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| The Golden Compass [Blu-ray] | ![The Golden Compass [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/615U8yaGAeL._SL160_.jpg)
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| Actors: Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $12.48
You Save: $27.50 (69%)
New (46) Used (31) Collectible (1) from $10.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  233 reviews
Sales Rank: 2726
Format: Dolby, Dts Surround Sound, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Blu-ray
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 113
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 1000038168
UPC: 794043120442
EAN: 0794043120442
ASIN: B00139XZF4
Theatrical Release Date: December 7, 2007
Release Date: April 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Missing the point of the novel March 4, 2008
24 out of 38 found this review helpful
The movie abruptly ends and completely ignores the final and most important chapter from the original book. The last chapter is what makes you read the next book. I could not believe they removed this from the movie. If you have not read the novel then the movie does not disappoint, but from a fan of the book, I was utterly annoyed and frustrated.
Enjoyable fantasy December 11, 2007
19 out of 38 found this review helpful
There's a lot to like in this movie, so let's start there. The CGI is outstanding, for example. The technology keeps getting better every year, and this movie rides the wave. The bears are about as convincing as anything I've seen, down to the rippling of their thick hides when two crash together in combat. The adventure never stops, keeping a solid pace from one scene to the next, right to the very end.
That's where the not-to-like part of the movie comes in. It seems to end about two chapters before where the book ended. That omission cut out one of the most dramatic sequences in the book, albeit an obvious cliff-hanger and sequel bait - maybe those scenes really do belong at the start of the inevitable next movie rather than the end of this one. One other scene translated badly to movie form, too: finding the "cut" child and what followed. The book's version was much darker, maybe a bit much for the film's intended audience. Those were probably the two most crucial scenes in the book. I'd say the movie got pretty much everything right except for those two scenes - the two that really mattered. Oh, and the scene where she discovers her parentage, that suffered badly in translation to the big screen, too.
Like the plot elements, the characters were bleached to pale, bland ghosts of their book form. It's probably just as well. If Lyra had much of a real personality about her, it might have been hard to swallow her effortless skipping from one dramatic victory against crushing odds to the next. A real girl might have had a case of the nerves in single-handedly facing down hundreds of sword-bearing warriors and wolves, or in other of her dramatic moments. Just a little, at least. Not our Lyra - something as credible as a bit of fear or doubt would have smudged the Barbie-like slickness of our little heroine's image.
It's fair adventure and fantasy, with lots for the eyes to enjoy. Not much gets past the optic nerve and into the thinking mind, though.
-- wiredweird
 A Criminally Underrated Genre-Bender : A Well Deserved Oscar February 26, 2008
18 out of 34 found this review helpful
Learning that "The Golden Compass" won the Oscar for Best Special Effects in 2008 should push the makers to produce its' sequels. As a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy story-telling, this was one book-to-movie adaptation I had waited for, and this was one rare instance where I found the film excelling the book in certain aspects.
One of the prime reasons I liked the book was because of its new take on Christianity and the Catholic Church in general. It didn't really say anything new, but the fact that a 'childrens' book could even address such topics was of course controversial to a certain degree. That said, the film does away with explicit reference to the Church, though everyone acts and behaves in a manner suited to the old guard of the Catholic Church. Believe me, the religious subtext in this movie is quite subtle - but if you pick up on certain lines and bits of dialogue, they did manage to slide a lot in here that I'm glad censors didn't pick up on it. For this alone, it breaks new ground.
Second, I am probably the only person around who doesn't think too highly of both the 'Harry Potter' and 'The Lord of the Rings' movie franchises. I never particularly cared for LOTR as a book, and the film versions seemed overwrought and way too pretentious for their own good. But thats just me. "The Golden Compass" is far superior to both those book series, in my opinion, and in a movie it soars past both of them. THIS is what a fantasy film should look like - challenging situations, amazing use of CGI (most of which was created by an obscure design firm in Mumbai, India of all places) and a spectacular acting job by the young leads.
The concept of a 'daemon' (pronounced 'demon') was always interesting to me from the start - but the wondrous use of imagery elevates this concept to a whole new level here - it really is something you've never seen on the screen before. Nicole Kidman's daemon is a golden monkey - one of the more luminous creatures in this film - and she is caught in a battle of love and hate with it.
