The Golden Compass (2007)

In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.

Director:

Chris Weitz

Writers:

Chris Weitz (screenplay), Philip Pullman (novel)

Stars:

Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 32 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nicole Kidman	...	Mrs. Coulter
Daniel Craig	...	Lord Asriel
Dakota Blue Richards	...	Lyra
Ben Walker	...	Roger
Freddie Highmore	...	Pantalaimon (voice)
Ian McKellen	...	Iorek Byrnison (voice)
Eva Green	...	Serafina Pekkala
Jim Carter	...	John Faa
Tom Courtenay	...	Farder Coram
Ian McShane	...	Ragnar Sturlusson (voice)
Sam Elliott	...	Lee Scoresby
Christopher Lee	...	First High Councilor
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Stelmaria (voice)
Edward de Souza	...	Second High Councilor
Kathy Bates	...	Hester (voice)

Storyline

It was no ordinary life for a young girl: living among scholars in the hallowed halls of Jordan College and tearing unsupervised through Oxford's motley streets on mad quests for adventure. But Lyra's greatest adventure would begin closer to home, the day she heard hushed talk of an extraordinary particle. Microscopic in size, the magical dust--discovered in the vast Arctic expanse of the North--was rumored to possess profound properties that could unite whole universes. But there were those who feared the particle and would stop at nothing to destroy it. Catapulted into the heart of a terrible struggle, Lyra was forced to seek aid from clans, 'gyptians, and formidable armored bears. And as she journeyed into unbelievable danger, she had not the faintest clue that she alone was destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle...

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Plot Keywords:

orphan | parallel universe | quest | missing child | kidnapping | 

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Taglines:

There are worlds beyond our own - the compass will show the way.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of fantasy violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Icelandic Russian French

Release Date:

7 December 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

La brújula dorada

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$180,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$26,125,000, 9 December 2007

Gross USA:

$70,107,728

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$372,234,864

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Ingenious Film Partners, Scholastic Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the ice bears come from alternate-universe Norway, they speak with English accents, presumably because a Nordic accent wasn't considered imposing enough.

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Goofs

When Mrs. Coulter is about to deploy the small robotic bugs to seek out Lyra, she says, "They'll seek her out like bees to honey." Bees do not seek out honey, they seek out the nectar and pollen to make honey. Nonetheless, "like bees to honey" is an old expression based on the affinity of many bees for anything sweet, to which those with an unguarded hummingbird feeder can attest.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Serafina Pekkala: There are many universes and many Earths parallel to each other. Worlds like yours, where people's souls live inside their bodies, and worlds like mine, where they walk beside us, as animal spirits we call daemons.
Stelmaria: Are we going to see the child?
Lord Asriel: I should think so.
Serafina Pekkala: So many worlds. But connecting them all is Dust. Dust was here before the witches of the air, the Gyptians of the water, and the bears of the ice. In my world, scholars invented an alethiometer - a golden compass - and it...

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Crazy Credits

On the DVD, the FBI anti-piracy warning is displayed with the Magisterium logo and has the Magisterium building behind the warning as a watermark.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Bad Movies with Great CGI Effects (2019)

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Soundtracks

Lady in the Water
[Theme in the trailer for "The Golden Compass"]

User Reviews

An Unfinished Journey

I am among those who have not read the book and I found it to be initially confusing and boring but the film picks up after Lyra is taken into Mrs. Coultier's lavish house. The pace picks up but it may seem a little too rushed. The ending was sort of continuous, requiring a sequel. I would have liked to see the second movie but unfortunately, there is a rumour that it may not happen which is quite a pity because I thought 'The Golden Compass' was going somewhere. It is not the best movie of its kind but I thought it was not so bad either. The special effects are good. The characters are lively. I loved the daemons. It's got quite a stellar cast but only Nicole Kidman gets enough screen time to be noticed. Gorgeous, glamorous and deceitful, could not picture anyone else for the part of Mrs. Coultier. (I am almost sure that the rest were promised a lengthier role in the sequels). Daniel Craig only has about 15 minutes but he makes the best of it. Sam Elliot is funny. Dakota Blue Richards is a confident young actress and she carries off Lyra well. Overall I enjoyed the world that was created in this movie and the characters. Too bad that it's left incomplete.