| Nicole Kidman | Mrs. Coulter |
| Dakota Blue Richards | Lyra Belacqua |
| Daniel Craig | Lord Asriel |
| Sam Elliott | Lee Scoresby |
| Eva Green | Serafina Pekkala |
| John Franklyn Robbins | Librarian |
| Freddie Highmore | Voice Only |
| Jonathan Laury | Younger Fellow |
| Kathy Bates | Voice Only |
| Paul Antony-Barber | Bolvangar Doctor |
| Kristin Scott Thomas | Voice Only |
| Jason Watkins | Bolvangar Official |
| Hattie Morahan | Sister Clara |
| Jay Rawlings | Passing Scholar |
| Joao de Sousa | Hunt |
| Tommy Luther | Daemon Puppeteer |
| Chris Weitz | Director, Screenwriter |
| Lucy Bevan | Casting |
| Henry Braham | Cinematographer |
| Bill Carraro | Producer |
| Anne V. Coates | Editor |
| Tony Dawe | Sound/Sound Designer |
| Alexandre Desplat | Score Composer |
| Toby Emmerich | Executive Producer |
| Deborah A. Forte | Producer |
| Glenn Freemantle | Sound/Sound Designer |
| Dennis Gassner | Production Designer |
| Peter Honess | Editor |
| Peter King | Makeup |
| Nikolas Korda | Co-producer |
| Chris Lowe | Art Director |
| Michael Lynne | Executive Producer |
| Ileen Maisel | Executive Producer |
| Andrew Miano | Executive Producer |
| Ruth Myers | Costumes/Costume Designer |
| Terry Needham | Asst. Director |
| Andrew Nicholson | Art Director |
| Mark Ordesky | Executive Producer |
| Fiona Weir | Casting |
| Paul Weitz | Executive Producer |
| Trevor Wood | Special Effects Supervisor |
Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Not being one who seeks out the seemingly endless line of Harry Potter/Narnia/Lord of the Rings tropes (a little computer generated monster realm goes a long way), THE GOLDEN COMPASS came somewhat as a pleasant surprise. Yes, this is still a fantasy film, but the emphasis is more on stylish creation of various animals (in the forms of 'daemons' that accompany children as their souls, morphing into various animal life at will) than tiresome explosions and flying beasties. Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) is clearly the star of this adventure that explores the possibility of other, parallel worlds whose interaction with the world as we know it is controlled by various groups of good guys and bad guys, all seeking the source of secrecy contained in a Golden Compass that can only be read by a single girl - Lyra, a poor child living in the presence of scholars. Lyra's uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) places the Golden Compass in Lyra's knowing hands and heads off to the far North to investigate the element that binds all life together - Dust. The tale is set in motion by the enigmatic Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) who gains Lyra's confidence and offers to take her to the great North. All manner of adventures occur on the journey - friends of Lyra's are threatened to be separated from their various daemons in the cruel hands of the bad guys, Lyra's encounter with a witch Serafina Pekkala (Eva Green), her assistance from a friendly astronaut (Sam Elliott) and an armored bear - and with all fantasies, good prevails - or does it? Tune in for the very obvious next installment. The pleasures are many, not the least of which are the voices and changing forms of the little animal daemons. The cast is excellent and the whole movie sails with yet another beautiful musical score by Alexandre Desplat. It is a nice diversion, but you have to love fantasy. Grady Harp
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
If you have never read The Golden Compass, and are looking for a fantastic fanatsy to watch with your kids, this is a great movie. However - if you are looking for a film that will give justice to the novels of Mr Pullman, you will be severely dissapointed. I began reading this series when I was 11, and have reread it many times since then, always being enthralled and captured by the wonder of the book. The film was okay. They cut out many important parts of the book, starting, literally, from the opening scene. I believe it was done this way to help diminsh the huge amount of controversy that has surrounded his work ever since whisper of a film came to be - mostly on part by the church. If you want to experience the tale of Lyra and her friends for what it truly is, then pick up the book. If you are not looking to be impressed, then rent the film.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Warning to those with older Receivers. This Blu-Ray disk only has a DTS audio soundtrack in English. If you have a Receiver, like I do, that only decodes Dolby Digital 5.1, there is no audio output.<BR/><BR/>The rest of this review is for the clueless producers of this Blu-Ray disk. Obviously they have learned nothing from the costly lost sales of the war with HD-DVD. People like me are not going to buy an expensive new Receiver just to play a particular movie on Blu-Ray. Especially with six audio formats to cover and perhaps more to come! I will rent this movie on DVD and wait for the audio wars to end. Since Blu-Ray has plenty of capacity, I do not see any reason why an English Dolby 5.1 soundtrack could not be included to ensure backwards compatibility. Particularly since Dolby 5.1 is already provided on this disk in other languages. From reading various blogs and reviews, I know I am not the only potential lost sale.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
