The Golden Compass [2 Discs] [Blu-ray]

Director: Chris Weitz Chris Weitz

Overview

A young girl embarks on a perilous journey to rescue her best friend and fight the forces of darkness in director Chris Weitz's adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman's best-selling fantasy trilogy. Screen newcomer Dakota Blue Richards stars as young heroine Lyra Belacqua, Casino Royale star Daniel Craig appears as Lyra's ruthless adventurer uncle, Lord Asriel, and Nicole Kidman assumes the glamorous guise of the villainous Mrs. Coulter.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/29/2008
UPC:	0794043120442
Original Release:	2007
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	New Line Home Video
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:53:00

Special Features

Feature-length audio commentary from writer/director Chris Weitz; Eleven "Making-of" featurettes including "The Armoured Bears" featurette, "The Adaptation" featurette and the "Production Design" featurette; Theatrical and teaser trailers; Enhanced visual commentary; Galleries

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Nicole Kidman	Mrs. Coulter
Daniel Craig	Lord Asriel
Dakota Blue Richards	Lyra Belacqua
Sam Elliott	Lee Scoursby
Ben Walker	Roger
Eva Green	Serafina Pekkala
Christopher Lee	First High Councilor,Actor
Tom Courtenay	Farder Coram
Derek Jacobi	Magisterial Emissary
Simon McBurney	Fra Pavel
Jim Carter	John Faa
Clare Higgins	Ma Costa
Jack Shepherd	Master
Magda Szubanski	Mrs. Lonsdale
Edward De Souza	Second High Councilor
Kathy Bates	Hester
Kristin Scott Thomas	Stelmaria
Charlie Rowe	Billy Costa
Michael Antoniou	Kerim Costa
Hattie Morahan	Sister Clara
John Bett	Thorold
Freddie Highmore	Pantalaimon
Ian McShane	Ragnar Sturlusson
Ian McKellen	Iorek Byrnison
Mark Mottram	Jaxer Costa
Paul Antony-Barber	Bolvangar Doctor
Jody Halse	Bolvangar Orderly
Kristin Scott	Actor
James Rawlings	Passing Scholar
Habib Nasib Nader	Ragnar
Steven Loton	Tony Costa
Jason Watkins	Bolvangar Official
John Franklyn-Robbins	Librarian
Jonathan Laury	Younger Fellow
Tommy Luther	Jacob Huismans/Daemon Puppeteer
João de Sousa	Hunt
Ian Somerhalder	Actor
Theo Fraser Steele	Magisterial Officer
Bill Hurst	Police Captain
Elliot Cowan	Commanding Officer
Sam Hoare	Second-in-Command
Thomas Arnold	Gobbler
Albert Kenrick	Actor
Fiona Weir	Actor
Adam Godley	Pantalaimon
Nonso Anozie	Iorek Byrinson
Jay Rawlings	Passing Scholar
Joao de Sousa	Hunt
Alexandre Desplat	Composer

