The Golden Compass (review and discussion)

POSTED BY: Finn mac Cumhal
UPDATED: Thursday, October 30, 2008 19:58
VIEWED: 7084
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FINN MAC CUMHAL

Thursday, October 23, 2008 6:21 AM

Sequel to the Golden Compass seems to have been axed! That sucks. I was so looking forward to it.

Crap!!!

Quote:
Plans for a sequel to fantasy film The Golden Compass have reportedly been axed following a series of protests from the Catholic Church.

Scholars slammed the children's movie last year for being anti-God and anti-religion - and even officials at The Vatican stepped in to criticise the film, which stars Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman.

Now author Philip Pullman, who wrote the His Dark Materials trilogy the film was based on, has confirmed he has not been contacted over a follow-up, adding to industry speculation a second installment will not be made.

He says, "When the first film was in production, I was talking to the studio and to (writer/director) Chris Weitz and producers quite frequently. I'm sure I would be now if the sequel was in production."

But he admits he still has high hopes for another film: "I know everyone would like to see a sequel and I know I'd like to see it."

Film studio New Line Cinema is refusing to discuss the future of the trilogy.

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0263390/

Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.

Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.

-- Cicero

FREMDFIRMA

Thursday, October 23, 2008 11:23 AM

I've seen it and read the book, myself.

While I agree with HKC's "greatest hits" comment, there's only so much you can do with the story when you have to cram it into a movies time frame, and alas that moviegoers don't have a bit more patience, cause 30-40 minutes more would have allowed them to carry the story better.

They did a pretty good job with what they had to work with, and the characterization and casting was absolutely excellent, particularly Sam Elliot - the way the book is written, I just could NOT see anyone else playing the part.

*checks website*

Gee, my Daemon is feline, who didn't see THAT coming ?

-F

FREMDFIRMA

Thursday, October 23, 2008 11:27 AM

That's funny, cause the Archbishop of Canterbury actually liked the film, and it's message about choosing what to believe based on it's affects on your world, rather than what people tell you.

I think they're being oversensitive - cause any belief can be taken to such extremes if people let it happen, that's half the lesson of the book, if you ask me.

My niece, a free-spirited, brick-headed, willful sort (gee, I dunno where she gets it from..) loved the book, and particularly Lyra, who's every bit as much a freakin barbarian as she is, lol.

-F

FINN MAC CUMHAL

Thursday, October 23, 2008 2:04 PM

I can’t say I blame them. If you’re putting a 100 million or 200 million into a project that might end up brushing a majority of people the wrong way, you might end up taking a big loss. It’s a financial thing. I can’t hold it against them, because I might not want to put the investment in either, but I really, really liked the first one and so did the girls. It’s just a shame.

I think you’re probably right about being oversensitive. Ultimately I think the number of people who would actually be offended is much, much smaller then the number of people identified as “Christian.” Somewhere there is someone making a broad generalization about Christians, but with 200 million on the line, it’s easy to spread those generalizations out.

Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.

Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.

-- Cicero

STORYMARK

Thursday, October 23, 2008 8:49 PM

A bit late to the conversation, but anyway...

I liked it. Having not read the book, it felt like there was a lot that just got skimmed over, without being fleshed-out. But it was very, very imaginative. I really liked that it was a fully realized alternative world, that didn't rely on the standard cliches that tend to come with fantasy settings.

My only real problem was with the end, which I felt was a total let down. I realize the intent was to continue the story in sequels, but even then, it felt unsatisfying.

Probably not a good idea to end such a big, expensive movie in such a way, when there is no garuntee of a continuation (ala Lord of the Rings). And since this was the film that drove the final nail into the coffin of New Line Cinema, a follow-up, while not strictly impossible, is rather unlikely.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

FREMDFIRMA

Friday, October 24, 2008 2:48 AM

Quote:
And since this was the film that drove the final nail into the coffin of New Line Cinema, a follow-up, while not strictly impossible, is rather unlikely.

Yanno... to a browncoat, them's almost fightin words.

They said the same about our BDM as I recall, so while not *likely*, no... I would not set it out of the realm of possibility entire.

