The Golden Compass

[Lilaena De'Ville]

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This is a "sizzle reel" with unfinished effects, before anyone points out that things look wonky. ;)

I think it looks interesting, I haven't read any of the books, but I can't turn down anything with Sam Elliot in it. :love

[Karl Valten]

This is my most anticipated film of the year. I loved the series, I just hope they can pull through with the movies.

[Yog]

That looks exciting :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

It looks cool, I have never read the books, although I have really meant to.

[Karl Valten]

If there is one series I insist people read, it's His Dark Materials

Read it or I will personally find you and force you to read it. :p

[Lilaena De'Ville]

You can never find me. >D

[Dasquian Belargic]

Oooooooo.

The bits with Eva Green looked really cool.

[Wyl Staedtler]

I've become slightly obsessed with Daniel Craig since Casino Royale and so this is top of the list for my winter must-sees.

[Tess Abrahams]

So I read the first book in the 'His Dark Materials' series today.

Awesome.

I'm on the wait-list at the library for the next one.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The final trailer:
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Good heavens this looks fantastic.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The final trailer:
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Good heavens this looks fantastic.

[sirdizzy]

Am I the only one who wants to boycott this movie because they don't have the balls to let the movie stand on its own. As far as I know the Lord of the Rings and Golden Compass, books, and movies, have absolutly nothing to do with each other except they were made by new line. So for them to try to sell me on the movies by dropping the lord of the rings names makes me wonder of the books were such shite they couldn't stand on their own with out having to drop the lord of the rings name. Or maybe the movie is such shite it needs the lord of the rings name but either way that ten seconds wants to make me boycott the movie.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I think you're the only one.

I thought "ooh awesome another fantasy epic" and then the rest of the trailer was awesome as well. I mean... talking polar bear? SAM ELLIOT!?

The mustache alone sells me on the movie. :love

[Droo]

The books are wonderful. However, the trailer looks much better on this <A HREF="http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/">website.</A> Just scroll down a little bit.

Now, I understand the need to drop the Lord of the Rings in the trailer like it does after films like Eragon rise up to ruin the reputation of the fantasy genre. The studio clearly see a need to protect their film against any kind of anti-fantasy prejudice following such bilge. In any case, you only have to look at the trailer to see that it doesn't really need to rely on name-dropping to impress, it looks very impressive nonetheless. I can't wait to see this film.

Also, am I going mental or have we stopped using a swear filter. Dizzy's post would've sent it into overdrive.

[Rutabaga]

We saw the trailer before POTC and I was intrigued enough that I'm getting the book to see if I like the story...looks good!

[Dasquian Belargic]

I am going to quote myself and again say:


The bits with Eva Green looked really cool.

Looks like this will be fun.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

You're not insane, Droo, I thought that word was filtered out too. And it will be when I get home from work.

dizzy, don't swear okay?

[Saladin]

I think more disturbing is the fact that any time a book is made into a major motion picture, every future release of that book must be emblazoned with a huge seal proclaiming the fact. I understand the cross-marketing angle - the movie will generate interest in the book, and vice versa. But can't you save the "Now a Major Motion Picture from New Line!" for the book display case and leave it off the cover?

Am I really supposed to think more of the book because it's a motion picture? Or am I supposed to decide that I can forgo reading it because in a few months I can just watch it? What if the book is good but the movie adaptation is terrible? Even if the adaptation is good, why must the fact that there is a movie version be such an integral part of the book's identity that it achieves the same billing as the title and author? Why is film such a standard of validation for the literary industry?

There, see? A perfectly good rant and not one expletive, misspelled or otherwise. :)

Incidentally, I've bought the book (movie seal and all) and am just starting my way into it. If I enjoy it as much as I think I will, I'll be seeing the movie for sure.

