Yay.

I read this series when I was young and I absolutely loved it and sometime later I found out there was to be a movie but I wasn't really paying much attention and then I forgot all about it :giggle: Now ... it's out :o

I was telling my mum and she said yeah I know there was an event about it on Blue Peter and Nicole Kidman's in it. Then she asked who Nicole Kidman was playing and I took a wild guess and said she was probably playing Lyra's mother xD My mum wanted to know if Nicole Kidman's character was good or bad since she hasn't read the books so I was like ... ummm ... it's complicated xD I said I could go into details but I didn't want to spoil her so she said ok then not to tell her incase she decided that she wanted to go see the movie.

So possibly me, my mum and my little sister if I can convince her into coming will go see the Golden Compass movie this Christmas season :dance:

Cheers! Hoorah! I love this book! Something my mother told me irritated me. She got an e-mail from a religious group demanding the banning of this movie claiming it spread the "atheist agenda". Well jeez! We never protested Narnia and that's Christian all over.

Be that as it may, can't wait for it.

I'm reading the Northern Lights right now, mostly because I saw the trailer for the Golden Compass and thought it looked really good. Enjoying the book so far, only up to chapter 7 though. Comes out on Wednesday so I have little chance of finishing it...I'll get as far as possible then report back my opinions. So far so good.

I go to Church, I pray at night. ...And I totally ADORE these books :P . Who says there have to be religious debates, or that it's my "moral duty"to hate them? They're books, made-up universes, I love the story, and that's that. :lol: Just because I read an author's books, doesn't mean I have to have his beliefs!

And I actually keep my His Dark Materials books next to my Narnia boxed set. Just for my amusement :giggle: I love both universes and can't stand any fandom bashing from either.

I also got my little brother into these books and we are both frothing at the mouth to go SEE IT come December 5! I love that Nicole Kidman is Mrs. Coulter...I know she'll do a great job, if those pics of her evil-ish come-hither looks is any indication. She looks perfect!
Though I'm a wee bit disappointed that they chose an old guy to be Lee Scoresby....for some reason, I was imagining some rough, 30-ish rugged-looking guy as the aeronaut; someone kind of Jack-Sparrow-esque

And since we're in a Cleris forum... Will and Lyra! Spoiler for the books: C'mon, you can't say that you didn't think "Cleris!", when they were forever separated! :sad: I don't have the book right now, but I remember several Clerisy quotables when they were saying goodbye...something about them seeking out each other even after death till their atoms find each other(okay, that sounds weird on a forum, but had me *bawling* during the actual scene). Also.."Midsummer's Day, for the rest of my life"... :cray: Garden of Everything , anyone? Aside from Cleris, they are the only other couple who that song reminds me of! End Spoiler

PS: Hey Mods, is it all right if I request a "No religious debates" warning for this thread?It's just that every single "Golden Compass" thread on imdb has turned into a bashing zone for believers and non-believers...I don't want that to happen here, when we're supposed to be discussing the movie. Thanks in advance!

That's a great idea, Kusari. Religious debate is something that should not be talking place outside of Lifestream topics, anyway.

Northern Lights is one of the set texts for my Children's Literature module at uni next semester. I haven't had chance to read it because I've been slogging my way through Dombey and Son for one of the other modules (I'm up to page 700 and something now, only another 200-odd pages to go, yay!) but it's first on my list once I'm done. I did notice it had great reviews on Amazon, so I've high hopes for it! I do want to see the film, if only for the hotness that is Daniel Craig, but me and my mother are seeing Stardust at the cinema next weekend, and there's no way I'm going anywhere near a shopping centre or high street after that, it'll be packed with Christmas shoppers, and I easily get irritated when there's crowds. I'll probably go see it after Christmas.

Sorry sorry sorry! :sweat:

Still, I can't wait. My dad used to read to me from this book when I was little. After we got through the Hobbit, Lord of The Rings, and Narnia I begged him for more so he read The Golden Compass. I was an annoying child! :lol:

Saw the movie today, completely loved it. My only annoyance was how they keep advertising the fact that Daniel Craig is in the movie but isn't really in it that much at all. Apart from that, wonderfully casted, acted, portrayed, brilliant soundtrack, great locations...fantastic.

Wow! How was Daniel Craig, Scott? I always thought he looked a bit too nice-guy to play the dark Lord Asriel :P And how was the girl playing Lyra, did she do justice to the character?

Edit: Holy crud, Neko, I only just realized that you were Kit! Good thing I skimmed through the Karma thread!

Don't worry. Everyone is confused. XD

I'm going to the library today to get another copy of the book. I would like to reread it before I go see it. My dad read it to me ten years ago for goodness sake.

Have you seen him as James Bond, Kusari? Dude, he's one badass 007. Definitely not Mr. Nice Guy in that film. I'm sixty pages into Northern Lights right now, and I can only visualise Asriel looking like Daniel Craig now. Not really a downside cause hey, Daniel Craig, but I'd have preferred to have been able to visualise the character without being influenced by the film. Although I now have to giggle a little when I think about Asriel, and then the scene in Casino Royale when Bond's walking out of the sea in his tight little shorts.