The young actress who plays the lead should be especially commended. In her scenes as conniving wench who acts as instigator between the two great polar bears, she is superb. Eva Green plays a witch who believes in eternal love, and this beautiful French actress should have been given more screen time. However, its in its' scenes with Nicole Kidman that give this movie an edge of fear and suspense - she plays it straight, with no emotion in her eyes except calculation and scheming - and her scenes crackle with intensity.
"The Golden Compass" is a big-screen movie, but no doubt it rightfully will find a place in your DVD library. It definitely deserves to. As an adult, the film spoke to me of so many mature, adult themes, leading me to believe that Pullman wrote these books with the world at large as his audience, not just children. In fact, the thought that your daemon can change its' shape repeatedly when you're young, but settles down into one form as you grow older - is a direct confirmation of social conditioning and personal self-worth and identification. The film challenges religious beliefs, but doesn't condemn religion. If you're worried about anti-Christian sentiments here, don't worry. Your children won't pick up on any of it - but they might come back to you with lots of questions. In my book, a great thing.
Films like this are one in a million. Granted not all 'special effects' films have a heart, but this one has a heart, mind and soul that is SO very different from other films of the genre. It truly is a very different, special movie, that not many people will 'get'. If you think of yourself as reasonably intelligent, and a little 'different' from people around you - well, then this is the movie for you.
Five Solid Stars.
"Lady, Lightning Bolt, Baby ~ Nothing But Us And The Child" May 12, 2008
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
Not knowing anything about `The Golden Compass' nor the book `Northern Lights' by Philip Pullman upon which this film is based, I must say I was not only pleasantly surprised, but amazed by what I saw and heard on my initial viewing. The visuals are astounding and the storyline is original, highly controversial (at least in the mind of some religious groups) and abnormally complex.
Maybe even more amazing to me than how good this film is, was the high volume of criticism and low ratings it has compiled from Amazon reviewers. I can discern only three possible reasons for this unlikely occurrence;
1- It's to be expected if the film diverges from the book, something purist cannot tolerant. (Again, not having read the book in question I cannot comment on its faithfulness to the source material).
2- It might be a case of not appreciating the complexity of the story. You can't just jump into this film and immediately know what's going on. You have to exert a little effort and brain power to work your way into this alternate universe before settling down for the ride.
3- However I'm certain that the biggest body of complaints come from Christian factions that don't like their belief system challenged in any form. The portrayal of an evil ruling body known as the Magisterium may hit a little too close to home for some Catholics and those within the Protestant camp will most certainly be bothered by seeing every human accompanied by what appears to be an animal familiar referred to as a daemon* (no it's not a demon, think of the Hellenistic concept of the daemonic).
*These animals are part of the individual. In this imaginary world the soul is separated from the body and exists as a companion creature that accompanies the individual throughout life.
If that wasn't enough to cause some of the faithful to begin beating their war drums and rattling their sabres it doesn't help to see a heroine who's furry companion is named Pan (short for Pantalaimon), an alluring Queen of the Witches with the angelic sounding name Serafina (i.e.: Seraphim) who fights with the "good guys", and the heroine's courageous Uncle, Lord Asriel who's name is all too similar to that of the fallen angel Azriel, long associated with the Devil.
These religious/mythological cross-references don't stop here. I noticed a couple borrowed from Norse mythology as well. There's Lorek Byrnison ( possibly referring to Loki, the trickster God) and the immense warrior, polar bear Ragnar Sturlusson could be a subtle reference to Ragnarok, the Nordic version of the Apocalypse.
Of course there's always the possibility that someone simply doesn't like the film for reasons I've yet to comprehend, but I can't imagine how anyone wouldn't enjoy such an imaginative, allegorical, fantasy adventure. In case you haven't figured it out by now, I loved it!
 Inept Propaganda; Kidman is Excellent December 9, 2007
16 out of 35 found this review helpful
Philip Pullman's stated plan is to "undermine the basis" of Christianity. "The Golden Compass," the movie version of part one of Pullman's trilogy of novels, is an inept and chaotic film whose flimsy philosophical underpinnings are nothing more than a self-deluding narcissism that could only appeal to a sophomoric consciousness.