[sirdizzy]

LOL I don't even remember what word I used, and I checked to see if there was any red flags after I posted it because I had a problem with the morality police before over that and so I always check my threads now

not my fault if you didn't have it in the filter, so apologize

[Lilaena De'Ville]

What, apologize for telling you not to swear? I think not. But don't worry, you're not being penalized or warned or anything because it wasn't in the filter when you posted.

But, it is now. :p

[Jedi Master Carr]

The Final trailer is up
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/thegoldencompass.html;_ylt=AlGmcSy7BVm1MIdMFoZyoMd fVXcA?showVideo=1

It looks amazing to me. Also not sure if you can tell but Ian Mckellan is the voice of the head Polar Bear.

[Wyl Staedtler]

Dan-iel Crai-aig. Dan-iel Crai-aig. Dan-iel Cra-aig. :crack

The books are freaking awesome, and this looks like it will be too. Yay!

[Zem-El Vymes]

This movie could be stupid and have Craig and Elliot in it and I would still see it because Craig and Elliot are awesome.

Sam Elliot has an even larger moustache in this than normal which means that he will be far more awesome than normal. Moustache size in a Sam Elliot movie is directly proportional to how good that movie is. If you doubt me, see how good Tombstone is and note his lip warmer, then look at Frogs, and see how terrible Sam Elliot is when cleanshaven.

Also Eva Green :love

[Dasquian Belargic]

:eee can't wait

[Karl Valten]

Heeeeee, mustseeitmustseeitmtseeitmustseeit.

[Rod Stafford]

What I am about to say is very important:

Do not see this film. Don't give New Line your money. My mouth and fingers are tied with the amount of venomous hyperbole I need to vomit all over this offensive excuse for a film. I say this not only as a fan of the books, but also as a fan of film.

This is not a film. This is a cast of characters from Philip Pullman's novel sitting around and discussing the novel's plot. These characters sometimes move from place to place, only to sit down and talk some more about things nobody really cares about because the significance of these things hasn't been underlined. So the audience is left wondering, "Why am I supposed to care about this?"

The threat, drama, tension, and important plot points are fumbled with so badly that the film's key beats fall flat. The only half decent thing is the damn bear fight. I'm not going to carry on, not because there's enough hatred I could pour over my experience tonight but because it doesn't deserve it. Read the book instead, or if you've already read it, re-read it.

If you fail to heed my advice, you will come back home thinking, "Damn! He was right. I just spent my money on sitting in a cinema for two hours, watching characters I don't care for talk about things I don't want to know about."

You have been warned!

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well, I am still going to see it this weekend. I have never read the books so I probably won't be bothered by the problems that you had with the movie. So far that seems to be the thing. The people who have read the books have mostly disliked it those who haven't it is the other way. The movie does sound like it was rushed.

At first I thought this was going to turn into a religious debate. I know about the Boycott, I personally don't agree with it. To me this is just a movie and if it is poking holes at religion it isn't the first story that has done so. Gulliver's Travels and most of Voltaire's stories were critical of religion and I don't hear talk about banning them from schools.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

:p so are you trying to turn this into a religious debate?

[Eluna Thals]

Well thats the fourth consecutive bad thing I've heard about this. I'll officially postpone all plans to see it.

[Jedi Master Carr]

:p so are you trying to turn this into a religious debate?

heh not intentionally. I guess I am trying to keep it from going that way. The religious part I wouldn't debate anyway. The only thing I don't like is banning stuff. I just don't think books should be banned, it irks me when people try to do that.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I only asked because by trying to avoid it you've become the first person to actually bring up that paticular subject in this thread, which seems counterproductive. :)

[Yog]

The big thing for me is the bad / lukewearm reviews. I will likely not bother watching it in theaters for this reason:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/his_dark_materials_the_golden_compass/


I have never read the books so I probably won't be bothered by the problems that you had with the movie.

Actually, from what I have heard, it's those who never read the novel who have the biggest problems, because they have no clue what the heck is going on in the movie.

[Rod Stafford]

Actually, from what I have heard, it's those who never read the novel who have the biggest problems, because they have no clue what the heck is going on in the movie.

