The Golden Compass (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition)

I rented this movie to watch with my 13 yr daughter. She liked it too

As a viewer that hasn't read the book yet, I enjoyed this film very much. So much so that I have already purchased the books so that I can get the full picture and continue the tale. There are very few films that can match the quality and story of the novel they are based on. So, it's important to keep expectations at a reasonable level. Hundreds of pages do not shrink to less than 2 hours without losing something. After speaking with some of my friends who read the book, I think they kept to the spirit of the story if not the letter. Ironically, the film made far more money in Europe where the books are much more popular. However, I wasn't watching this for life lessons or implied religious themes. I wanted an interesting story, engaging characters and a fun adventure. They delivered all three with some awesome special effects to boot!The acting by the adults in the film was a little over the top, but fit with the grand adventure style of story-telling. I completely bought Nicole Kidman as a snobby elitist who lives by "the ends justify the means." I liked that good actors were placed even in bit roles (such as Sam Elliot), but the young star and the animals truly stole the show. Lyra's character will appeal to fans of Hermione Granger and other smart little rebels. I found myself cheering for her and her daemon. The producers did a great job with the talking animals. They blended with the story very well. I never felt like they were zooming in on every animal every time - "see, the animals are talking!" This helped them feel more like characters in the movie than CGI stunts. The dialog between Lyra and Pan was much like between any two good friends at that age. And I loved the polar bear. Who wouldn't get excited about a massive polar bear wearing armor!? And voiced by Ian McKellan, priceless. The subject matter is a little more grave than other movies of this genre. The PG-13 rating was deserved, though much less so than movies like "Alien vs Predator"! The ending was a little abrupt, but seeing as it's based on the first book of a trilogy, I can't complain. The filmakers didn't leave viewers with a killer cliffhanger, just in case the second film isn't made (which I truly hope it is).This 2-disc DVD set is nice. The extra features have a nice variety with your usual "making of" and behind the scenes stuff, but also a feature on the book and adaptation. The packaging is standard, though I really like the outer sleeves that so many special editions come with these days. There is no chapter insert - just an advertisement for the World Wildlife Fund and their promotion based on the film (adopt plush animals that represent endangered animals depicted in the film). I'm happy I bought the 2-disc set.Overall, I thought this was an entertaining film, with great special effects and a unique story. I am glad I bought the DVD as I will certainly rewatch it. Though I missed seeing this in the theatre, I would definitely see the sequel on the big screen. Highly recommended to movie fans who haven't read the book and love a good adventure, and book fans who are open-minded about adaptations.

The original movie did not enjoy today’s CGI magic, but it creates a spell all its own. Brighter and less dark than the sequel currently playing out the third and final season, comparing and contrasting is good entertainment. One example is Lyra who is all golden and cheerful here, but again darker and much more stubborn and headstrong in His Dark Materials.The heart of the literary work caused a firestorm of controversy in the Catholic Church. Understandable considering that the trilogy takes dead aim at The Authority. If you liked Tolkien’s Perelandra trilogy you may be captivated as long as you aren’t too offended by the hits on religion. Especially if you don’t mind physics and the multiverses being sandwiched into a story with talking bears and magical knives.So watch this movie jam packed with A-list actors, but do yourself a favor and also read the books. And maybe watch the sequel!

My (now 8-year-old) daughter and I read The Golden Compass and finished it the same night we watched this on Amazon. We were both disappointed, her especially.For those who've read the book, as to be expected there were many shortcuts, twists of the story to suit something faster-paced and characters conflated or just not given adequate attention to feel like you knew what their personality or motives were.But beyond this, the movie just seemed like a rush to get through as many scenes from the book that they could manage, without really much of any character development. IE, all plot and little character. I feel like I have to go back and re-watch it because I'm sure I missed a lot because it was so rushed.The movie did do a great job visualizing everything in the book. For the most part, everything was more or less how I had imagined this world to be. Unfortunately, because of the pacing, one didn't get a great chance to really admire all that scenery, because it just went by too quickly.Due to that speed, I would guess that those who hadn't read the book would by and large be somewhat confused about the point of all this. To them it probably seems like just a crazy fantasy adventure with animal spirits and odd steampunkish devices and vehicles.**Spoiler alert: I'll try to details some of the things I missed from the book that would have made a difference, so if you don't want to know about some of the details of the movie/book, you might want to stop reading.**There was almost no talk of the aurora or the city in the sky, something central to the book. They do mention mention dust once or twice, but it's mostly Lyra suddenly figuring out what dust is on her own. The only time there's discussion of it by an adult I think is in the initial scene with Lord Asriel at Jordan.Lyra's character was plucky but had very little range. There are numerous times in the book where she cried quite a bit. I guess crying in the movie would have meant either too much time, or somehow would have shown her not to be "strong." You got a tiny glimpse of how Lyra could lie/spin a yarn, but just barely.Lord Asriel was in the movie for all of two minutes probably.There was a scene in the movie that was not in the book that made zero sense - Mrs. Coulter slapping her daemon, then comforting it. We haven't read the other two books in Pullman's series, so maybe this presages something in one of those? But I kind of doubt it. The only thing I can think is that either Mrs. Coulter has been separated from her daemon or she is a masochist, because you are supposed to feel everything your daemon feels - something the movie actually shows well for other characters.In general, the movie leaves out the more disturbing scenes, possibly because they thought they were too dark for a younger audience? For example, while they do show the scene where Lyra discovers the child who's daemon has been separated from him (albeit it's a different character from the one in the book), at the end the import of this is spoiled because a) the child does not die, and b) his mother, comforting him, acts as if it's like he's lost a pet which she promises to find for him. There is none of the shock of this, only a few signs that this might be more serious than losing a pet. That's another omission here, although they mention at the very beginning that the animal daemon is part of the person's soul, they don't reinforce this with any other statement throughout the book. About the only other indication is when a daemon (I think it's mainly just Pantalaiman) is attacked once or twice and it's human seems to feel it's pain. So the whole idea of "severing" doesn't have nearly the import it does in the book. I can imagine those who haven't read the book scratching their heads as to that whole idea, and just not getting that it was about the worst thing imaginable - even worse than death - for most people of this world.The movie didn't even include the final scene of the book - the opening of the bridge to the other world.Again, it was really disappointing from an adaptation point of view. It was interesting to see the visualizations, but ultimately frustrating due to the limitations of film. Peter Jackson made The Hobbit, a book much shorter than The Golden Compass, into a three-part movie. If this movie had been given that degree of attention and breathing room, it could have really been much better, even great.It all comes down to money I guess. Authors and publishers want to make money selling the film rights, and movie studios want to translate that investment into ticket sales and DVD rentals (or whatever the equivalent is for streaming) as quickly as possible. It does take someone with deep pockets, vision, stubbornness and perhaps just their own movie studio, to pay adequate homage to a longer book that is relatively complex. It's seldom done, and so we end up with very mediocre stuff like this film, which is ok for a family movie night, but probably never watched afterwards. It pales so much in comparison to the book. If you are watching this with your kids, I would highly recommend reading the book to them or have them read it, because it has so much more depth than this mere shell of a movie...

Riveting, entertaining, and beautiful to watch.... with they would make part 2!