The Golden Compass (Blu-ray)

...SHOWING ON SKY PREMIERE (over the Christmas and New Year period)***

Several years ago I was babysitting for one of my sister's friends; at about 7.00pm I put the little girl to bed and was told that her mum always read to her, at least a chapter of her book each night and she wanted me to do the same. She told me she had been read all the Harry Potter books so far and was now listening to Philip Pullman's The Northern Lights. I sat ...
...I had greatly enjoyed reading the book and with the recent arrival of the Harry Potter books which were widely accepted to appeal to both children and adults I decided that I too would like to read the Northern Lights. I tracked down a copy from the local library and quickly devoured the entire book, unable to put it down. I then realised that this was not a stand alone book, but was part of the Dark Materials Trilogy, comprising also of The Subtle ... more

***THE GOLDEN COMPASS IS CURRENTLY SHOWING ON SKY PREMIERE (over the Christmas and New Year period)***

Several years ago I was babysitting for one of my sister's friends; at about 7.00pm I put the little girl to bed and was told that her mum always read to her, at least a chapter of her book each night and she wanted me to do the same. She told me she had been read all the Harry Potter books so far and was now listening to Philip Pullman's The Northern Lights. I sat on her bed and read the book, for several chapters, after about an hour I told her I thought that was enough and she should go to sleep. However, I had greatly enjoyed reading the book and with the recent arrival of the Harry Potter books which were widely accepted to appeal to both children and adults I decided that I too would like to read the Northern Lights. I tracked down a copy from the local library and quickly devoured the entire book, unable to put it down. I then realised that this was not a stand alone book, but was part of the Dark Materials Trilogy, comprising also of The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. I read these two soon after finishing The Northern Lights and these tales stuck with me as some of the best stories I had ever read. What appealed to me was the escape to another world not unlike our own for magical adventures.

A few years ago when I saw that The Northern Lights was to be made into a film I was very eager to see it, however when the book had journeyed to America it had been re-named The Golden Compass and this was also to be the name of the film, still I could not wait to see it. When the film was released in our local cinema my boyfriend bought tickets to see it on the first night, I was thrilled and I loved the film, although it had not stuck to the book very well.

By the time that the film was released on DVD my birthday was rolling around and since my boyfriend had just purchased the new PS3 which can be used a blu-ray player, his sister was kind enough to buy me The Golden Compass 2 disc edition on blu-ray DVD, again I was ecstatic.

According to the protective sleeve of the DVD
2-disc DVD loaded with extras
Disc 1 - Feature Commentary by Writer/Director Chris Weitz and Enhanced Visual Commentary
Disc 2 - The Novel, The Adaptation, Finding Lyra Belacqua, Dæmons, The Alethiometer, Production Design, Costumes, Oxford, Armoured Bears, Music, The Launch, Teaser Trailer, Trailer #2, Final Trailer and Companion Galleries to above futurities
However, it was not really the extras I was interested in it was more the film.

When I first put the DVD in I was impressed to see that it runs in 1080i, what is also referred to as full HD, this really enhances the viewing experience as it increases the quality of the picture and helps to bring the images to life.

The film starts with a voiceover explaining that there are many worlds, many similar to ours; in our world our souls live within us, however in this world the live externally as animal dæmons. The connection between these worlds is also explained, as is the purpose of the Alethiometer (Golden Compass).

The film follows the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan who lives at Jordan College in Oxford and enjoys playing with the servant and gyptian children. Lyra's uncle Asriel arrives at the college to request funds to visit 'the north' and explore the existence of dust which flows through dæmons into people and connects worlds.

Lyra is taken to 'the north', where the ice bears and witches rule, by a lady named Mrs Coulter. Before she leaves on her journey she is given a gift by the master of the college, the alethiometer, which was given to him by Lyra's uncle Asriel. Initially Mrs Coulter appears to be a caring and kind lady, but Lyra quickly realises there is more to meets the eye with her and she is forced to run away. She finds herself in the care of the gyptians who help her with everything she needs to save her friends Roger and Billy who has been taken by the Gobblers.

Things are not easy for Lyra, as when she finally meets an ice bear, she must help him on his own quest as well as trying to find her friends before it is too late. She must also learn to use the alethiometer to help her on her travels, but this does not come easily. She meets witches, aviators and kings along her way, all with their own agendas and quests. Trying to survive without being gobbled is hard enough, without trying to help others along the way.