Yes, yes, and thrice yes. I did not dislike the film because I'd read the book. It's simply a terrible film, my bitterness is only magnified by the fact I read and love the books. I went with four mates, none of whom have read the book, and they all thought it was rubbish.

Three of the four walked out saying, "What have we just watched?"

Those who have not read the books are generally leaving the cinema completely uninterested in what has just unfolded before them on the screen because it is not made interesting and the story unfolds in a boring, by-the-numbers way. You basically are listening to the characters of the book read a poorly constructed reader's digest of the book itself.

[Dasquian Belargic]

:( I am saddened by what I'm reading here. I was really looking forward to this.

[Regan Valdis]

I was the fourth person who went with Droo to see the movie. And the only reason I didn't say 'What have we just watched?" was because I thought it was mlldly entertaining for two hours. But I'll admit that the majority of that time was spent in wonder of where the story was going. The only thing I can say I really liked about it was the bear fight. Oh, and Sam Elliot, but that goes without saying :-P

So I have to agree with Droo and say that you're wasting your money by going to see this film.I borrowed his copy of the first book as soon as we got home from the cinema and will be starting it sometime tonight.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well I wouldn't be wasting any money because I have a free ticket to go see it heh. I got in when I bought another movie on DVD. I figure for free I can't really be wasting anything.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm still going to chance it. My girlfriend is a bit of a nut about the books so she is insistent on seeing it, in spite of the bad press. If nothing else, it has Eva Green to keep me entertained.

[Yog]

Well I wouldn't be wasting any money because I have a free ticket to go see it heh. I got in when I bought another movie on DVD. I figure for free I can't really be wasting anything.

Is the studio getting so desperate they are giving Golden Compass tickets for free now? The day BEFORE opening day? :lol


I'm still going to chance it.

Looking forward to read your review!

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well I wouldn't be wasting any money because I have a free ticket to go see it heh. I got in when I bought another movie on DVD. I figure for free I can't really be wasting anything.

Is the studio getting so desperate they are giving Golden Compass tickets for free now? The day BEFORE opening day? :lol


I'm still going to chance it.

Looking forward to read your review!

Well this is nothing new. Movies have been doing this for years here. I got a free ticket to see one of the Harry Potter movies for example when I bought somethng a video game. I also got a free ticket for National Treasure 2 when I bought Pirates of the Caribeean. I am not sure why they do that, unless they are trying to use it as incentive to buy the DVD they are advertising the free ticket on.

[Kale]

They're probably also figuring that most people don't go to see movies alone. If you've got a free ticket, you're more likely to try to get a group together to go see it.

Your anti-social behavior will be the downfall of the movie industry. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

They're probably also figuring that most people don't go to see movies alone. If you've got a free ticket, you're more likely to try to get a group together to go see it.

Your anti-social behavior will be the downfall of the movie industry. ;)

heh well I am going with a friend.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well I saw it and I thought it was good but it could have been a lot better.
The postives
The special effects were great, I loved the ice bears scene in particular.
The Ice Bear fight is the highlight of the movie, it is pretty impressive.
The active overall, Sam Elliott, Nicole Kidman and the actress that played Lyra all had very good performances although Elliott was the best of the three. Of course that isn't a shock because he is great in everything.
Cons
Here are the problems with the film. First they crammed too much into such a short running time. This film need to be 2 and half hours. Sure two of the Harry Potter were able to have short running times but they did but taking story out and by the time you get to Part 3 and 5 of the story you know these characters. This is the opening film in this saga and you really need to introduce characters and plot better. It was very hard to follow what was going on and by the time you caught up they threw several more plot points at you. Also the pacing seemed to be off at times. There were scenes that didn't flow together made you think things were missing. This was most true with the ending. It did seem like there should have been another 10 minutes leading to something else but ended pretty abruptly.
Overall, I liked it but I am not sure if I could recommmend seeing it in Theaters. I would say wait and rent on DVD.

