Stardust (2007)

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.

Director:

Matthew Vaughn

Writers:

Jane Goldman (screenplay), Matthew Vaughn (screenplay)

Stars:

Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller

5 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian McKellen	...	Narrator (voice)
Bimbo Hart	...	Young Scientist
Alastair MacIntosh	...	Victorian Academic
David Kelly	...	Guard
Ben Barnes	...	Young Dunstan Thorn
Kate Magowan	...	Slave Girl / Una
Melanie Hill	...	Ditchwater Sal
Charlie Cox	...	Tristan Thorn
Sienna Miller	...	Victoria
Henry Cavill	...	Humphrey
Nathaniel Parker	...	Dunstan Thorn
Darby Hawker	...	Grumpy Customer
Frank Ellis	...	Mr. Monday
Peter O'Toole	...	King
Mark Strong	...	Septimus

Storyline

The passage from this world to the fantasy kingdom of Stormhold is through a breach in a wall beside an English village. In the 1800s, a boy becomes a man when he ventures through the breach in pursuit of a fallen star, to prove his love for the village beauty. The star is no lump of rock, it's a maiden, Yvaine. Tristan, the youth, is not the only one looking for her: three witches, led by Lamia, want her heart to make them young; and, the sons of the dead king of Stormhold want her because she holds a ruby that will give one of them title to the throne. Assisting Tristan are his mother, the victim of a spell, and a cross-dressing pirate of the skies. Will Tristan win his true love?

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Plot Keywords:

transformation | shooting star | witchcraft | race against time | kidnapping | 

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Taglines:

This summer a star falls. The chase begins.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some fantasy violence and risque humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Spain] Paramount Pictures [United States]

Country:

UK USA Iceland

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 August 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stardust, le mystère de l'étoile

Filming Locations:

Kinlochewe, Highland, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,169,779, 12 August 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,634,938, 25 October 2007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$135,560,026, 14 September 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Marv Films, Vaughn Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS (Digital DTS Sound)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film has celestial imagery like the moon and the stars, immortality and crossing thresholds to other worlds, which are all themes of author Neil Gaiman.

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Goofs

After realizing Yvaine can't cross the wall we see Tristan running down the street. One shot is of him from the front, and the dust and a tyre track (presumably from the camera rig he is chasing) is briefly visible.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

After the end of the credits, the pirates can be heard growling again.

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Connections

References The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)

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Soundtracks

Can Can
From "Orpheus In The Underworld"
Written by Jacques Offenbach

User Reviews

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.