Golden Compass: Book to Movie, Did you love it or hate it? |
 Mar 19 2008, 08:13 AM
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One Half of the DDD  Posts: 8,952 Joined: 5:31pm August 30, 2006 Location: Siriusly Dreaming Somewhere   |
Movie versions of favourite books aren't always as we expect them to be. When reading, most people conjure up images of the characters, the landscape, costume, etc and sometimes what we see on the screen very much agrees with our imagination, at other times its very different, which can be a pleasant surprise or a disappointment.
 How well do you think the Golden Compass movie told the story? There are some wonderful characters in this story, Mrs Coulder, Farder Coram, Serafina Pekala, John Fas, Lord Asriel, Iorek Byrnison and, of course, Lyra Belacqua - do you think the movie introduced the characters sufficiently? What did you think of the way the plot was interpreted, did it have all the essential elements of the story? Did you agree with the way the ending of the movie was changed from the book? Why do you think that was done? Special effects were widely used to create the daemons, the armoured bears, to illustrate the alethiometer's way of providing answers, etc. How well do you think these were done, were you impressed, were they believable, could they have been done better?    How well do you think the movie compared with screen versions of other favourite books? Is it a given that movie versions are often not as good as the books and do you think. Are you disappointed if they're not as good or do you accept that they are different art forms and should be viewed differently? This post has been edited by Dreamteam: Mar 21 2008, 12:01 PM --------------------  March's Book Nook: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge/Skellig by David Almond "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" |
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Mar 22 2008, 09:25 AM
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Waiting for Wednesdays  Posts: 9,229 Joined: 7:57am January 28, 2005 Location: Hiding from Hurricanes  |
I rarely like it when my favorite books are turned into films, this is no exception.
The actors were wonderful, and truly seemed to fit the parts they portrayed, I liked the daemons, but the bears reminded me of those cute bears on the coke commercials we see at Christmas. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was not what I received. I think the thing I disliked most was what we didn't see in the movie. Like most wonderful books, I don't want one piece of punctuation cut. I felt like the book's daemon was cut from the movie, it seemed to miss the spark I wanted. --------------------  My Avon Breast Cancer Walk Page and Blog! I'm In It to End It! |
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Mar 22 2008, 09:52 AM
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Neville's Personal Dietitian  Posts: 659 Joined: 2:20pm September 22, 2007 Location: Hiding in Ron Weasley's wardrobe, waiting to jump out at him and trying not to laugh too loudly =P |
I thought they did an ok job of the film - the special effects were amazing and the acting was generally pretty good, but I have a big problem with the ending. I can't understand why they would end it there - it's such a bad place!! The ending of the book was great because it was such a cliffhanger for the next book, but I was really unimpressed with the place they chose to end the film. Why couldn't they just make the film a few minutes longer? Does this mean that because there is still part of this book to show in the next film (assuming there is one), are they going to cut out some of The Subtle Knife's plot?
I agree with Doris actually, the bears don't look fierce enough. And I think this was probably me being wrong, but I always imagined them as brown. Now that I think about it though, it makes no sense! I didn't think the spirit of the daemons (particularly Pan) was really captured and I don't remember them changing form very often in the film. It has been a few years since I've read the book, but I got the impression that Pan was constantly changing form. One good thing though - Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter  She was the perfect choice for the role!So overall, I think the film was simply ok. The book is definitely better, but then again I wasn't really expecting to enjoy the film more than the book. This post has been edited by MuggleQueen: Mar 22 2008, 09:54 AM --------------------
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Mar 22 2008, 12:19 PM
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Leaky Cauldron Napkin Folder Posts: 3,417 Joined: 3:30pm April 5, 2007 Location: In my Gringott's vault. The ride made me kind of....*turns green* |
I thought the movie was great! When I watch a movie that's from a book, I don't look for the book turned word for word into a movie. I look for a good movie, that follows the general plot of the book, and I thought that it did a very good job of that. I do, however, wish that they had gone on a bit further with the movie, and gone on to Roger's death, and the opening of the divide between Lyra's world and the world of Citigazze. I think that would have been a much better place to end it than the current one.
I think the acting was good! Especially that of Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, and Daniel Craig. Oh, and I think those roles were cast perfectly. Nicole Kidman is a perfect Mrs. Coulter.  All in all, a good movie!
-------------------- "If you believed as he did. Could you take away his soul?" ~Carlisle, New Moon   Thanks to {{voldy}} for the awesome siggies! |
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Mar 22 2008, 01:03 PM
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Chief Mischief-Maker  Posts: 8,572 Joined: 5:07pm January 28, 2005 Location: The Marauder's Map never lies ... |
To be honest, much as I enjoyed The Golden Compass, it left me feeling slightly underwhelmed.