What sucks is that I think the film won't do that well at the box office. I first thought it would make about 500-600 million but now it looks like it will do 300-400. If it showed amazing legs maybe 450 but I somehow doubt that. I have my doubts the sequels will ever get filmed, unless they redo these movies in 15 years or something.

[Yog]

It opened to a pedestrian $25M in north america. That is rather awful for a $180M budget movie. It will be interesting to see the drop offs.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I enjoyed Eragon more than I did this movie.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I enjoyed Eragon more than I did this movie.

I liked Golden Compass better than Eragon. Eargon was awful. I almost turned the DVD off half way through. I was glad I rented that turkey. If the books are as bad as that movie I will never read them.
Oh and I am not being criticall of you LD. I just hated that movie lol. I am not saying The Golden Compass was great. It is defintely not the next Lord of the Rings and doesn't even come close to any of the Potter films, even the weaker first two.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I saw this last week, and completely forgot to post about it!

Anyway, I'd have to agree with the general consensus that the film was enjoyable, but not great. It felt like there was a lot of 'telling' rather than 'showing', a lot of exposition instead of actual development. I know that they had a limited amount of time in which to tell the story, and wouldn't have wanted to get too caught up in too many plots, but some things were glossed over so quickly that people who haven't read the books must have been so confused.

I would also agree with Droo's comment that the story just meanders along without any real urgency or excitement. There could have been a lot more suspense and tension, especially in the sections involving Bolvangar. It felt like the Magisterium, as a whole, was dumbed down. I know they couldn't have exactly been all "Catholic Church BAD!" but still.

Also, the ending... I wonder why they didn't go with the way the book ended, that would have made a much better cliff-hanger and encouraged people to go see the next movie.

I'd probably give it 2.5 or 3 out of 5, at best.

[Droo]

Also, the ending... I wonder why they didn't go with the way the book ended, that would have made a much better cliff-hanger and encouraged people to go see the next movie.



So true! That ending deserved to be on screen at the end of the film. We were all short-changed and the film, which was fairly short for such a story anyway, ended short of the finish line. I see why they may have done it, Peter Jackson et al. did similar in his films but the ending to Nothern Lights is so incredibly beautiful and exhilerating that I was sooo eager to see it and was very disappointed.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Also, the ending... I wonder why they didn't go with the way the book ended, that would have made a much better cliff-hanger and encouraged people to go see the next movie.



So true! That ending deserved to be on screen at the end of the film. We were all short-changed and the film, which was fairly short for such a story anyway, ended short of the finish line. I see why they may have done it, Peter Jackson et al. did similar in his films but the ending to Nothern Lights is so incredibly beautiful and exhilerating that I was sooo eager to see it and was very disappointed.


I think they didn't do it because they thought it was too brutal for the audience. They were scared that it would kill WOM seeing that Roger get killed . They figured hook the audience in the series and people will be better prepared to see that in the sequel. The problem with the movie wasn't the ending. Jackson did the same with TTT and it worked fine with that. The problem was setting up the movie and characters. The movie just went too wild, it need to stop and take a breath at times. It crammed in too many characters and too much plot in less than 2 hours. This is the opening movie of this series we need time to set up the characters and plot and the movie just didn't do that right. It wasn't an awful movie (maybe if I had read the books I feel different), but it just wasn't that great. As far as fantasies go I would rank it below LOTR, all of the Potter films, the first Narnia film, and fantasies like Stardust and The Princess Bride. I would rank it above the garbage of Eargon and Dungeons and Dragons though.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I don't disagree with you on the majority of your points there, Carr. I just don't think that the ending was very exciting... not exciting in the slightest, to be honest. It didn't make me feel like I needed to see the next chapter, where as the whole... (book spoiler) opening a hole into a parallel universe, maybe with a glimpse of the world beyond would have been so much more dramatic!

