(Added a few links (half-complete) thank you!) |
(Again, these are just facts covered in the article above and add needless information) Tag: Undo |
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{{Title|''The Golden Compass'' (film)}} |
{{Title|''The Golden Compass'' (film)}} |
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{{Out of multiverse}} |
{{Out of multiverse}} |
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| + | {{Film infobox |
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| − | {{Film_infobox |
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|image=[[File:Goldencompass-poster.jpg|250px]] |
|image=[[File:Goldencompass-poster.jpg|250px]] |
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|name=''The Golden Compass'' |
|name=''The Golden Compass'' |
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|music=[[wikipedia:Alexandre Desplat|Alexandre Desplat]] |
|music=[[wikipedia:Alexandre Desplat|Alexandre Desplat]] |
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|distributor=[[wikipedia:New Line Cinema|New Line Cinema]] |
|distributor=[[wikipedia:New Line Cinema|New Line Cinema]] |
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| − | |release=* |
+ | |release=*[[5 December]] [[2007]] (UK) |
| + | *[[7 December]] 2007 (US) |
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|rated=* PG (UK) |
|rated=* PG (UK) |
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*PG-13 (USA) |
*PG-13 (USA) |
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|revenue=$372,234,864 |
|revenue=$372,234,864 |
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}} |
}} |
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| − | [[File:The Golden Compass Official Trailer|thumb|right|335 px|The official trailer of The Golden Compass film]] |
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{{Quote|There are worlds beyond our own<br/>The compass will show the way.|Official tagline}} |
{{Quote|There are worlds beyond our own<br/>The compass will show the way.|Official tagline}} |
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| − | '''''The Golden Compass''''' is the film adaptation of ''[[Northern Lights]]'', the first book of the ''[[His Dark Materials (book series)|His Dark Materials]]'' trilogy by [[Philip Pullman]]. The film was released on [[5 December]], [[2007]] by {{Wplink|New Line Cinema}}. The project was announced in February 2002, following the success of other recent adaptations of fantasy epics. With a budget of $180 million, it is one of New Line's biggest-budget projects ever after a series of box office disappointments preceding the release. |
+ | '''''The Golden Compass''''' is the film adaptation of ''[[Northern Lights]]'', the first book of the ''[[His Dark Materials (book series)|His Dark Materials]]'' trilogy by [[Philip Pullman]]. The film was released on [[5 December]], [[2007]] by {{Wplink|New Line Cinema}}.<ref name="IMDb">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385752/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_ov_inf IMDb]</ref> The project was announced in February 2002, following the success of other recent adaptations of fantasy epics. With a budget of $180 million, it is one of New Line's biggest-budget projects ever<ref name="SlashFilm">[https://www.slashfilm.com/the-golden-compass-sizzle-reel-revealed/ SlashFilm]</ref> after a series of box office disappointments preceding the release. |
Before its release the film received criticism from both secular organisations and fans of His Dark Materials for the dilution of the religious elements from the novels, and also theist organisations — in particular, it was the subject of a boycott campaign by the U.S. Catholic League due to perceived anti-Catholic themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a "terrible" experience. Although the film's visual effects (which Weitz has called the film's "most successful element") won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award, critical reception was mixed and revenue lower than anticipated. |
Before its release the film received criticism from both secular organisations and fans of His Dark Materials for the dilution of the religious elements from the novels, and also theist organisations — in particular, it was the subject of a boycott campaign by the U.S. Catholic League due to perceived anti-Catholic themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a "terrible" experience. Although the film's visual effects (which Weitz has called the film's "most successful element") won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award, critical reception was mixed and revenue lower than anticipated. |
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| − | == |
+ | ==Plot== |
| + | [[File:Lyra Belacqua.jpg|thumb|right|Lyra with her [[alethiometer]]]] |
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| − | The story takes place in an alternate world dominated by a powerful church called the [[Magisterium]], and where part of the spirit resides outside a person as an animal companion called a [[dæmon]]. At present, poor, orphan and [[gyptian]] children are disappearing at the hands of a group that the children call the [[Gobblers]]. [[Lyra Belacqua]] (Dakota Blue Richards) is an orphan raised at [[Jordan College]] in [[Oxford (Lyra's world)|Oxford]], while her uncle, esteemed explorer and scholar [[Lord Asriel]] (Daniel Craig), is busy seeking the elusive Dust, a cosmic particle of which the Magisterium has forbidden even the mention. When Asriel returns from his latest expedition, Lyra and her dæmon Pantalaimon (Freddie Highmore) witness a Magisterium agent poison his wine. Lyra warns her uncle, saving his life; then she watches Asriel give a presentation regarding his findings on the [[North]], where he was able to prove [[Dust]]'s existence. The college gives Asriel a grant to fund another expedition that could lead to the discovery of the infinite worlds linked by Dust, which would severely undermine the Magisterium's hold on the world. |