The characters were portrayed very well by the actors ... Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman were both excellent and Dakota Blue Richards made a really good Lyra. I loved Iorek and of course the special effects were good, but I just felt as if something indefinable was missing - that little extra something which would have made the film into something fabulous. I tend to agree with MuggleQueen - I don't think they captured the spirits of the daemons particularly well - they were a bit flat and lacking in magical quality, if that makes any sense. All in all, I much prefer the books - and you'll all need to bear with me because I can't get my head round The Golden Compass when I'm talking about the book, so it's Northern Lights for me!
-------------------- Proud Gryffindor
  and OPAST member"Hallows," murmured Dumbledore, "not Horcruxes. Precisely."  |
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Mar 22 2008, 01:19 PM
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WhizzHard Books Copy Editor Posts: 2,185 Joined: 4:31pm October 9, 2006 Location: At Swamp Bottom, making thread. |
the film was ok- i dont expect ill watch it again unless its on tv over christmas or something though. i do remember leaving the cinema and saying to my sister though-what? but he's not dead? i was very suprised that the film stopped where it did! it makes me wonder where the second one will start...?
edit- also as a british viewer i was annoyed that they left us with the american title- but seeing as how there where no northern lights at the end, maybe golden compass was more suited (that its not a golden compass at all but an altheometer is an entirely different conversation in and of itself!) This post has been edited by shadow_onthesun: Mar 22 2008, 01:23 PM -------------------- Leakys British thread has grown too big for the lounge! Join us HERE for Brit talk, and random Potter-ing  |
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Mar 22 2008, 02:53 PM
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Resident Tonks Expert Posts: 1,862 Joined: 9:46pm February 3, 2006 Location: In the clouds  |
Well, I don't know how many times I've talked about this .... but here we go again.
At first I hated it, but then I watched it again and liked it a bit more. I'm ok with it, but I think they really messed up of the arrangement of the last part. Hated that they cut the ending, cuz that was my favorite part, and also disliked some of the dialogue. It was cheesy and choppy. I thought the overall acting was great, though. Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Dakota Blue Richards were all fantastic ... wish there would have been more Daniel though.  I'm really worried about the next two. I want them to make them, specially now that New Line belongs to WB and they might be able to make things a bit better for the series, but at the same time I'm worried that if they do make them, that the might screw them up even more. And that's something that we don't need. I will say this, though. If they do decide to NOT make the next two, and they don't show us that extended version of the first film, I will cry with anger. 
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Mar 22 2008, 05:24 PM
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Waiting for Wednesdays Posts: 9,229 Joined: 7:57am January 28, 2005 Location: Hiding from Hurricanes |
QUOTE(shadow_onthesun @ Mar 22 2008, 01:19 PM)  edit- also as a british viewer i was annoyed that they left us with the american title- but seeing as how there where no northern lights at the end, maybe golden compass was more suited (that its not a golden compass at all but an altheometer is an entirely different conversation in and of itself!) As an American viewer I was annoyed with the name too, so don't feel alone. I've never been sure why they changed the name of the book over here, it makes more sense to be The Northern Lights. Yes - the altheometer is a compass to the truth, but well I just don't get it. (see why I'm not a huge book exec somewhere!  )The ending is something I'm truly puzzled with, so I need to see the next movie and see why it ended the way it did. The Subtle Knife is scheduled to be released in movie form in 2009. (IMDB) Plot line from Subtle Knife under spoiler tag ...... I can wait to see who will play Will. -------------------- My Avon Breast Cancer Walk Page and Blog! I'm In It to End It! |
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Mar 22 2008, 05:31 PM
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Leaky Cauldron Napkin Folder Posts: 3,417 Joined: 3:30pm April 5, 2007 Location: In my Gringott's vault. The ride made me kind of....*turns green* |
QUOTE(DorisTLC @ Mar 22 2008, 05:24 PM) QUOTE(shadow_onthesun @ Mar 22 2008, 01:19 PM) edit- also as a british viewer i was annoyed that they left us with the american title- but seeing as how there where no northern lights at the end, maybe golden compass was more suited (that its not a golden compass at all but an altheometer is an entirely different conversation in and of itself!) As an American viewer I was annoyed with the name too, so don't feel alone. I've never been sure why they changed the name of the book over here, it makes more sense to be The Northern Lights. Yes - the altheometer is a compass to the truth, but well I just don't get it. (see why I'm not a huge book exec somewhere! )The ending is something I'm truly puzzled with, so I need to see the next movie and see why it ended the way it did. The Subtle Knife is scheduled to be released in movie form in 2009. (IMDB) Plot line from Subtle Knife under spoiler tag ...... I can wait to see who will play Will.  I did love all of the CGI in the movie...they did a really good job with that. -------------------- "If you believed as he did. Could you take away his soul?" ~Carlisle, New Moon Thanks to {{voldy}} for the awesome siggies! |
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Mar 22 2008, 10:50 PM
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Perusing the Magical Menagerie Posts: 85 Joined: 9:04am March 11, 2007 Location: Uruguay, Montevideo |
I think the movie was good, but It could have been better.
