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The Golden Compass [Blu-ray] | ![The Golden Compass [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/615U8yaGAeL._SL500_.jpg)
| Directors: Chris Weitz, Anand Tucker
Actors: Kathy Bates, John Bett, Jim Carter, Tom Courtenay, Daniel Craig
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 43.99
Buy New: CDN$ 23.99
You Save: CDN$ 20.00 (45%)
New (12) Used (5) from CDN$ 23.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 6773
Format: Ac-3, Dolby, Ntsc, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Media: Blu-ray
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 1000038168
UPC: 794043120442
EAN: 0794043120442
ASIN: B00139XZF4
Theatrical Release Date: December 7, 2007
Release Date: April 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW!
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| Customer Reviews:
 The names were changed to protect the innocent May 5, 2008
Come to think if it the whole story is about protecting the innocent.
Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) was raised relatively unsupervised which lead to a wild child hood of mock-wars and mischievousness. An excellent liar who saves her from many situations, she may someday find her assets are liabilities. A chance visit by her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), will change her life for ever.
Well movies can not be the book and many times for brevity speeches are cut and locations are rearranged (from a 400 page book to a 110 page script.) But you have to draw the line some where. Unfortunately this is one of those times where they left the action in and changed the story form a multifaceted mystery to a black and white good guy vs. bad guy. We may as well have been watching Saturday afternoon cowboys with black and white hats. Some of the facets were skillfully woven into the non-verbal part of the film with the hope that you read the book and know what is happening. Still the focus switched from a coming of age story to free the slaves and what not. And what is with introducing a bad guy from the next installment to an earlier scene at Jordan collage that masking the turmoil of conciseness at the college?
I do agree that the movie needed to stop short of the cliffhanger end of the book. Let us see what happens when Lyra brings her father what he needs.
On the plus side, the costumes and props were excellent. The CGI did not overwhelm the story. Daemons knew their place. The music matched the scenes and did not overwhelm the dialog. They did a great job of choosing the actors. We can hope they will be around for "The Subtle Knife" (2009)." Nicole Kidman made a perfect Mrs. Coulter and the added scene where she slaps her monkey give hope to becoming more complex character. The voice of Iorek Byrnison (name changed) is Ian McKellen of "The Da Vinci Code" fame.
Well with any luck things may straighten out by the next installment.
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The Blu-ray comes with a bonus disk that has more footage on it than the movie its self. Watching this dark material and re-watching the film may give more insight to the story.
 Dust in the wind February 23, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)
1. A governing body called the Magesterium sets the rules and tells people what to think and when to think it.
2. Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) and Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) aren't very good at following rules.
3. In this world, a person's soul lives outside of their body in the form of an animal called a daemon.
4. Mrs. Coulter has one heck of an ugly soul, and a monkey on her back
5. Ashes to ashes is one thing, but when it's time for Dust it's a totally different matter
6. The Magesterium embarks on an ambitious "Save the Children" campaign
7. The result is an outbreak of separation anxiety and a bunch of missing kids
8. Lord Asriel sets off to get to the source of the Dust infestation
9. Mrs. Coulter tries to play Pygmalion with Lyra, but has her work cut out for her
10. Lyra is entrusted with the last surviving golden compass (alethiometer to those in the know) - no batteries required, but no instruction manual either.
11. Lyra sets off to find her missing friends with the help of the Gyptians (gypsies on water), witches (the pretty kind), an aeronaut (roguish Sam Elliot) and a cranky polar bear
12. A bear in need is a friend indeed
13. Bear fight!!!!!
14. Grand finale
15. Abrupt ending
I would recommend that you read the book before watching this, as the movie is merely a watered-down précis version and you'll have to fill in all the missing spaces yourself. What you'll get here is some average acting, but with lots of special effects and CGI for a very good viewing experience. Overall however, it's not so hot if you're going to be judging the book by its movie.
Book beats movie by a landslide. Rated: 3.5 stars
Amanda Richards
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