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| + | In [[Lyra's world]], a world both similar and different to our own, there is a dominant organisation, the [[Magisterium]]. There is a crisis in [[Brytain]] as a group nicknamed the '[[Gobblers]]' go around and take poor children. The [[gyptian]]s, water travellers, are being worst hit. |
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| + | |||
| + | At [[Jordan College]] in [[Oxford (Lyra's world)|Oxford]], [[Lyra Belacqua]] and her [[dæmon]], an animal form of the [[soul]] that accompanies every human, [[Pantalaimon]] are living a wild life, climbing the roofs and throwing mud at the gyptian children. Lyra is an orphan and her only relative is the explorer [[Lord Asriel]] who is her uncle. Lyra and Pan witness a Magisterium agent poison Asriel's [[Tokay]] before a speech about [[Dust]] (a topic which has been forbidden to be mentioned) that he was taking in the [[Retiring Room]] of the college for the scholars. |
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| + | |||
| + | Lyra saves her uncle by warning him about the poison before listening to his presentation, asking for money to send him on a mission to the [[North]] to discover more about Dust. He wanted to find out about other worlds which would severely destroy the Magisterium's authority. |
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| + | |||
| + | Lyra later meets [[Marisa Coulter]], a rich and influential woman who wants to take her on a trip to the North. Unknown to Lyra, Marisa is really her mother. The [[Master of Jordan College]], [[Dr Carne]], gives her the last [[alethiometer]], a truth reader, to keep a secret from Mrs Coulter. |
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| − | At dinner, Lyra meets [[Marisa Coulter]] (Nicole Kidman), a wealthy, powerful woman who is presented as "a friend of the college". Marisa insists on taking Lyra on a trip north as her assistant. Before Lyra leaves, [[Dr Carne]], [[Master of Jordan College]], entrusts her with the only remaining [[alethiometer]], a compass-like artifact that reveals the truth. The Magisterium has seized or destroyed all the others. He instructs her to keep it secret, especially from Marisa Coulter. |
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[[File:Children kidnapped extended.jpg|right|250px|thumb|List of children kidnapped]] |
[[File:Children kidnapped extended.jpg|right|250px|thumb|List of children kidnapped]] |
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| + | [[File:List of kidnapped children.png|right|200px|thumb|Closer view of the list]] |
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| − | Marisa takes Lyra into her [[Marisa Coulter's flat|flat]], in [[London]], and starts taking her to socialite dinners and parties. In her bedroom, Lyra gazes upon the alethiometer and notices that it continuously points to a lady, a lightning bolt and a baby. She does not know what to make of her observation, however, and says nothing of it to Marisa. Despite initially projecting the image of a free-spirited woman, she reveals herself to be extremely respectful of the Magisterium and its function. One night, Lyra casually mentions Dust; this puts Marisa on edge as she warns Lyra never to mention it again, and also insists that she stop carrying around the bag secretly containing the aleithiometer. Marisa's dæmon (a golden monkey) attacks Pantalaimon, causing Lyra to give in. Lyra and Pantalaimon discover that Marisa is head of the General Oblation Board, also known as the "Gobblers", who have been kidnapping local children. Lyra also learns that her best friend [[Roger Parslow]] and her gyptian friend [[Billy Costa]] have been both taken by the Gobblers. |
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| + | Lyra is taken to [[Marisa Coulter's flat]], in [[London (Lyra's world)|London]], where Lyra starts to glimpse the life Marisa is leaving. There are lots of [[Marisa Coulter's cocktail party|parties]] and trips. Soon, Lyra gets bored and annoyed by all these expeditions and asks Marisa about Dust. She warns Lyra never to talk of it again and tells her to stop wearing her bag everywhere as it isn't respectful inside. Lyra objects about the last point causing Marisa's dæmon to attack Pan and making Lyra take her bag off. Lyra goes into her room and curses the woman. Later, she goes into Marisa's study and Pan finds in the bin a sheet of paper signed by Marisa with a list of all the children taken by the 'General Oblation Board'. It includes [[Roger Parslow]], Lyra's best friend at Jordan, and [[Billy Costa]], a gyptian boy she knows well, Lyra comes to realise that Marisa Coulter is, in fact, the head of the Gobblers. The list also included [[P. Workman]], [[J. Edwards]], [[K. Harwood]], [[E. Leem]], [[M. Carnegie]], [[B. Acorn]], [[H. Pollington]] and [[C. Leatherland]]. |
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| − | Lyra and |
+ | Lyra and Pan find, in their bedroom, that Marisa's dæmon is trying to take the alethiometer so they run and escape the flat. A number of Gobblers try to chase her, but then [[Ma Costa]], the gyptian, finds her and brings her to [[John Faa]]'s boat. The King of the Gyptians decide to head to the North and rescue all the kidnapped children. |
| + | [[File:Alethiometer.png|left|250px|thumb|The alethiometer]] |
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| + | Lyra, still puzzled about her alethiometer, shows it to a gyptian elder, [[Coram van Texel]], and discovers that she is able to decipher the device's puzzling answers, swinging to different symbols around the edges which mean different things. |
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| − | + | Marisa sends two [[Spy-fly|spy-flies]] after Lyra to find out where she is. Lyra notices them both, and despite trying to capture them both, only seizes one. She gives it to Farder Coram who explains that the spy-fly has a sting with a sleeping poison and that the escaped one would now tell Marisa where she was. They keep the captured one in a small tin. |
