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The Golden Compass Feature Trailer (2007)

Feature trailer for The Golden Compass.

The Golden Compass is an exciting fantasy adventure, set in an alternative world where people's souls manifest themselves as animals, talking bears fight wars, and Gyptians and witches co-exist. At the center of the story is Lyra (played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards), a 12-year-old girl who starts out trying to rescue a friend who's been kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as the Gobblers - and winds up on an epic quest to save not only her world, but ours as well.

Feature trailer shows more of the armored bears, and improved effects on the daemons.

Original novelist Phillip Pullman and movie director Chris Weitz were both disappointed with the finished result of The Golden Compass. Weitz said the movie he made was cut beyond all recognition by New Line Cinema.

Despite having a prominent billing, Christopher Lee only has one line in the film.

Both Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen were cast at the insistence of New Line Cinema. Weitz had already cast Nonso Anozie in McKellen's role, and was forced to let him go.

Daniel Craig did all his own stunts in the film.

Pullman wanted Jason Isaacs for the role of Lord Asriel, eventually played by Craig.

The Golden Compass Feature Trailer Screencap

Fans of Phillip Pullman's fantasy adventure series, "His Dark Materials", will know that the books lend themselves perfectly to becoming films. Indeed, starting with The Golden Compass, the trilogy could easily have been a film franchise to rival Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, but that hasn't happened.

The reason for this is simply because New Line Cinema totally messed up with this adaptation. The Golden Compass tells the story of Lyra, who is led into a magical world where her possession of a Golden Compass causes her to be pursued by the evil Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman).

The trailer here makes the film look exciting, dangerous, gripping...everything one could hope for, except it isn't. Kidman actually gives a great performance as a villain; eerily icy cold yet terrifyingly charming all at the same time. Daniel Craig is also strong but the film misses its mark.

Owing to New Line's overbearing input, resulting in Weitz leaving the project, then another director quitting before Weitz was finally reinstated, The Golden Compass feels disjointed, the plot becomes muddled, the focus is lost to the CG enhancements and as an audience, we are left feeling nothing. As fans of the book will attest, this is not the fault of the writing.

Pullman writes beautifully, and has created an extensively detailed fantasy world. Weitz overcame significant obstacles, including being forced to alter his castings, to create what was probably a good attempt at a movie, but then New Line took it, cut it beyond recognition, and delivered something that then fell wildly short of people's expectations. It is sad, but hardly a surprise, that Pullman vetoed any other books in the franchise being made into movies by New Line. Fingers crossed that sometime in the future another production company does justice to his brilliant writing with a remake.

Duration
3 min 10 sec

Views
96,042

Posted On
October 10, 2007
Director
Chris Weitz

Writer
Chris Weitz

Studio
New Line Cinema

Release
December 7, 2007
Cast
Nicole Kidman
Eva Green
Daniel Craig
Dakota Blue Richards
Sam Elliott
Trailer Tracks
No Music Available
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