after I saw the film, I reread the books, and they were bloody identical!
I was SO pleased with this film from every minute of it! Looking forward to the next 3 (probably.- this is because I think they are cutting the ending of the book out of the film, and saving it for the next film- so as to make 1 extra film for a bigger franchise? Who knows..?)
Anyway, if anyone has kept reading through all of my rambling, hope you found it useful! Cheers all.
Make your own mind up. March 8, 2008
9 out of 15 found this review helpful
If you've read the book you'll be confused. Yes, the film brings the places - Bolvanger, the North, Oxford and Jordan College - to life brilliantly, and the polar bears and daemons are fantastic. BUT you'll be disappointed by the screenplay adaptation. Everything is out of order, events happen to different characters and the ending is not the same, it finishes before the book does.
I've given it 5 stars because, if you forget the book, it's an excellent film. It's entertaining, action packed and enjoyable for the whole family, although my youngest hid his eyes during the polar bear fight which is quite graphic.The special effects are incredible and Lyra's world is believable and real - dust, witches, polar bears,daemons, gyptians and a very different London.
Dakota Blue Richards is great as Lyra, the central character, and Nicole Kidman is perfect as the many faceted character of Mrs Coulter.
Seeing the film made me want to read the books again and I look forward to seeing the Subtle Knife on the big screen.
Alice and Dorothy finally have a new friend December 23, 2007
7 out of 15 found this review helpful
We are invited to revisit so many old tales like The Wizard of Oz and his Dororthy, or Alice and her Wonderland, or Snow-white and her bad step mother or Cinderella and her own bad stepmother. We must admit we are coming back from very far when we look at the most traditional image of women, or girls, in fairy tales and other children's stories. Think of Little Red Riding Hood who sleeps with a wolf, or Sleeping Beauty who cannot but prick her finger on the first spinning wheel she meets. This tale is for girls and this tale is built on a couple. On one side the bad guy, Marisa Coulter, and on the other side the good girl, Lyra. Refreshing. To make it modern and charming the author adds two elements. First animals who are fascinatingly good on the good side and outrageously bad on the bad side, with the polar bears in between, good or bad according to the king they have. Animals have always fascinated children. Then some good special effects to make the movie a dreaming machine with all types of possible fantasies and visions beyond the surface of things. The film is thus conceived as a mirror handed and stretched out to girls for them to fall in the Wonderland it proposes. At the same time it is modern too and tries to get the boys in the theaters by having some good battles, particularly the general one between Marisa Coulter's army and the gypsies who are on the right side and helped by the bears. There definitely is some charm in this film and girls are coming back to the forefront after a long long absence from it. Dorothy and Alice were so long ago. Unluckily we will have to waif for some time if we want to know whether Lyra will save her father or not. That's the only thing I regret. The general meaning is that a child, a girl as well as a boy, must remain rebellious and must disobey orders from adult authority because that adult world is hiding the truth of life and is aiming at cutting these children off (castrate them in a way) from their wild, free and imaginative animal spirits. We have to save children from normalization and standardization, so that they can forever see the cosmic dust that surrounds us and follow the tracks of the golden compass of their imagination and dreams.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
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