The Golden Compass (DVD)

In 2000 Phillip Pullman gave us the final installment of his trilogy of books, His Dark Materials.
So fantastic was this book, it was given The Whitbread Book Of The Year 2001.

Literature fans everywhere rejoiced.

His Dark Materials is hailed as one the greatest trilogy of books ever written, on a par with Lord Of The Rings.

Several years on it was announced that the trilogy was to be made into a trilogy of films.

Literature fans everywhere start to worry.

The trailer for this film showed us "The Ring" from Lord Of The Rings morphing into an althiometer (Golden Compass).

Literature fans everywhere cease to worry, safe in the knowledge that the films were being made by New Line Cinema, makers of The Lord Of The Rings.

Sadly unlike The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, the film version of The Golden Compass is just a load of ass.

Key plot points are left out.
The order of events are changed so the story no longer flows properly.
Characters are introduced at such a rate that you don't know who they are or care about them.
Once the film finally looks set to finally pace itself and you do start to care about the characters the film trips over it's own feet and abruptly stops.
Three quarters of the way through the story.

The family audience that film was marketed to leaves confused as to what it's just seen.

Literature fans everywhere leave the cinema alternating between screaming in anger and crying tears of sadness at how what should have been one of cinema's finest moments has been reduced to.

Why the film stops where it does has never really been explained and makes very little sense, especially seeing as in all three trailers for the film clips from the ending of the story (as per the book) appear and look truly stunning.

I bought this DVD hoping for some deleted scenes in the extras or maybe even to find that the original ending had been replaced.

Sadly this is not the case, the extras are just documentaries and the three trailers.

On a positive note: the film seems (to be at least) a little less confusing on your home tv than it did on the big screen and the you do get the glimpses of the true ending of the film in the trailers to scream in frustration at.

My advice: Until a Director's Cut of the film is produced , do yourself a favour : Leave the universes of His Dark Materials to your "Minds Eye Cinema" and get yourself the truly wonderful BBC Radio Theatre version of His Dark Materials or the books.

this is my 2nd copy i have of this film , first 1 got all scratched by my 3yr twins who like to play with the dvd`s and the dvd player ,got first dvd as a gift at christmas, and looking at it i didnt think that it was my kind of film , but both me and the kids love it ,hence why ive bought another copy , speacial effects are really good and a few big names in the film aswell ,Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliot,and more , the film gives the impression at the end that there is more to come , and I hope there is will be keeping an eye out to see , really enjoyed this film , not just a film for the kids but i would say for the adults too ,

what a superb if unusual story. gets you thinking could these paralel
worlds really exist.splendid action scenes all the way through
and the ending tells you watch this space theres a lot more
action still to come. cant wait to see the next instalment in
this fantasee? adventure.

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Phillip Pullman's incredible book "The Northern Lights" has finally been transformed into a spectacular film boasting some incredible special effects.
The film follows the story of Lyra, a young girl with a strong attitude and a fearless nature as she takes on the evil Magistirium and their plans.
Become absorbed in the wonderful world Pullman creates where people co-exist with their very own Dæmons - an animal form of their soul that lives by their side sharing their emotions and thoughts.

The film is very well made, with the characters well portrayed (especially the wonderful Sam Elliot as Lee Scoresby and Iam McKellen as the deep, heartfelt voice of Iorek Byrnison) with good pacing to keep audiences engaged, interested and entertained.

My only negative comments with this film is that, like most books converted into movies, a lot has been cut out or altered - I would highly recommend reading the book after watching the film to learn the full story.

Overall, the film is a genuinely good fantasy film that the whole family will enjoy time and time again!

~ Eleanor Coldridge-Holmes