Dakota Blue Richards plays Lyra Belacqua
Daniel Craig plays Lord Asriel
Nicole Kidman plays Mrs Coulter
Ben Walker plays Roger
Charlie Rowe plays Billy
Jim Carter plays Lord John Faa (king of the gyptians)
Eva Green plays Serafina Pekkala (clan queen of the witches)
Ian McKellen voices Iorek Byrnison (ice bear)
Freddie Highmore voices Pantalaimon (Lyra's dæmon)

The acting and voices in this film are fabulous. Dakota Blue Richards, who was previously an unknown child actress, pulls off a fantastic performance in this film, she makes you believe that she has a connection with Pantalaimon, by the way she interacts with the animal. She also gives the role a lot of emotion as she searches for her lost friends and meets a lot of new ones. Luckily she has already been contracted to play Lyra in the second two films of the trilogy.
Nicole Kidman also provides a very believable character, she is a glamorous lady, with an underlying evil streak. As her character's personality begins to change, her body language and interactions become slightly different, which I think shows her true capacity.
Daniel Craig has a tough rule to play, though he is probably the least seen main character his presence is felt throughout the film. Each of his scenes is very varied, he is a scholar, an adventurer and a fighter. His varied role is well reflected in his acting.
The animated characters in this film, are just great as their voices are full of passion as they try to help Lyra through her voyage. Ian McKellen is amazing and by the end of this film I was completely in love with his character, the ice bear Iorek Byrnison.

There is a lot of animation within this film, due to the fantasy nature of the film. This also means that actors and actresses are required to interact with animated characters, which is obviously difficult to get exactly right. However it is clear that within this film the latest animatronics techniques have been used to make each scene as convincing as it possibly can be. I don't think that if all the characters in this film had been animated the end result would have been as good, as it currently is.

The soundtrack within this film is outstanding, it makes you feel like you are encountering something truly amazingly magical. There are no well known songs or even lyrics, but the instrumental music really helps this story as it reaches climaxes and tragedies.

Unfortunately I am only able to comment on how the DVD plays through the PS3, as nobody that I know currently has a blu-ray DVD player. One fantastic feature I have noticed is that during the film if you press the square button on the controller there is the menu appears which allows you to pause the movie, select a scene, access special features or set up options. This is such a good feature because these things can be done in a small area of the screen while the movie continues to play.

Scene Selection - there are nineteen chapters within the film, any of which can be selected as a starting point
Special Features - allows you to enable audio commentary by the director Chris Weitz or enhanced visual commentary which takes you behind the scenes as you watch the film, with a picture in picture feature
Set Up Options - allows you to turn on subtitles, however the only available language is English and again allows you to add audio commentary from the director Chris Weitz

This film carries a PG certificate due to 'moderate fantasy violence and intense scenes'
The film runs for 113 minutes

The 2 disc blu-ray DVD is available from HMV for £13.99 or from play.com for £17.99. I don't think that blu-ray DVDs are currently worth purchasing, although they make a lot of difference to the viewing experience, the added cost does not warrant the enhancements. The standard DVD is available from HMV for £5.99, which this film is well worth.

I think that this is a great family film, I have sat down with my parents and young sisters and everyone has enjoyed it. My boyfriend thinks that the film is great fun and I think he has watched the DVD more times than I have. I don't think that this film would be suitable for young children as there are scenes of anger and think that some of these may frighten them. I think that this is a great Christmas film and I would strongly suggest that if you can watch it, whether at Christmas or not, I certainly would. And if you can watch the film in HD or on a blu-ray DVD I would because it makes the characters pop out of the tv, it really brings them to life.

I think that the only other films this one can be compared to is the Harry Potter films, as they are family films, with elements of magic and adventure. I think that this film is probably one of the best family fantasy films on DVD at the moment, especially when watched on blu-ray DVD.

The one thing I would say to anyone who read The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman is if you are going to watch this film, do not compare it to the book and watch it with an open mind. The film does not particularly faithfully portray the story in the book, but it is still a great film.

For more information, why not try
Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385752/
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Compass_(film)

Hope to have helped, thanks for reading

©Expired-Account 

...less