I love all the actors, but I think the movie had a lot of shorts scenes, they introduced and took out characters too fast. About the end: When they sowed the original end, in the test screenings, some peolple thought that Lyra died, when she walked through the "portal". For that they decided to move that to the begining of the subtle knife. Besides all the movie is about Lyra going to save Roger, if at the end of the movie Roger would have die, the ones who aren´t fans of the book would be dissapointed. |
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Mar 23 2008, 12:10 AM
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Iconista Posts: 1,291 Joined: 11:35pm January 7, 2007 Location: Forks |
the acting and the overall look of the film was really pretty much great but they changed too many things! everything from billy loosing his daemon to the witches flying without their pine branches... i could have been fine with the whole backing off on the religious part of the story if they didn't mess such simple things up.
ETA: how could i forget what bugged me the most!! that nicole kidman didn't dye her hair BLACK the smallest stupidest thing ever would have done a world of difference for me marissa had sleek black hair it really kind of made her character for me and such a simple thing all you needed was a wig or dye this is what it made me feel like: SJOFNOSNFUANQJWPYQSADJ)*#JNERWF#I!!INIE!!N!N!JKLKLSP{S{} This post has been edited by theonlysong: Mar 23 2008, 12:13 AM -------------------- |
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Mar 23 2008, 12:22 AM
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Leaky Cauldron Napkin Folder Posts: 3,417 Joined: 3:30pm April 5, 2007 Location: In my Gringott's vault. The ride made me kind of....*turns green* |
QUOTE(theonlysong @ Mar 23 2008, 12:10 AM) the acting and the overall look of the film was really pretty much great but they changed too many things! everything from billy loosing his daemon to the witches flying without their pine branches... i could have been fine with the whole backing off on the religious part of the story if they didn't mess such simple things up. I thought they were holding their cloud-pine? Weren't they? ETA: how could i forget what bugged me the most!! that nicole kidman didn't dye her hair BLACK the smallest stupidest thing ever would have done a world of difference for me marissa had sleek black hair it really kind of made her character for me and such a simple thing all you needed was a wig or dye this is what it made me feel like: SJOFNOSNFUANQJWPYQSADJ)*#JNERWF#I!!INIE!!N!N!JKLKLSP{S{}  Serafina Pekala. O, and I agree about the hair colour for Mrs. Coulter. It's such an easy thing to do...how could they just completely forget, or ignore that when it's such an easy thing to gert right.  -------------------- "If you believed as he did. Could you take away his soul?" ~Carlisle, New Moon Thanks to {{voldy}} for the awesome siggies! |
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Mar 23 2008, 09:55 AM
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Ollivander's Phoenix Feather Plucker  Posts: 4,232 Joined: 9:37am January 29, 2005 Location: In Ammoro, where the hearts are pure, and filled with love |
I think compared to other book to movie realeases like Eragon, A series of Unfortunate Events, and Blood and Chocolate that have come out recently that this one was amazing. I agree that the ending was almost blasphemous of them, but i agree with what has been previously said in regards to the actors. Now that they have switched studios im a bit worried... one of the biggest problems with the harry potter movies is the incosistency with directors, and im worried this might make subtle knife radically different than the northern lights/golden compass.