"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty"

-F

STORYMARK

Friday, October 24, 2008 5:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Quote:
And since this was the film that drove the final nail into the coffin of New Line Cinema, a follow-up, while not strictly impossible, is rather unlikely.

Yanno... to a browncoat, them's almost fightin words.

They said the same about our BDM as I recall, so while not *likely*, no... I would not set it out of the realm of possibility entire.

"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty"

-F

That's why I said, it's not impossible.

There has been talk of selling off the rights, most likely to a foreign film company, since the movie did better overseas than here, where is was pretty much a total bomb, financially speaking.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

IMNOTHERE

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 12:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Storymark:

My only real problem was with the end, which I felt was a total let down. I realize the intent was to continue the story in sequels, but even then, it felt unsatisfying.

Well, for some bizarre reason they shot the "proper" ending and then decided to cut it, resulting in a ridiculously short film (if kids will sit though two-and-a-half hours of Harry Potter). Presumably some test audience wanted a soft fluffy ending instead of the rather cruel twist at the end of the book. The proper ending is still very much "to be continued..." though.

I enjoyed it the first time, but I recently got the DVD on the second viewing it felt like they'd filmed the Reader's Digest Condensed version of the book (and STILL left bits out).

Anyway, if they don't get on with it soon, Lyra will be married with kids before they finish. Ah - maybe they're waiting for Lyra to be over 16 before tackling a certain aspect of the final book...

REGINAROADIE

Thursday, October 30, 2008 5:34 AM

I was really looking forward to this adaptation, since I had read the HIS DARK MATERIALS books as a kid and absolutely loved them. They were my HARRY POTTER before HARRY POTTER. So when I heard that this was being made, I was really hoping that it would be like a new LORD OF THE RINGS.

My final verdict is that they almost got it, but not quite. The casting of the characters (particularly Lyra and Mrs. Coulter), the daemon fx (I was so glad that this film beat out TRANSFORMERS and won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects) and the close fidelity to the book was spot on. And the armored bear fight was exactly how I imagined it as a child.

But the film failed to really leap off the screen for two reasons that show just how important editing is. The big reason is that the pacing of the film was too rushed. We may bemoan Peter Jackson for the three hour run times for each of the RINGS movies, but he was smart in that he took his time in exploring Middle Earth and introducing the characters so that we can identify with them and immerse ourselves into Middle Earth. With THE GOLDEN COMPASS though, we got the sense that the story was moving far too fast, the actors were saying their lines too quickly, and we were essentially speed reading. We got the gist, but not the subtleties. If they had slowed down and taken their time, the experience would have been much richer.

And the second big problem is them cutting out the ending of the book. We know it's there, we saw it in the trailers. And anyone whose read the book knows that the entire book had been leading up to that point. It's like ending THE DARK KNIGHT with The Joker hanging upside down and then going to credits and cutting out Jim Gordon confronting Harvey to save his family, the standoff between the two of them and Batman and Batman sacrificing his hero status to make himself look like a villain.

If there was ever a film that desperately needed a directors cut to fix these two problems, THE GOLDEN COMPASS is it.

And as for that certain element, it's a shame that the first one wasn't too successful (although the international gross has helped) and that we may never see THE AMBER SPYGLASS as a film. While the ethereal battle and the descent into the underworld would have been cool to see, it's Lyra and Will discovering love and sexuality and the loss of innocence that I really wanted to see. Because you never see that in kids movies nowadays. They're so sanitized to an astonishing degree that you can't have like a WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY or a STAND BY ME that worked as a cult film. You can't scare the shit out of them or have them confront the fact that childhood eventually ends and that bad shit happens. Spike Jonze did that with WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and now the film is being delayed over a year for various reasons, one of which is that in the test screenings, some kids cried and that got the studio really upset.

I think that there should be a kids film that deals with puberty and the slow emerging of sexuality, not done in a pedophiliac pervy way, but in a very cautious and subtle way that doesn't talk down to kids.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

STORYMARK

Thursday, October 30, 2008 7:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ImNotHere:

Anyway, if they don't get on with it soon, Lyra will be married with kids before they finish. Ah - maybe they're waiting for Lyra to be over 16 before tackling a certain aspect of the final book...

Pretty sure they're waiting untill they find someone willing to put up the money to make another.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

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