It felt like they bailed big time on a few things, just because they would have been 'too brutal', to use your words.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well I never read the book so that influences me there. I do wonder though if they had been even more faithful to the book if it wouldn't have just gotten more controversal. I am not too sure how much that hurt the box office of the film. Maybe His Dark Materials is just one of those series that is just very hard to adapt into a film.

[Droo]

I don't care if a film is controversial or not, I just wish it would have the balls to go where its source material went - I Am Legend suffers from the same fault. I'm not saying the film-makers ought to become slaves to the material, like Chris Columbus with the first two Potter films, but what we got was His Diet Dark Materials.

[Dasquian Belargic]

What will be interesting is seeing how the film-makers deal with the fact that the series gets progressively more anti-Christian as it goes on. Well, maybe anti-Christian is putting it a little hamfistedly... but I imagine it will be very difficult to stay true to the series without acknowledging that the Magisterium is supposed to represent organized, opressive religion. Particularly when the series is reaching its end, there are characters who are angels, references to Heaven and Hell, as well as other explicit nods towards Biblical entities.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I doubt they make the other two sequels any time soon. Also fantasy has had problems outside the big three series. I still think The Dark Tower series would have the best chance at breaking out.

[Yog]

Three of the four walked out saying, "What have we just watched?"

Here is another one who had that exact reaction. "Holy batwing flying iguana, what did I just watch?"

The movie can basically be summarised like this: ?

The only good thing about the movie is the visual effects. This movie had a $180 million budget. One word: Insane. As a comparison, it cost $94 million for each film of Lord of the Rings Trilogy. A large portion of the movie budget probably went into the "Ice Bear" fight. Too bad the movie flopped so bad, it will never break even. I agree with DeVille, I actually prefer Eragon over this.. :lol

[Vince]

Wow, I sure came in late, didn't I?

I haven't seen the movie and I'm glad for it. I read the books while I was in high school, and they're very well written, with a good sense of plot and speed and suspense, as well as leaving questions unanswered until the last moment. I despised the blasphemy; especially at the end of the books and its portayal of God and all that. I didn't see references to Heaven and Hell and Angels and stuff (especially since Metatron is one of my favourites: cool name, awesome backstory etc.; and I'm not talking about the Metatron of Pullman's books, either), but they were directly meant to be those characters. Pullman's main objective for this series was to get children to hate Christianity, instead of questioning and actively seeking for answers to those questions. He states so implicitly.

Considering the banning circumstances, I'm sorta both for and against, meaning I can see both sides. I mean, I wouldn't want my little sister to read those books, nor see the movie; it has hate and scorn written into its very fabric, and that's not something I want to expose her to, at least not until she can understand the concepts and actually seek answers. Even if the answers she ends up finding are against the ones I believe in.

On the opposite side, banning inhibits a reasoned search for answers. And for the record, Voltaire and the other guy's works were banned by the Church for quite a long time. It's a reflection of today that no one really bothers reading those books outside of philosophy classes in university, and by then most people have their minds made up already. I don't care about the argument for the 'right for people to read/watch what they want'; it's often a front for demagoguery.


But those are my fifty and some odd cents' worth. :angel

[Droo]

Pullman's main objective for this series was to get children to hate Christianity, instead of questioning and actively seeking for answers to those questions. He states so implicitly.


Aside from all the other things you said I want to poke holes in, I have to call shenanigans on this one. I've never seen any evidence of this whatsoever.

[Vince]

Well, I apologize if I have read the sources wrong. I have heard that he is a militant atheist and that he wrote the series with this intent in mind.

[Droo]

He is an Atheist but if anything His Dark Materials challenges the use of religion to opress, and not Christianity itself. Even the Archbishop of Cantebury sings its praises and goes as far to propose that it ought to be taught as part of religious education in schools.

If you like theological debate, you might be interested to check out this <A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;$sessionid$SQEQJ5TJIJO1BQFIQMFSFFOAVCBQ 0IV0?xml=/arts/2004/03/17/bodark17.xml&sSheet=/arts/2004/03/18/ixartright.html">discussion </A>featuring Philip Pullman and the Archbishop.