-------------------- of course it is happening inside your head Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"
I am Hans. Proud CoC staff member. I SUPPORT JO ROWLING. No Day But Today.Harry Potter does not bow down to Edward Cullen |
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Mar 23 2008, 01:18 PM
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Iconista Posts: 1,291 Joined: 11:35pm January 7, 2007 Location: Forks |
QUOTE(sherman @ Mar 23 2008, 01:22 AM) QUOTE(theonlysong @ Mar 23 2008, 12:10 AM) the acting and the overall look of the film was really pretty much great but they changed too many things! everything from billy loosing his daemon to the witches flying without their pine branches... i could have been fine with the whole backing off on the religious part of the story if they didn't mess such simple things up. I thought they were holding their cloud-pine? Weren't they? ETA: how could i forget what bugged me the most!! that nicole kidman didn't dye her hair BLACK the smallest stupidest thing ever would have done a world of difference for me marissa had sleek black hair it really kind of made her character for me and such a simple thing all you needed was a wig or dye this is what it made me feel like: SJOFNOSNFUANQJWPYQSADJ)*#JNERWF#I!!INIE!!N!N!JKLKLSP{S{} Serafina Pekala. O, and I agree about the hair colour for Mrs. Coulter. It's such an easy thing to do...how could they just completely forget, or ignore that when it's such an easy thing to gert right. No, I believe that is her bow and arrow not her cloud pine. She's just floating on through the air on her own free will. Unless suddenly their bows are their way of flying? bleh
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Mar 23 2008, 02:19 PM
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Official Singer of the Sorting Hat Song Posts: 6,606 Joined: 3:12pm July 22, 2005 Location: Lost in Hermione's beaded bag |
The movie was way too short. I'm not sure what went wrong with the producers confidence. I mean, the HP movies and the LOTR movies are all way longer. I can only hope they actually shot the material and will come out with an extra long DVD. But I thought the look and feel and the performances were perfect. It just was way, way too short.
-------------------- Come the words that bubble
Up through broken laughter, Sweeter than spring-water, "Gods, I am so happy!" |
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Mar 24 2008, 07:29 PM
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Knight Bus Driver in Training Posts: 555 Joined: 7:21am April 18, 2006 Location: I'll let you know when I find out! |
Most of the people they cast for the film were perfect, in particular Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra, Daniel Craig as Asriel, Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter and Eva Green as Serafina (though I was a little dubious about her at first). But the stroke of genius was Sam Elliott as Lee Scoresby. I imagined him a slight bit younger when I read the books, but he just embodies the sort of texan western movie character. They couldn't have picked someone better. Having said that, I didn't like John Faa or Farder Coram much, for some reason. And I thought the Master should have been older with a wiser air about him.
The look of the film was good too. It was different from how I imagined it. I saw it all a bit more victorian, looking rather forbidding and... oppressive, I guess. But I rather liked what they did with the film; there seemed to be a bit of a mix between edwardian england with futuristic elements in it. And the recreation of London was gourgeous! davidenglish I agree with what you said about it being too short. The problem with it is that there was far too many restrictions by the studio. I kept a very close watch for news about it during its production, and have heard lots of stories about how it was cut. The first and most significant relates to the end of the film, where the last three chapters were removed, because the studio was worried that the ending was too depressing for a family audience, and that they were worried people would misunderstand the bit where Lyra walks into an other world. I actually heard a rumour that by the end of the production, it was basically a studio executive who was cutting the film to do last minute changes... and considering the history of this production, I'm not surprised. The film should have been, at the very least, half an hour longer, just to get a better feel for Lyra's world. I think it had some of the same problems the HP films have - it was cut down to the bare bones of the plot, and all the smaller, intimate moments were either cut or were simply not long enough (one of my favourite scenes is when Lyra is chatting away to Iorek about nothing in particular, and it really struck me, because she just came across as a young girl who was trying to impress this big strong bear. It wasn't particularly important, but just helped to give the relationship with Lyra and Iorek more depth). I wish they had included all the more controversial aspects of the film, because it was going to cause trouble anyway, and the people who protested against it were never going to watch the film anyway, so they might as well just done it properly. And because they were just too cowardly to do it, we are left with a good film that could have been great. |
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Mar 24 2008, 09:33 PM
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Leaky Cauldron Napkin Folder Posts: 3,417 Joined: 3:30pm April 5, 2007 Location: In my Gringott's vault. The ride made me kind of....*turns green* |
QUOTE(theonlysong @ Mar 23 2008, 01:18 PM) QUOTE(sherman @ Mar 23 2008, 01:22 AM) I thought they were holding their cloud-pine? Weren't they? Serafina Pekala. O, and I agree about the hair colour for Mrs. Coulter. It's such an easy thing to do...how could they just completely forget, or ignore that when it's such an easy thing to gert right. No, I believe that is her bow and arrow not her cloud pine. She's just floating on through the air on her own free will. Unless suddenly their bows are their way of flying? bleh Why couldn't they include such a simple thing?? -------------------- "If you believed as he did. Could you take away his soul?" ~Carlisle, New Moon Thanks to {{voldy}} for the awesome siggies! |