Technical Credits

Chris Weitz

Philip Pullman

Chris Weitz	Director,Screenwriter,Executive Producer,Producer
Deborah Forte	Producer,Director
Fiona Weir	Casting
Frank Petzold	Special Effects
Lucy Bevan	Casting
Mark Meddings	Special Effects
Paul Jennings	Stunts
Robert Stromberg	Special Effects
Trevor Wood	Special Effects
Michael Fink	Second Unit Director
Philip Pullman	Screenwriter
Toby Emmerich	Executive Producer,Producer
Ileen Maisel	Executive Producer,Producer
Andrew Miano	Executive Producer,Producer
Mark Ordesky	Executive Producer,Producer
Robert Shaye	Executive Producer,Producer
Bill Carraro	Producer,Director
Nikolas Korda	Producer
Chris Brenczewski	Special Effects
Nina Armstrong	Stunts,Stunts
Hugo Adams	Sound Effects
Niv Adiri	Sound Effects
Philippe Amouroux	Sound Effects
Dafydd Archard	Sound Effects
Michael Lynne	Executive Producer,Producer
Jude Adamson	Special Effects
Ben Barker	Sound Effects
Andrew Chi	Special Effects
Matthias Lowry	Special Effects
Jay Shindell	Special Effects
Stacy Burstin	Special Effects
Craig Leong	Special Effects
Karl Openshaw	Special Effects
Matthew Roberts	Special Effects
Pete Ford	Stunts
Mark Henson	Stunts
Marc Mailley	Stunts
Belinda McGinley	Stunts
John Street	Stunts
Matthew Webster	Stunts
Ben Wright	Stunts
Tom Aitken	Stunts
Gary Arthurs	Stunts
Lloyd Bass	Stunts
Andy Bradshaw	Stunts
James Embree	Stunts
Luke Kearney	Stunts
Paul Kennington	Stunts
Adam Kirley	Stunts
Kai Martin	Stunts
Andy Merchant	Stunts
Jane Osborn	Stunts
Justin Pearson	Stunts
Steen Young	Stunts
Tony Dawe	Sound/Sound Designer
Glenn Freemantle	Sound/Sound Designer
Tom Sayers	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

The His Dark Materials series has worn a fair share of hats since it was published in 1995. After making the gamut of British best-seller lists and performing well in the United States (a particularly impressive feat considering the Potter phenomenon), author Philip Pullman's fantasy series has been referred to as Lord of the Rings for tots, a highbrow version of Harry Potter, a courageous proponent of free thought, and an act of blasphemy designed to corrupt the souls of children. Unlike the Potter series' fanciful spiritual notions scattered about a stronger message of common-sense goodwill to others, His Dark Materials relies less on invoking the golden rule and more on questioning that which represents absolute authority, whether it be an ill-intentioned adult, organized religion, or God. It's no surprise that the announcement of a film adaptation of The Golden Compass, the first installation in the series, inspired its share of boycotts, blustery mass e-mails, and book burnings. Judging by the film's mediocre performance in theaters, the protestors were successful; however, The Golden Compass, while flawed, is a solid, thoughtful film. Ironically, one of the film's flaws is the lack of religious symbolism. While Compass contains the least amount of religious undertones in the trilogy, the film has next to none. It's difficult to determine exactly what the forces of good are rebelling against since the Magisterium was reduced from the fantasy world's version of the Catholic Church to a vague group of authoritarians who pop up occasionally to slip poison into wine and speak threateningly to wizened academics. Still, while most moviegoers wouldn't see religion as the antagonist (or be able to figure out what the heck "Dust" is), it's still easy enough to surmise that the battle is to maintain one's free will, and that free will is no less than the soul itself. Leading the charge in the adventure is Lyra, who is entrusted with a rare truth-measuring device called an alethiometer. Newcomer Dakota Blue Richards is perfect in the role; as in the book, she is plain enough to make her tall tales believable, and charismatic enough to befriend armored bears and toughened men. In Lyra's Oxford -- a parallel dimension resembling a scene from Victorian England with updated architecture and fancy zeppelins -- the human soul exists as a spiritually connected yet entirely physical animal referred to as a daemon. The idea of a human without a daemon is a highly disturbing and largely incomprehensible thought among Lyra's world, with the exception of the powerful Magisterium, who find the notion of easily controlled (albeit soulless) human automatons quite desirable indeed. Claiming they are merely preserving innocence, they enlist the ambitious Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) to kidnap impoverished children and use them to help perfect the process of splitting the daemon from the body. Kidman displays just the right amount of rage threatening to betray her otherwise icily elegant exterior, excluding a moment in which she slaps her daemon (which is not in the book, and who slaps their own soul, anyway?); it's a pleasure to watch her unravel as Lyra slowly but surely destroys what she worked so hard to build. Though the film ends two or fifteen chapters earlier than the book, and despite a speech from Lyra that comes across as very set-up-for-sequel-in-two-minutes-or-less, Compass, on the whole, is a great adventure with two important morals: think for yourself and don't cross an angry polar bear.