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| + | Lord Asriel, meanwhile, has reached [[Svalbard]], where the [[panserbjørn]] rule, but is captured by [[Samoyed]] tribesmen hired by Marisa. |
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| − | One night, Lyra is visited on the ship by a [[witch]] queen, [[Serafina Pekkala]] (Eva Green). She tells Lyra that the missing children are in an experimental station called Bolvangar. At a northern port, Lyra is befriended by a Texan aeronaut named Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), who advises her to hire himself and his friend Iorek Byrnison (Ian McKellen), an armoured bear that Lee has come to rescue. Once a prince of his people, but now exiled in shame, the giant polar bear has been tricked out of his armour by the local townspeople. Using the alethiometer, Lyra tells Iorek where to find his armour. After recovering his armour, Iorek joins the Gyptian trek northward, along with Lee. |
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| + | On the ship one night, Lyra is visited by the [[witch]] queen of the [[Lake Enara clan]], [[Serafina Pekkala]] who tells Lyra that the missing children are in an experimental station called [[Bolvangar]]. At [[Trollesund]], a port in the North, Lyra meets and befriends a [[Texas|Texan]] [[aëronaut]] (a [[balloon]] flyer) called [[Lee Scoresby]], who tells her of his friend [[Iorek Byrnison]] the ice bear. He tells her that, to hire them both, she should find Iorek's [[sky-iron]] [[Panserbjørn armour]]. |
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| − | While the group is camped for the night, Lyra rides on Iorek's back to an abandoned building the alethiometer pointed her toward. There, Lyra finds an escaped, cowering Billy separated from his dæmon named Ratter and realises that is what the Gobblers are doing to the kidnapped children, something they call "intercision". Lyra reunites Billy with his mother just as the group is attacked by Samoyeds, who capture Lyra. Iorek and Lee follow her in Lee's airship. Taken to the bear king Ragnar Sturlusson (Ian McShane), Lyra tricks him into fighting Iorek one on one. At first, Ragnar, who had already beaten Iorek while usurping his throne, seems to have the upper hand in the fight, but Iorek eventually manages to kill his rival, becoming the new and rightful king. |
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| + | The bear was once a prince but was now exiled. The local people had tricked the bear out of his armour and forced him to work but, using the alethiometer, Lyra tells Iorek where to find his armour. Iorek and Lee soon join the gyptians on their journey. |
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| − | Iorek carries Lyra to a thin ice bridge near Bolvangar, but only Lyra is able to cross over before the bridge breaks. Upon reaching the station, Lyra is welcomed in and taken to eat dinner with the children, where she is reunited with Roger. While sneaking around, Lyra hears Mrs. Coulter tell the station scientists that Asriel has escaped capture and set up a laboratory, but Magisterium soldiers are on their way to arrest and execute him for heresy. She also hears the scientists talk about their experiments to sever the bond between a child and his or her dæmon. Caught spying, Lyra and Pantalaimon are thrown in the intercision chamber, and end up unconscious. On seeing Lyra in the chamber, Mrs. Coulter rescues her and takes her to her quarters. |
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| + | Whilst camping for a night's rest, Lyra travels to an abandoned building with Iorek which her alethiometer showed her. There they find Billy who has been separated from his dæmon Ratter by the process of [[intercision]]. Billy and his mother are reunited but some Samoyeds attack the group and take Lyra. However, Iorek and Lee follow her in Lee's [[balloon]]. She is taken to the king of the bears, Ragnar Sturlusson, (called [[Iofur Raknison]] in the books) where Lyra tricks him into fighting Iorek one on one when he arrives at the palace. Bears are supposed to sense lies and deceit however, as Ragnar is trying to be more like a human, Lyra manages to convince him that she is Iorek's dæmon. |
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| − | When Lyra wakes up, Mrs. Coulter explains to Lyra how, in her and the Magisterium's view, the intercision is needed to save the children from the corrupting influence of the Dust. She also reveals she is Lyra's mother, but was forced to give her away because at the time of her birth she was not married. Lyra correctly guesses that Asriel is her father. When Mrs. Coulter asks for the alethiometer, Lyra gives her the can containing the spy-fly instead. The fly stings Mrs. Coulter, knocking her and her dæmon out. Lyra runs to the room with the intercision machine and manages to destroy it, setting off a series of explosions that tear the facility apart. |
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| + | [[File:LyraWarningIorek.png|right|250px|thumb|Lyra meets with Iorek before the fight]] |
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| + | Ragnar gives her a question that only he knows - how he became king - and she gives him the answer. Lyra consults her alethiometer, telling him it is a tool used by dæmons. She tells Ragnar that she wants to be his dæmon and that he and Iorek should fight. Iorek is amazed that she lied to a bear and tells Lyra that she is no longer Lyra Belacqua but Lyra Silvertongue. |
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| + | During the fight it seems, at first, that Ragnar, who had already fought Iorek, has the upper hand, but Iorek eventually manages to kill his rival by feigning injury, becoming the new and rightful king. |