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Mar 25 2008, 06:38 AM
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Neville's Personal Dietitian Posts: 659 Joined: 2:20pm September 22, 2007 Location: Hiding in Ron Weasley's wardrobe, waiting to jump out at him and trying not to laugh too loudly =P |
QUOTE(Miss_Talons @ Mar 25 2008, 12:29 AM) we are left with a good film that could have been great. I totally agree, and I like the way you said it! I wish it had been longer too, but hopefully the cut scenes will appear on the DVD. I also agree about there not being much of a feel for Lyra's world. I think that the non-readers will not be so amazed and fascinated by the differences between her world and our world as I'm sure most of the readers were (myself included). I did have higher expectations of the film though, but hopefully I will be won over by the next film! They will have to do a much better job though 
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Mar 25 2008, 11:21 AM
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Gringotts Goblin Translator Posts: 1,222 Joined: 5:46pm April 7, 2007 Location: On a date with the giant squid |
I actually thought it was pretty good, considering the complex nature of the novel. I loved the acting especially Nicole Kidman and the actress that played Lyra. I didn't mind about Nicole's hair in the film, I actually pictured Marissa with gold hair...maybe because of her golden monkey. I thought she looked perfect. I also loved the costuming. However, it wasn't amazing because they left things out and changed the order of some things. However, some of the changes were made because it was easier on the studio. Did you think that they honestly would cast someone to play Tony when they already had someone to play Billy? Also I liked how they switched the fighting with the bears and the breaking out of Gobblers center...it made it much more climatic. I actually thought the film was better adapted than the HP films... of course I wish they would have kept more of the religious stuff in the movie, but that would have just upset even more people and Nicole Kidman might not have been in it...
-------------------- *Avatar baulid *
There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that lifted Hermione off her feet. Page 625 |
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Apr 10 2008, 12:09 AM
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Being Eaten by the Pea Soup Posts: 23 Joined: 3:28am April 9, 2008 Location: England |
Uck i absolutely HATED the movie adaption, i was actually angry after leaving the cinema as i don't think i could read Northern Lights again having watched the movie! I had high expectations entering the cinema, what with the all-star cast and huge budget but was immensely disappointed.
The film wasn't true to the book, the characters weren't anything as i imagined, the film didn't really seem to get GOING, the dialogue was terrible and shallow, you couldn't empathize with ANY of the characters at all, it was just terrible in my opinion. I liked Nicole Kidman though, she was good
-------------------- JustLikeMagic... |
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Apr 10 2008, 10:55 AM
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Smart Cookie  Posts: 3,340 Joined: 1:26am September 30, 2006 Location: Somewhere in time and space |
Well, first off, I must say that I actually saw the film before reading the book, so, it couldn't really ruin anything for me
Anyway, I really like this film, though after reading the book, I must agree that they didn't capture something about daemons, also I think, some of the dialog is a bit off, or something. However, I think, most of the cast are just perfect for the roles! Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, the actress who played Serafina Pekkala (spelling?) and Nicole Kidman - and I actually like that her Mrs Coulter is fair-haired. Of course, had I read the book first, I might think differently, but now even as I read, I imagined Mrs Coulter as played by Nicole Kidman. Oh, and yeah - Lee Scorbesby is so perfect, too - his accent is almost hypnotizing me  After reading the book, I find it strange that they decided to end the film in that particular place, but I don't think I mind it much. -------------------- Images from yumeiro, so_severus, iwant_sprinkles @LJ.
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Apr 10 2008, 05:23 PM
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Monster Book Stacker Posts: 389 Joined: 9:55pm December 16, 2007 Location: Yes. |
I'm probably one of the few HDM fans who really enjoyed the film. XD True, there were omissions, things out of chronological order, but that happens with all adaptations, and I've come to realize that accuracy doesn't really make a movie perfect anyway. Nicole Kidman was amazing; Dakota Blue Richards was pretty great as well, for a newcomer. Special effects were fantastic. I really liked the atmosphere and the general feel of the film. I was a bit upset at the changed aspects of the film, and felt they could've added at least another half hour to the movie (it was just under two hours, which isn't really that much). But I still enjoyed the film a lot. =)
QUOTE(Mary Wanguard @ Apr 10 2008, 11:55 AM) After reading the book, I find it strange that they decided to end the film in that particular place, but I don't think I mind it much. They actually filmed the entire scene that happens at the end of the book. (If you look at the trailer, you can see some footage of the sky splitting and suchlike.) However, it was omitted, and, should production for The Subtle Knife be greenlit, they plan on putting that scene in the beginning of it. There were various reasons for this idea. *shrugs* -------------------- [Sig image removed.]
{{ Some men just want to watch the world burn. }} |
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