In a way I feel this movie, like the latest installments of the Harry Potter sequels, was written not for the average moviegoer but instead for the person who has already read the books, loves them, and wants to see a Cliff Notes version on the big screen. While that's great for those fans, for those of us who haven't read the books the story ends up feeling disjointed and unengaging. I had not read the books, nor do I intend to after watching this ghastly movie. If it weren't for the 10 year old who was part of our group, we all would have left after 45 minutes of the drivel put up on screen. The characters were not at all compelling, the plot was not engaging and while the VFX were interesting, good VFX aren't enough to sell a movie in this age where great CGI is a given. In the nature of sequalized movies, the ending felt abrupt with the intent of leaving the viewer wanting more. I thought there could have been some potential if the director hadn't been so intent on relying on VFX to tell the story, particularly the drawn out all green screen/CGI action sequences. But in reality the movie was ruined long before the climactic bear fight and North Pole battle. Maybe it was because Mrs. Coulter (Kidman) played such a cold woman that it was hard to find her engaging, even as a villian. Maybe it was because Lord Asriel (Craig) spent roughly 8 minutes on screen. Maybe it's because I didn't read the books and walk in already loving something I hadn't seen. Regardless, I thought it was a poor movie and one I look forward to ignoring completely for the rest of my days.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
If you have ever read the book, you will be disappointed. It does things in a different order than in the book. It also ends before the ending in the book.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.It's a tragedy they were never allowed to film the successive parts to this story. My wife & I both enjoyed this movie tremendously and (gasp!) we never read the books. -kd5-
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
The movie was very disappointing, it tried to cover ALL the points and events in the book, but failed leaving the viewer unable to quite follow the plot. If you had not read the book, the movie would have left you dazed and confused. The actors, however, were excellent. The scenery/photography was excellent. Music fitting.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.GinnieInLongBeach
Posted October 1, 2010
This was a sought after gift idea to accompany a Golden Compass statue. It was used as a sillent auction gift. Sorry, no other comments.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
The movie was entertaining but I had expected more.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Enjoyed the movie, but the ending was weak. I hope there is a sequel in the works.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
There have been quite a few negative reviews of this film, particularly by those who dearly love the books. Having really enjoyed the books, I also really enjoyed the film. Sure, plenty of scenes were left out, and I missed them. The movie did end before the ending of the 1st book, but I certainly understand the need for the 1st film to end on a high note, in order to ensure that the other two are made. As for missing scenes/new scenes - yes, they're not the EXACT same story, but I really thought that all the salient points were covered. Some details are missing, but that's the nature of film adaptations. Let's have less whining and more recognition of a very well-done film!
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
I had never heard of the books before coming to this website. I loved the movie and can't wait until the next one comes out. My 8 year old daughter also loved the movie.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 1, 2010
to this book's dark materials. An outstanding cast who did well with the brief introduction of their characters. I would like to see more character development in a sequel if there is one and more attention to the details of the original book series. Well worth the investment in video. A most peculiar world I think Id enjoy traveling too.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
This movie was well... ok, but there was so many things that was cut out of the book. The book was amazing and the movie did not show that. It was almost as if it was a whole different story from the book except for the basic things. Somethings where changed and and the ending was too unexpected. The movie was great, but was nothing like the book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Everyone knows that sometimes basing movies can be good if done right. However, I found that most of the parts like everyone else said: Missing parts from the book, details from the origonal plot and all that. I also aspire to the CGI'd Polar Bears and other creatures that went on in the movie. The Graphics are decent, I have yet to play the game, however, the movie was decent. Plot is good, but created a few Plotholes that are not supposed to be added, I think the Movie had some of the plot taken out of the book, wich was considered a Plothole and confused some of the lovers of the book. If you are going to do the sequel, I suggest looking into the book further..
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Posted October 1, 2010
the movie has all this suspense and thrills that came out of the beloved book but some things may seem off. the movie makes a transaction from a simple kids movie to adult in a matter of seconds in the movies last hour which makes it all the better. the movie was good and i highly recommend it to make the sequel come to theathers soon
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Posted January 16, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted November 13, 2008
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Anonymous
Posted July 19, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted November 11, 2009
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Overview