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| − | Outside, the fleeing children are attacked by Tartar mercenaries and their wolf dæmons. The battle is joined by Iorek, Lee Scoresby, the Gyptians, and a band of flying witches led by Serafina Pekkala. The Tartars are defeated and the children are rescued. Rather than returning south, Lyra, Roger, Iorek, Lee and Serafina fly further north in search of Asriel. Confirming Serafina's prophecy of an upcoming war with Lyra at the centre, Lyra is determined to fight the Magisterium and stop their plans, which include taking over all the other worlds in the universe. |
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| + | |||
| + | Iorek takes Lyra to an ice bridge just outside Bolvangar where she quickly crosses. The bridge is thin and couldn't support Iorek, breaking when Lyra crossed it. She enters the station and meets someone who tells her to come in. She says her name is Lizzie Brooks. Lyra comes when the children are having dinner and meets up with Roger. She tells him to get the other children into warm clothes. Lyra snoops around and hears Marisa tell some staff that Asriel has escaped and has set up a lab. The Magisterium soleries are going to kill him for heresy. She hears the scientists at the station talk about the intercisions. |
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| + | [[File:LyraGuillotine.png|left|250px|Lyra and Pan in the chamber]] |
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| + | Lyra, however, is caught spying and put into the intercision chamber. Just before she is about to be split, Marisa comes into the room and runs to get Lyra out. Marisa told Lyra about why she had to cut the children, giving her all her beliefs. She tells Lyra that she is her mother and Lyra guesses Asriel is her father. Marisa asks for the alethiometer, and instead Lyra gives her the spy-fly tin. |
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| + | |||
| + | The fly attacks Marisa, knocking both human and dæmon out and Lyra runs to the room with the intercision machine, managing to destroy it, by changing the settings and throwing a machine into the middle of the chamber. |
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| + | [[File:Bolvangar.png|right|250px|thumb|Bolvangar]] |
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| + | The children flee from the station but are attacked by [[Tartary|Tartar]] mercenaries with wolf dæmons. Iorek, Lee and the gyptians along with a group of witches, headed by Serafina join the fight. Instead of going back to Oxford after they won the fight, Lyra, Roger, Iorek, Lee and the witch further north to look for Asriel leaving the gyptians to take the children back. Serafina finds that her prophecy detailing a war with Lyra at the centre is correct. |
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| + | |||
| + | Lyra finds that she needs to fight the Magisterium and stop the plans of theirs, taking over the worlds in the [[multiverse]]. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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| − | ===Lead |
+ | ===Lead roles=== |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Dakota Blue Richards}} as [[Lyra Silvertongue|Lyra "Silvertongue" Belacqua]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Nicole Kidman}} as [[Marisa Coulter]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Daniel Craig}} as [[Lord Asriel]] |
| + | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
===Children=== |
===Children=== |
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| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Ben Walker}} as [[Roger Parslow]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Charlie Rowe}} as [[Billy Costa]] |
| + | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| + | |||
| + | ===Gyptians=== |
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===Jordan College staff=== |
===Jordan College staff=== |
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| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Magda Szubanski}} as [[Mrs Lonsdale]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Jack Shepherd}} as [[Dr Carne|Master of Jordan College]] |
| − | === |
+ | ===Panserbjørne=== |
| ⚫ | |||
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| ⚫ | |||
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===Witches=== |
===Witches=== |
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| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Eva Green}} as [[Serafina Pekkala]] |
| − | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
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===Others=== |
===Others=== |
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| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|John Bett}} as [[Thorold]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Sam Elliott}} as [[Lee Scoresby]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Christopher Lee}} as [[First High Councillor]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Edward de Souza}} as [[Second High Councillor]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Simon McBurney}} as [[Fra Pavel]] |
| − | * |
+ | *{{Wplink|Derek Jacobi}} as [[Magisterial Emissary]] |
| − | |||
| − | ===Armoured Bears=== |
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| ⚫ | |||
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==Differences between the novel and the film== |
==Differences between the novel and the film== |
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| + | *Pavel Rasek, despite not appearing in the first book, plays an important role in the film. |
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*Marisa Coulter is supposed to have black hair, but Nicole Kidman was blonde for this film. |
*Marisa Coulter is supposed to have black hair, but Nicole Kidman was blonde for this film. |
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*The [[Holy Church]] was referred to only as the [[Magisterium]] to avoid offending religious organisations. |
*The [[Holy Church]] was referred to only as the [[Magisterium]] to avoid offending religious organisations. |
