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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Brand: Warner Brothers EAN: 0794043120435 Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Item Dimensions: Label: New Line Home Video Languages: Manufacturer: New Line Home Video MPN: 1000038167 Number Of Items: 2 Publisher: New Line Home Video Region Code: 1 Release Date: April 29, 2008 Running Time: 113 minutes Studio: New Line Home Video Theatrical Release Date: December 07, 2007 Editorial Review: 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 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 Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Deez Movie ReviewThis movie is fantastic! The screen writers followed the book as closely as possible. There are a few minor changes but nothing that altered the storyline. If you haven't read the books, read them because they will explain some of what you see in the movie and prepare you for future movies in the series. Rating:  - A complete waste of timeThis movie is real dull, without much of a plot or story. The worst thing of all is that THERE IS NO CONCLUSION. A real ripoff. I guess they expect us to wait with baited breath for a sequel to finish the story? There were also some good actors totally wasted in this drivel, like Christopher Lee and Derek Jacoby. I also wasn't expecting this to be children's movie, but that is what it is. Oh, by the way, they ripoff Chronicles of Narnia. They wish they were 1/100th as good as Narnia. Even ... Read More Rating: - The big story about nothingIn some (nearly) parallel universe, things are quite different. Human beings walk alongside their "demons", almost tangible avatars of their souls. The war between church and academia (irrational faith and enlightened reason) has virtually been lost to the "Magisterium", a workable stand-in for organized religion. The only hope for freedom is an understanding of "dust", some quasi-cosmic substance that flows into humans through their demons. The Magisterium sees Dust as a threat to their rule ... Read More Rating: - If you like CGIIf you want a clean movie the whole family can watch and enjoy, this one fills the bill. If you appreciate CGI, don't miss this movie. It has some of the best CGI of any movie I have ever watched. You will have a hard time believing the animals and birds that accompany the characters in the movie are not real. The bonus DVD that accompanies the movie is almost as entertaining as the movie and if you are curious as to how such movies are made, maybe more interesting! Rating: - Clever But ConfusingI found the animated animal spirit companions to the human characters extremely enchanting. I thought the computer animated renderings of the animals were very beautiful and believable. But I agree with some of the other reviewers in their assessment of the plot. Unless having read the book first (and I haven't), it's difficult to determine exactly what "dust" is, what threat it holds, and the purpose of the Coulter character and her vendetta against children. I also found the fights between ... Read More |