As bad as it is, "The Golden Compass" deserves at least two stars. Nicole Kidman -- the swanky, evil Mrs. Coulter -- reveals yet again that her gifts, in addition to flawless beauty, include acting finesse and fierce craft. Daniel Craig (Lord Asriel) is one of the sexiest men alive; it is criminal that "The Golden Compass" uses him for only about ten minutes. Given how little Craig is onscreen, he really should be listed as a cameo, rather than as a featured player. The suggestion of a relationship between masterful, macho, Asriel and tragic ice queen Coulter is delicious; Kidman and Craig's pairing in just these roles would ignite the screen. But they share no screentime.
The special effects are very pretty to look upon, indeed.
As a movie, though, "Golden Compass" is all computer generated gimmickry, geegaws and gimcracks. If watching a computer generated bear talk with Ian McKellan's voice makes your day, "The Golden Compass" is for you.
Me? I felt like I was lost in a shopping mall overstuffed with cheap, lead-impregnated, Chinese import toys during holiday rush hour. For fantasy to work, the fantasy world has to have internal logic and address deep truths. Viewers who have never traveled to Oz all know, within minutes of first watching the "The Wizard of Oz", that Dorothy needs to cling to the Ruby Slippers, and that the Wicked Witch covets them. "There's no place like home" resonates for us all. There is no similar internal logic or truth in "The Golden Compass."
Characters lack depth and arrive merely to fill some gapping hole in what passes for a plot. When the heroine, Lycra, is lost in the Arctic, a Texas cowboy on a dirigible shows up to rescue her. Sure, why not? It may as well have been Amelia Earhart. Some will find this disregard of coherence charming; I found it to be the most shameless deus ex machina. Ironic that Pullman wants to kill God; this cinematic "Compass" can't function without resort to a god from the machine.
Much has been made of the fact that the main character is a heroine. We are supposed to celebrate Pullman's feminism. Hogwash. Lycra is as pretty as Botticelli's Venus and she's, for the most part, as passive as a 1950s Disney cartoon princess. A talking bear rescues her, a cowboy rescues her, a sky-ful of CGI witches rescues her, even the evil villainess, Mrs. Coulter, rescues her. If Lycra shows creativity, courage, or spunk, never mind a convincing adolescent girl's character, it must have been while I was dozing off. And Mrs. Coulter's purely feminine evil is misogyny at its ugliest.
For a story that wants to be revolutionary, "The Golden Compass" is entirely retro. The fantasy world is, of course, England, just as it is in "The Lord of the Rings", "Narnia" and "Harry Potter." Nobody writes blockbuster fantasy novels about Yiddish-speaking characters; no one has yet given us a blockbuster fantasy world set in New Jersey. That would be too real, too gritty, too working class. And fantasy England is not today's England, of course, a multicultural land of active trade unions. This is Victorian England, when the sun never set on Pullman's ancestors' empire and the lower classes knew their place. Servants, in Pullman's world, are accompanied by docile and loyal doggy daemons. In short, meet the new boss, same as the old misogynist, classist, imperialist boss.
The musical score kept trying to do what the story could not, standing there, hands on hips, shouting, "You should care about this scene! It's very climactic!"
And I kept wanting to shout back, "Blast, it's the movie's job to construct a story that makes me feel like the battle is climactic, even if it is filmed silently, as Kurosawa did it! Lay off with the endless crescendos, already!"
The bad guys are priests who inhabit a rectangular version of Vatican City, "The Magisterium." "Magisterium" is, of course, the Latin word for the teaching authority of the Catholic Church. Christianity kidnaps and tortures little children, lies about "dust" (had to keep from sniggering during the "dust" scenes) and is responsible for all evil in the world. In short, "The Golden Compass" is to Christianity what "Birth of a Nation" is to African Americans or "The Eternal Jew" is to persons of the Jewish faith.
Outside the evil Magisterium, everyone is good and kind and noble and peaceful. So, they have to eliminate persons of faith in order to make the world a better place.
Atheists tried to do just that during the last century, in the Soviet Empire, in Mao's China and in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. Any knowledge of consensus reality renders "The Golden Compass" less a charming children's tale and more what it actually is -- propaganda. And that makes the film sound more exciting than it is.
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