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*Lord Asriel does not, at the end of the movie, split Roger Parslow and his [[dæmon]]. This, in the book, allowed him to travel to other worlds in the [[multiverse]]. |
*Lord Asriel does not, at the end of the movie, split Roger Parslow and his [[dæmon]]. This, in the book, allowed him to travel to other worlds in the [[multiverse]]. |
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| + | |||
| + | ==Promotional material== |
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| + | [[File:Northern Lights 2007 film.jpg|right|200px|thumb|An edition of ''Northern Lights'', published 2007]] |
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| + | There were multiple items and products released by New Line Cinema running up to the release of the film. These products were mostly based off early cuts of the film. These materials included a [[The Golden Compass (video game)|video game]], [[The Golden Compass (board game)|board game]] and [[The Golden Compass (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] for the film. Toys of the characters and vehicles were also produced along with plushies. Multiple books based off certain scenes from the film, written by Kay Woodward, were publiched by Scholastic for younger children.<ref name="Goodreads">[https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/278186.Kay_Woodward Goodreads]</ref> They included shots of the film, these were: |
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| + | *''The Golden Compass: Movie Storybook'' |
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| + | *''The Golden Compass: Iorek And The Gyptian Alliance'' |
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| + | *''The Golden Compass: Lyra's World'' |
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| + | *''The Golden Compass: Pan And The Prisoners Of Bolvangar'' |
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| + | *''The Golden Compass: The Golden Monkey and the Duel of the Daemons'' |
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| + | |||
| + | During the run up to the film's release, ''Northern Lights'' (''The Golden Compass'' in the US), twelve years after being published, founds its way onto the 'USA Today's Top 50 Best Sellers list' with a 500% increase in sales. |
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| + | |||
| + | The official movie website was viewed, and the trailer was streamed, 10 million times with the website's dæmon feature having 20 million views.<ref name="New Line">[https://web.archive.org/web/20071212072657/http://www.newline.com/press/pr_2007-11-28_thegoldencompass.html New Line Cinema press releases]</ref> |
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| + | |||
| + | Editions of the entire trilogy with covers of the film poster were published after the film's release. Editions of ''[[Once Upon a Time in the North]]'', published the year after in [[2008]], contained a golden sticker on the cover promoting the film. |
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==Sequels== |
==Sequels== |
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===Cancelled sequels=== |
===Cancelled sequels=== |
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| − | At the time of The Golden Compass's theatrical release, Chris Weitz pledged to "protect [the] integrity" of the prospective sequels by being "much less compromising" in the book-to-film adaptation process. New Line Cinema commissioned Hossein Amini to write a screenplay based on the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, potentially for release in 2010 |
+ | At the time of The Golden Compass's theatrical release, Chris Weitz pledged to "protect [the] integrity" of the prospective sequels by being "much less compromising" in the book-to-film adaptation process. New Line Cinema commissioned Hossein Amini to write a screenplay based on the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, potentially for release in May 2010, with the third book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, to follow. However, New Line president Toby Emmerich stressed that production of the second and third films was dependent on the financial success of The Golden Compass. When The Golden Compass did not meet expectations at the United States box office, the likelihood of a sequel was downplayed by New Line. According to studio co-head Michael Lynne, "The jury is still very much out on the movie, and while it's performed very strongly overseas we'll look at it early 2008 and see where we're going with a sequel." |
In February 2008, Weitz told The Daily Yomiuri, a Japanese newspaper, that he still hoped for the sequels' production: "at first it looked like we were down for the count because in the U.S. [the film] underperformed, but then internationally it performed [better] than expectations. So, a lot depends on Japan, frankly… I think if it does well enough here we'll be in good shape for that." Although producer Deborah Forte had, in March 2008, expressed optimism that the sequels would be made, by October 2008, the two planned sequels were officially placed on hold, according to New Line Cinema, because of financial concerns during the global recession. Sam Elliott, however, stated, "The Catholic Church ... lambasted them, and I think it scared New Line off." |
In February 2008, Weitz told The Daily Yomiuri, a Japanese newspaper, that he still hoped for the sequels' production: "at first it looked like we were down for the count because in the U.S. [the film] underperformed, but then internationally it performed [better] than expectations. So, a lot depends on Japan, frankly… I think if it does well enough here we'll be in good shape for that." Although producer Deborah Forte had, in March 2008, expressed optimism that the sequels would be made, by October 2008, the two planned sequels were officially placed on hold, according to New Line Cinema, because of financial concerns during the global recession. Sam Elliott, however, stated, "The Catholic Church ... lambasted them, and I think it scared New Line off." |