[Vince]

Thank you for the link. I've read it and agreed with much of what is said, though I did disagree with a few minor things.


...His Dark Materials challenges the use of religion to opress, and not Christianity itself. Even the Archbishop of Cantebury sings its praises and goes as far to propose that it ought to be taught as part of religious education in schools.

Like I said before, and like they presented obliquely in the discussion (I won't call it a debate), I can see both sides of the issue. I can see how it was meant to be a sort of challenge to oppressive religion, but I didn't really understand the point behind the story, though that could mean that Pullman was merely writing out a good story and using themes which resounded with him. He did say that fiction was an end in itself (A view I don't particularly agree with).

If I was certain that children were being taught rational or reasoned argument in schools, I wouldn't mind so much [Pullman's books being taught as part of a curriculum]. But I'm not, and therein lies the trouble for me.

[Droo]

If I was certain that children were being taught rational or reasoned argument in schools, I wouldn't mind so much [Pullman's books being taught as part of a curriculum]. But I'm not, and therein lies the trouble for me.

That is a conundrum. I went to an excellent school founded by the Christian Brothers, and naturally it was a school which had Christian values and leanings, but I know for a fact the teachers there would have no problem presenting their students with Philip Pullman's work and allow them to explore the themes and issues raised in an intelligent and rational fashion.

However, the school some of my friends went to... who knows? It depends upon the quality of the school and its teachers more than anything. Children are impressionable but not brain-washed when their intellects are challenged and stimulated.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Three of the four walked out saying, "What have we just watched?"

Here is another one who had that exact reaction. "Holy batwing flying iguana, what did I just watch?"

The movie can basically be summarised like this: ?

The only good thing about the movie is the visual effects. This movie had a $180 million budget. One word: Insane. As a comparison, it cost $94 million for each film of Lord of the Rings Trilogy. A large portion of the movie budget probably went into the "Ice Bear" fight. Too bad the movie flopped so bad, it will never break even. I agree with DeVille, I actually prefer Eragon over this.. :lol

Actually it broke even only because New line sold the overseas rights to cover the budget. I think they made 125-150 million on that deal. They were hoping for like 200 in the U.S to give them another LOTR but that isn't going to happen. The sad thing is this is probably the end for New Line. Time Warner is thinking about scrapping it and merging it with WB.

[Crusader]

Merging New Line with WB does not sound like a bad idea to me. Since the LOTR WB can not use New Line for promoting dangerous projects anymore.
When nobody knew how good the LOTR movies would be WB did not even dare to put its name on the first film although they had put a lot of money in it. In the end all the DVDs and the other Two Films showed a WB logo even before the New Line Logo.
Many people learned through this movie that WB was using New Line like Fox is using Fox Searchlight to promote movies that might not meet the expectations of the mother brand. But now New Line is a name and it is connected to quality and therefore it is losing its function as a promoter for independent projects.
So in other words merging New Line and then start a new brand would not sound like a bad idea to me.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Merging New Line with WB does not sound like a bad idea to me. Since the LOTR WB can not use New Line for promoting dangerous projects anymore.
When nobody knew how good the LOTR movies would be WB did not even dare to put its name on the first film although they had put a lot of money in it. In the end all the DVDs and the other Two Films showed a WB logo even before the New Line Logo.
Many people learned through this movie that WB was using New Line like Fox is using Fox Searchlight to promote movies that might not meet the expectations of the mother brand. But now New Line is a name and it is connected to quality and therefore it is losing its function as a promoter for independent projects.
So in other words merging New Line and then start a new brand would not sound like a bad idea to me.

Well Time Warner doesn't think they should own two studios. They would probably counter that argument and say with WB independent to push the risker projects. Really this isn't much different then when Disney got rid of Touchstone and pushed everything through the Walt Disney name.