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The Golden Compass - Armoured Bears and...well...more bears.
Turner
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The Golden Compass:
"There are worlds beyond our own - the compass will show the way."
This movie is released this Friday, the 7th. As such, I figured we could get this thread rolling along a couple days prior.
Here is a fairly vague explanation of the novel the film is based on, hopefully without any spoilers:
Northern Lights is the first novel in the His Dark Materials trilogy, written by the British novelist Philip Pullman and published in 1995.
The superficial resemblance of protagonist Lyra Belacqua's alethiometer (depicted on the book's cover) to a large compass caused the North American publishers of Northern Lights to retitle the book The Golden Compass. In fact, The Golden Compasses was an early proposal for the name of the trilogy (instead of His Dark Materials), taken from Milton's Paradise Lost, where it refers to the drawing instrument, rather than the navigation instrument.
Northern Lights won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in the UK in 1995, and in 2007 it was selected by judges of the Carnegie Medal as one of the ten most important children's novels of the past 70 years. In recent times, however, there has been some controversy about the book's message regarding religion.
Here is a link to the rest of the Wikipedia entry for the novel [WARNING: Spoilers]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Lights_(novel)
The release of the film has garnered a fair amount of controversy, mainly due to the anti-religious sentiment that is omni-present throughout the novels. However, rumour has it that the anti-religious sentiment has been toned down for the film, mainly to avoid alienating any religious people out there.
Nonetheless, I have heard rumours of fairly adamant boycotting of the film. I have seen evidence in Facebook groups, but I will be interested in seeing if anything actually happens at theaters.
Here are some links regarding the whole anti-religion gig:
http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/382607.html
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=c5a2f901-5fc9-48d0-bb68-3e5b3fb2817b&k=95042
There are already a couple reviews up at RottenTomatoes.com:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/his_dark_materials_the_golden_compass/
However, most of them seem to be written by people who are unfamiliar with the novel(s). I know that I will be seeing this film no matter what critics say, but for those who are easily swayed by such rhetoric, the reviews are not so hot...as of now.
This film has a fairly 'star-studded' cast, with such notables as:
Ian McShane
Daniel Craig
Nicole Kidman
Christopher Lee
Ian McKellan (who voices the bear shown snarling above!)
...and...
Sam Elliot
Thanks go to the Geek for still hosting the two images I used in this OP.
Lastly, here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/newline/thegoldencompass/
Yeah, I am pretty excited. Anybody else planning on seeing it?
Please forgive my shitty OP.
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Reviews haven't been so kind.
I will probably see it anyway.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Seems like it would be pretty hokey to try and put that in a kid's film.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Are you asking how they are working the trilogy's take on religion into the movie?
If so, I think that is the whole reasoning behind toning down the religious aspects.
Supposedly, the movie was originally created with far more religious overtones but the studio came in and cut out a lot of those parts to help make the movie more marketable.
And technically, it isn't that there is no god, it is that
I actually just finished re-reading the whole series tonight.
Last time I read the books, I only read the first two, and it was right when they came out (so I was only 9 or so). I missed a lot of the religion, which made the books a far more poignant read this recent time.
I would highly recommend reading them again, especially if you were younger when you first read them.
I will be honest, the last book made me cry a little bit tonight. If that makes me gay, so be it.
if they were riding around on giant ground sloths my boner would be earth shattering
he pulls his sword out of a monster torso and it's clean
OH okay
They do it with subtlety.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
btw, the books = awesome
Who kills God?
Is he depicted like the white beard guy or is it like a big machine or something?
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Big glowing sphere.
Do they kill him/it on purpose?
Is it done by the bad guys or the good guys?
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
I dont know. Havent seen it.
I am informed by reliable sources that the whole religious tone of the books is massively downplayed in the film, so it becomes nigh on generic fantasy.
Why isnt it called Northern Lights either?
Still, Sam Elliot makes it instant win.
No, that's not true.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
I'm confused.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Christians have two settings: "Annoying" and "Rage out over nothing", they are currently on the later setting.
Because the Church (never called the Church in the film) are the bad guys.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Do the angels look cool in the movie?
Also, where do the angels come from then?
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
So...there is a god then?
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Secret Satan 2013 Wishlist
Anyway, books very very good, later I will report back with my findings
Also, I don't think God or any of his winged minstrels show up until book two at least. So probably none of that in this film.
I don't think Angels appear until The Subtle Knife, do they?
Also, I suspect this movie will be totally butchered.
You can agree or disagree with the message but anyone who can't see the blatant anti-religous (not really anti-christian, just anti-religion in general) tone of the novels wasn't paying much attention.
There is a RIVAL BEAR
Hmm maybe I will see this.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Oh, the newscast I heard said that it promotes "atheism" so I am guessing they are just lumping anti-any sort of religion as atheism now.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Yeah, I meant until i finished the series lol.
But yes, if they are going to be 'toning down' the anti-organized religion theme within the movies, they will be butchered terribly, and I think my faith in mankind will finally be ultimitely shattered
Pullman himself is a hugely outspoken atheist and has been quoted as saying "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief." Those words may only have been meant to stir controversy and boost book sales but calling him and his work anti-religious is pretty accurate.
Pan is just so damn cute!