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| − | In 2011, Philip Pullman remarked at the British Humanist Association annual conference that due to the first film's disappointing sales in the United States, there would not be any sequels made. |
+ | In 2011, Philip Pullman remarked at the British Humanist Association annual conference that due to the first film's disappointing sales in the United States, there would not be any sequels made. |
===Television series=== |
===Television series=== |
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{{Main|His Dark Materials (TV series)}} |
{{Main|His Dark Materials (TV series)}} |
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| − | In November 2015, it was announced that a television series adaptation of His Dark Materials had been commissioned by |
+ | In November 2015, it was announced that a reboot television series adaptation of His Dark Materials had been commissioned by the BBC due to the commercial failure of the film. The first episode, ''[[Lyra's Jordan]]'', was released on [[3 November]] [[2019]] in the UK. The first series follows the events of ''[[Northern Lights]]''. |
| + | |||
| + | ==Gallery== |
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| + | ===Trailers=== |
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| + | <gallery> |
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| + | The Golden Compass Official Trailer|Official trailer |
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| + | The Golden Compass - Official® Trailer 2 HD|Official trailer 2 |
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| + | </gallery> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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| + | {{Imcat|Images from The Golden Compass (film)|''The Golden Compass'' (film)|from}} |
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| + | *www.goldencompassmovie.com - Official website ([https://web.archive.org/web/20081122232123/http://www.newline.com/properties/goldencompassthe.html archive]) |
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| + | *[https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/golden-compass/ Warner Bros Official website] |
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| + | *[https://www.facebook.com/The-Golden-Compass-226463347495977/ Official Facebook] |
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*{{IMDb title|0385752|The Golden Compass}} |
*{{IMDb title|0385752|The Golden Compass}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 19:47, 22 February 2021
- "There are worlds beyond our own
The compass will show the way." - —Official tagline
The Golden Compass is the film adaptation of Northern Lights, the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. The film was released on 5 December, 2007 by New Line Cinema.[1] The project was announced in February 2002, following the success of other recent adaptations of fantasy epics. With a budget of $180 million, it is one of New Line's biggest-budget projects ever[2] after a series of box office disappointments preceding the release.
Before its release the film received criticism from both secular organisations and fans of His Dark Materials for the dilution of the religious elements from the novels, and also theist organisations — in particular, it was the subject of a boycott campaign by the U.S. Catholic League due to perceived anti-Catholic themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a "terrible" experience. Although the film's visual effects (which Weitz has called the film's "most successful element") won both a BAFTA and an Academy Award, critical reception was mixed and revenue lower than anticipated.
Plot
Lyra with her alethiometer
In Lyra's world, a world both similar and different to our own, there is a dominant organisation, the Magisterium. There is a crisis in Brytain as a group nicknamed the 'Gobblers' go around and take poor children. The gyptians, water travellers, are being worst hit.
At Jordan College in Oxford, Lyra Belacqua and her dæmon, an animal form of the soul that accompanies every human, Pantalaimon are living a wild life, climbing the roofs and throwing mud at the gyptian children. Lyra is an orphan and her only relative is the explorer Lord Asriel who is her uncle. Lyra and Pan witness a Magisterium agent poison Asriel's Tokay before a speech about Dust (a topic which has been forbidden to be mentioned) that he was taking in the Retiring Room of the college for the scholars.
Lyra saves her uncle by warning him about the poison before listening to his presentation, asking for money to send him on a mission to the North to discover more about Dust. He wanted to find out about other worlds which would severely destroy the Magisterium's authority.
Lyra later meets Marisa Coulter, a rich and influential woman who wants to take her on a trip to the North. Unknown to Lyra, Marisa is really her mother. The Master of Jordan College, Dr Carne, gives her the last alethiometer, a truth reader, to keep a secret from Mrs Coulter.
List of children kidnapped
Closer view of the list
Lyra is taken to Marisa Coulter's flat, in London, where Lyra starts to glimpse the life Marisa is leaving. There are lots of parties and trips. Soon, Lyra gets bored and annoyed by all these expeditions and asks Marisa about Dust. She warns Lyra never to talk of it again and tells her to stop wearing her bag everywhere as it isn't respectful inside. Lyra objects about the last point causing Marisa's dæmon to attack Pan and making Lyra take her bag off. Lyra goes into her room and curses the woman. Later, she goes into Marisa's study and Pan finds in the bin a sheet of paper signed by Marisa with a list of all the children taken by the 'General Oblation Board'. It includes Roger Parslow, Lyra's best friend at Jordan, and Billy Costa, a gyptian boy she knows well, Lyra comes to realise that Marisa Coulter is, in fact, the head of the Gobblers. The list also included P. Workman, J. Edwards, K. Harwood, E. Leem, M. Carnegie, B. Acorn, H. Pollington and C. Leatherland.
