Stardust (2007)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Matthew Vaughn

Writers:

Jane Goldman (screenplay) &
Matthew Vaughn (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

This summer a star falls. The chase begins.

Plot:

In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.

Plot Keywords:

Star | King | Love | Magic | Ruby

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15	7:00 AM	TMC
Sun. Nov. 15	8:00 PM	TMC
Fri. Nov. 20	5:35 PM	TMC

Cast

Claire Danes	...	Yvaine
Ian McKellen	...	Narrator (voice)
Bimbo Hart	...	Young Scientist
Alastair MacIntosh	...	Victorian Academic
David Kelly	...	Guard
Ben Barnes	...	Young Dunstan
Kate Magowan	...	Slave Girl / Una
Melanie Hill	...	Ditchwater Sal
Charlie Cox	...	Tristan Thorn
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Lamia
Robert De Niro	...	Captain Shakespeare
Sienna Miller	...	Victoria
Henry Cavill	...	Humphrey
Nathaniel Parker	...	Dunstan Thorn
Darby Hawker	...	Grumpy Customer

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some fantasy violence and risque humor.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | UK:PG | Finland:K-11 | Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Portugal:M/6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:11 | Philippines:G | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Malaysia:U | Australia:PG | Iceland:10 (theatrical rating) | Iceland:7 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Apsley, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Release prints were delivered to theaters with the fake title 'Rusty'.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene with the young scientist at the beginning of the film we see a type-written letter. The narrator says that this is "150 years ago". Practical typewriters did not go on sale until around 1870.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: A philosopher once asked, "Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?" Pointless, really... ”Do the stars gaze back?" Now *that's* a question.

Movie Connections:

References Blade Runner (1982)

Soundtrack:

Slavonic Dances, Op.46: No.6 in D Major, Allegretto Scherzando

Provides more fun than all of the summer blockbusters put together

The 14 year-old in me is immensely happy that they're now able to make really good looking fantasy movies, and that they're all the rage, what with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia making loads of cash at the box office. This year will see (and already has seen) several more, most notably The Golden Compass, which has the most exciting trailer I've seen this year. Stardust, based on a novel by Neil Gaiman, showed up in theaters this week with little more than a peep. I saw no previews for it, only a couple of commercials. The critical reaction is kind of blah. I wouldn't even have seen it if not for the fact that I have to wait on a friend to see The Bourne Ultimatum, and that nothing else interesting opened this weekend. Well, if you'll forgive the horrible pun, the stars must have been rightly aligned, because I went to see Stardust, and I loved it. It's not a huge movie like Lord of the Rings. The plot line is your very basic fantasy quest (the hero sets out to look for a fallen star) filled with obstacles. But within that basic outline, the story is lively and imaginative. It's simply aiming to be a lot of fun, and a charming little romance. And it succeeds wonderfully. There were a lot of big films this summer, but none of them were nearly as fun as this one. There's a lot going on, but the story is told well and is almost entirely coherent. It isn't a masterpiece, but it definitely can occupy the same kind of ground that something like The Princess Bride has (though I don't like it quite as much as the earlier film). A lot of fun to be had here if you're a fan of the genre.