Daniel Craig was brilliant as Asriel. I'll point out right now that I'll be refering to the story in this post, so if you don't wanna know what happens, don't read :P

Daniel really perfected Asriel, I thought. Right down to looking sternly at Lyra even when she saved him from the poisoned alcohol at the beginning of the story. I was really pleased with his performance, even if he isn't it that much. Plus I think they gave him the little action scene because of how awesome he was as James Bond...they couldn't bring in Daniel Craig without making him hurt someone 007-style :P

As for Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra, again, loved her. I can't even think of any fault with her portrayal. She speaks exactly as Lyra does in the book, including "right"s into sentences which don't require them, and "en't." So I really think Dakota was the real standout of the movie.

Nicole Kidman was so creepy as Mrs Coulter. She has that twisted appearance and personality perfected. Another great performance.

I've thought it over and I'm finding it hard to fault the movie. They've taken out all references to the Catholic church and religion as a whole, which may annoy some people who are anti-censorship, but apart from that, I can't think of anything to complain about. And also, you know, it IS a trilogy, so don't expect a brilliant conclusion.

I just skimmed this topic since I fear spoilers from those that read the books already. XD; I really want to see this movie, it looks amazing. If I end up liking it I'm certainly going to pick the books up.

Yes, I have and he rocked!! :D No, Bond is not Mr. Nice-Guy-Next-Door, but he is definitely a good guy. Which...Lord Asriel is not, at least in the first book(in the next two books it's debatable, but I won't say more 'cos of spoilers ) But when I saw the Asriel poster, I just thought he looked more like a...wise, caring guardian figure than a calculating man on a mission. I dunno..there's something kindly about those deep-set eyes :P

(Oh, all right, and part of me is still thinking of him as Angelina Jolie's semi-goofy, co-explorer in "Tomb Raider :giggle:")

I saw this movie Friday night and I really enjoyed it. Though I do enjoy Narnia more.

I don't think this movie will convince any child to become athiest.

First of all, I don't think children would enjoy this movie. It was slow in some parts and the plot may be a bit hard for them to understand. The story did not seem like it would be geared toward children for some reason.

Another thing, it was PG-13 so I don't know if parents would take their children to take a PG-13 movie.

Any religious undertones would go right over a child's head anyway, and for the most part, I felt like the religious controversy parts could be interpreted in different ways.

Interestingly enough, I could see the people who are protesting this movie having a fit if they knew about the plot of Final Fantasy X which is very blunt in its treatment of religion. :lmao:

As the title says, can we keep the religious controversy stuff out of the topic and just talk about the book/film, Rinchan? For example, what did you like about the film? Were there any differences or things left out that you think should have been in there? How were the actors? Did the script stick to the book?

I haven't seen him in Tomb Raider, Kusari! How's his acting? I'd never heard of him before the big kerfuffle about how a blonde guy shouldn't be allowed to be James Bond oh noes! Mrs Coulter shouldn't be blonde either according to the book, zomg.

I was so used to Connery's smooth version of Bond that I was really surprised at the kind of 'cruel' (for lack of a better word) dimensions Craig brought to the character. I could definitely imagine him as Lord Asriel at the beginning of the book, glaring at Lyra. But you're right, cruelty aside, Bond is a hero whose heart is in the right place. :wub:

I know what you mean! I'm not complaining, of course, but I wonder how I would've pictured Lyra, Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter and everyone else if I hadn't seen the movie posters before reading the book. I haven't even watched the movie yet, but already I imagine Daniel Craig everytime Lord Asriel gets mentioned. :lol:

My brother didn't really like the movie, and I've yet to watch it myself. Maybe he was expecting too much James Bond, no thanks to all those adverts highlighting his appearance. :lol: They should say something like, "Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman... with more screentime in the sequel!"

But I did read the first book! Oh man, I loved it. I LOVED IT. :woot: Whoever really believes the age bracket for this book (Amazon had it as for 9 - 11-year olds, I think) needs to be... ahem, re-educated.

I love the bond Lyra has with Pan. It's hard to "get" what it's like to have/lose a daemon, since we don't have any such thing to compare, but Pullman's descriptions really make your heart wrench. Oh, when they found the Lost Boy... :cray: I definitely sniffled a little at that chapter. Never expected to see the poor thing again, but she found him, and the FISH, OH THE FISH. *drowns in incomprehensible non-spoiler blubber* :cray:

I can't decide who I like more, Lord Asriel or Mrs. Coulter. They are both such powerful characters. The gold monkey is creepy, though. (Speaking of which, that last part in the book between the leopard and the monkey? One of the reasons I think this book is definitely not just for kids. But who knows, kids can be remarkably perceptive... Was that scene in the movie too?)

I find myself going back and just re-reading the dialogue. All the "en't"s and misplaced "s", I'm so glad they kept them in the movie!

...I want the other two books. Nows. >_<

He was good and weaselly enough to have me doubt that he'd be a good Bond :giggle: It's quite a stretch, y'know, from having your butt saved by the lovely Angelina to bad-ass 007!

Ah you mean Tony Makarios? Yeah, I was expecting Lyra to run into him at Bolvangar or something but then...well, you know :sniffles: Don't you love it though, when she spoiler tries her damndest to give him a ceremony like the scholars' of Oxford?Putting that coin in his mouth and everything .spoiler

...Expect to use this :cray: icon a lot more when you get to the next two books Lynn!

I have not seen the movie but I hear that it...doesn't end the way the book did? No prob, I think The Subtle Knife is short enough so they can properly fit everything into a decent movie ^_^ Hmm, I wonder who they'll cast as Will Parry? I always imagined someone who looked like Narnia's Skandar Keynes.*points to sig*