Lyra and Pan find, in their bedroom, that Marisa's dæmon is trying to take the alethiometer so they run and escape the flat. A number of Gobblers try to chase her, but then Ma Costa, the gyptian, finds her and brings her to John Faa's boat. The King of the Gyptians decide to head to the North and rescue all the kidnapped children.
The alethiometer
Lyra, still puzzled about her alethiometer, shows it to a gyptian elder, Coram van Texel, and discovers that she is able to decipher the device's puzzling answers, swinging to different symbols around the edges which mean different things.
Marisa sends two spy-flies after Lyra to find out where she is. Lyra notices them both, and despite trying to capture them both, only seizes one. She gives it to Farder Coram who explains that the spy-fly has a sting with a sleeping poison and that the escaped one would now tell Marisa where she was. They keep the captured one in a small tin.
Lord Asriel, meanwhile, has reached Svalbard, where the panserbjørn rule, but is captured by Samoyed tribesmen hired by Marisa.
On the ship one night, Lyra is visited by the witch queen of the Lake Enara clan, Serafina Pekkala who tells Lyra that the missing children are in an experimental station called Bolvangar. At Trollesund, a port in the North, Lyra meets and befriends a Texan aëronaut (a balloon flyer) called Lee Scoresby, who tells her of his friend Iorek Byrnison the ice bear. He tells her that, to hire them both, she should find Iorek's sky-iron Panserbjørn armour.
The bear was once a prince but was now exiled. The local people had tricked the bear out of his armour and forced him to work but, using the alethiometer, Lyra tells Iorek where to find his armour. Iorek and Lee soon join the gyptians on their journey.
Whilst camping for a night's rest, Lyra travels to an abandoned building with Iorek which her alethiometer showed her. There they find Billy who has been separated from his dæmon Ratter by the process of intercision. Billy and his mother are reunited but some Samoyeds attack the group and take Lyra. However, Iorek and Lee follow her in Lee's balloon. She is taken to the king of the bears, Ragnar Sturlusson, (called Iofur Raknison in the books) where Lyra tricks him into fighting Iorek one on one when he arrives at the palace. Bears are supposed to sense lies and deceit however, as Ragnar is trying to be more like a human, Lyra manages to convince him that she is Iorek's dæmon.
Lyra meets with Iorek before the fight
Ragnar gives her a question that only he knows - how he became king - and she gives him the answer. Lyra consults her alethiometer, telling him it is a tool used by dæmons. She tells Ragnar that she wants to be his dæmon and that he and Iorek should fight. Iorek is amazed that she lied to a bear and tells Lyra that she is no longer Lyra Belacqua but Lyra Silvertongue.
During the fight it seems, at first, that Ragnar, who had already fought Iorek, has the upper hand, but Iorek eventually manages to kill his rival by feigning injury, becoming the new and rightful king.
Iorek takes Lyra to an ice bridge just outside Bolvangar where she quickly crosses. The bridge is thin and couldn't support Iorek, breaking when Lyra crossed it. She enters the station and meets someone who tells her to come in. She says her name is Lizzie Brooks. Lyra comes when the children are having dinner and meets up with Roger. She tells him to get the other children into warm clothes. Lyra snoops around and hears Marisa tell some staff that Asriel has escaped and has set up a lab. The Magisterium soleries are going to kill him for heresy. She hears the scientists at the station talk about the intercisions.
Lyra, however, is caught spying and put into the intercision chamber. Just before she is about to be split, Marisa comes into the room and runs to get Lyra out. Marisa told Lyra about why she had to cut the children, giving her all her beliefs. She tells Lyra that she is her mother and Lyra guesses Asriel is her father. Marisa asks for the alethiometer, and instead Lyra gives her the spy-fly tin.
The fly attacks Marisa, knocking both human and dæmon out and Lyra runs to the room with the intercision machine, managing to destroy it, by changing the settings and throwing a machine into the middle of the chamber.
Bolvangar
The children flee from the station but are attacked by Tartar mercenaries with wolf dæmons. Iorek, Lee and the gyptians along with a group of witches, headed by Serafina join the fight. Instead of going back to Oxford after they won the fight, Lyra, Roger, Iorek, Lee and the witch further north to look for Asriel leaving the gyptians to take the children back. Serafina finds that her prophecy detailing a war with Lyra at the centre is correct.
Lyra finds that she needs to fight the Magisterium and stop the plans of theirs, taking over the worlds in the multiverse.
Cast
Lead roles
- Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra "Silvertongue" Belacqua
- Nicole Kidman as Marisa Coulter
- Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel
Bolvangar staff
- Paul Antony-Barber as Bolvangar Doctor
- Jason Watkins as Bolvangar Official
- Jody Halse as Bolvangar Orderly
- Hattie Morahan as Sister Clara
Children
Dæmons
- Freddie Highmore as the voice of Pantalaimon
- Kristin Scott Thomas as the voice of Stelmaria
- Kathy Bates as the voice of Hester
Gyptians
- Jim Carter as John Faa
- Tom Courtenay as Farder Coram
- Clare Higgins as Ma Costa
- Steven Loton as Tony Costa
- Michael Antoniou as Kerim Costa
- Mark Mottram as Jaxer Costa
Jordan College staff
Panserbjørne
- Ian McKellen as the voice of Iorek Byrnison
- Ian McShane as voice of Ragnar Sturlusson
Witches
Others
- John Bett as Thorold
- Sam Elliott as Lee Scoresby
- Christopher Lee as First High Councillor
- Edward de Souza as Second High Councillor
- Simon McBurney as Fra Pavel
- Derek Jacobi as Magisterial Emissary
Differences between the novel and the film
- Pavel Rasek, despite not appearing in the first book, plays an important role in the film.
- Marisa Coulter is supposed to have black hair, but Nicole Kidman was blonde for this film.
- The Holy Church was referred to only as the Magisterium to avoid offending religious organisations.
- Lord Asriel does not, at the end of the movie, split Roger Parslow and his dæmon. This, in the book, allowed him to travel to other worlds in the multiverse.
Promotional material
An edition of Northern Lights, published 2007
There were multiple items and products released by New Line Cinema running up to the release of the film. These products were mostly based off early cuts of the film. These materials included a video game, board game and soundtrack for the film. Toys of the characters and vehicles were also produced along with plushies. Multiple books based off certain scenes from the film, written by Kay Woodward, were publiched by Scholastic for younger children.[3] They included shots of the film, these were:
- The Golden Compass: Movie Storybook
- The Golden Compass: Iorek And The Gyptian Alliance
- The Golden Compass: Lyra's World
- The Golden Compass: Pan And The Prisoners Of Bolvangar
- The Golden Compass: The Golden Monkey and the Duel of the Daemons
During the run up to the film's release, Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in the US), twelve years after being published, founds its way onto the 'USA Today's Top 50 Best Sellers list' with a 500% increase in sales.
The official movie website was viewed, and the trailer was streamed, 10 million times with the website's dæmon feature having 20 million views.[4]
Editions of the entire trilogy with covers of the film poster were published after the film's release. Editions of Once Upon a Time in the North, published the year after in 2008, contained a golden sticker on the cover promoting the film.
Sequels
Cancelled sequels
At the time of The Golden Compass's theatrical release, Chris Weitz pledged to "protect [the] integrity" of the prospective sequels by being "much less compromising" in the book-to-film adaptation process. New Line Cinema commissioned Hossein Amini to write a screenplay based on the second book in the trilogy, The Subtle Knife, potentially for release in May 2010, with the third book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, to follow. However, New Line president Toby Emmerich stressed that production of the second and third films was dependent on the financial success of The Golden Compass. When The Golden Compass did not meet expectations at the United States box office, the likelihood of a sequel was downplayed by New Line. According to studio co-head Michael Lynne, "The jury is still very much out on the movie, and while it's performed very strongly overseas we'll look at it early 2008 and see where we're going with a sequel."
In February 2008, Weitz told The Daily Yomiuri, a Japanese newspaper, that he still hoped for the sequels' production: "at first it looked like we were down for the count because in the U.S. [the film] underperformed, but then internationally it performed [better] than expectations. So, a lot depends on Japan, frankly… I think if it does well enough here we'll be in good shape for that." Although producer Deborah Forte had, in March 2008, expressed optimism that the sequels would be made, by October 2008, the two planned sequels were officially placed on hold, according to New Line Cinema, because of financial concerns during the global recession. Sam Elliott, however, stated, "The Catholic Church ... lambasted them, and I think it scared New Line off."
In 2011, Philip Pullman remarked at the British Humanist Association annual conference that due to the first film's disappointing sales in the United States, there would not be any sequels made.
Television series
- Main article: His Dark Materials (TV series)
In November 2015, it was announced that a reboot television series adaptation of His Dark Materials had been commissioned by the BBC due to the commercial failure of the film. The first episode, Lyra's Jordan, was released on 3 November 2019 in the UK. The first series follows the events of Northern Lights.
Gallery
Trailers
External links
- www.goldencompassmovie.com - Official website (archive)
- Warner Bros Official website
- Official Facebook
The Golden Compass on the Internet Movie Database
