Film Critique for “the Golden Compass”
Film Critique for “The Golden Compass”
Andrea Sparks
ENG 225
Instructor Moore
May 28, 2012
Film Critique for “The Golden Compass” The Motion Picture of “The Golden Compass” is based on Philip Pullman’s novel “Northern Lights” (The first part in his novel trilogy “His Dark Materials”) and was rated pg-13 (indicating that the material within the film could be unsuitable for children under the age of thirteen (Murray, 2012)), the movie was released to theaters in December of 2007. This movie has been categorized as a Family, fantasy adventure (Carraro & Weitz, 2007); however, there have been serious debates about the religious aspects of the story, whether or not it should be geared for younger audiences and how the film eviscerated the novel’s version of the story’s backbone (Rotten Tomatoes, 2012). I will be reviewing all aspects of the movie including the storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style and directing, impact of society on the film and vice versa, the genre and the overall textural themes to get a full understanding of the film and to show that in a whole, it was a very good story and was a fun movie to watch. The director’s vision of the story is how a film comes to life. “Their purpose is not simply to help the writer tell the story but also to make the audience care about the story by giving the story meaning” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011, sec. 2.5 para. 1). This film’s story is about a girl named Lyra Belacqua (played by Dakota Blue Richards) who is about twelve years old. Residing in a universe parallel to our own ruled by the Magisterium, people’s spirits reside on the outside of their bodies and walk beside them as companions in the form of animals (the type of animals depends on the person) known as “Daemons”. Lyra was brought up as an orphan living amongst scholars at the Jordan College in Oxford. Lyra’s need for adventure hits a little
Andrea Sparks
ENG 225
Instructor Moore
May 28, 2012
Film Critique for “The Golden Compass” The Motion Picture of “The Golden Compass” is based on Philip Pullman’s novel “Northern Lights” (The first part in his novel trilogy “His Dark Materials”) and was rated pg-13 (indicating that the material within the film could be unsuitable for children under the age of thirteen (Murray, 2012)), the movie was released to theaters in December of 2007. This movie has been categorized as a Family, fantasy adventure (Carraro & Weitz, 2007); however, there have been serious debates about the religious aspects of the story, whether or not it should be geared for younger audiences and how the film eviscerated the novel’s version of the story’s backbone (Rotten Tomatoes, 2012). I will be reviewing all aspects of the movie including the storytelling, acting, cinematography, editing, sound, style and directing, impact of society on the film and vice versa, the genre and the overall textural themes to get a full understanding of the film and to show that in a whole, it was a very good story and was a fun movie to watch. The director’s vision of the story is how a film comes to life. “Their purpose is not simply to help the writer tell the story but also to make the audience care about the story by giving the story meaning” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2011, sec. 2.5 para. 1). This film’s story is about a girl named Lyra Belacqua (played by Dakota Blue Richards) who is about twelve years old. Residing in a universe parallel to our own ruled by the Magisterium, people’s spirits reside on the outside of their bodies and walk beside them as companions in the form of animals (the type of animals depends on the person) known as “Daemons”. Lyra was brought up as an orphan living amongst scholars at the Jordan College in Oxford. Lyra’s need for adventure hits a little
References: Carraro, B. (Producer), & Weitz, C. (Director). (2007). The Golden Compass [motion picture]. Retrieved may 10, 2012 from http://www.movie2k.to/movies.php?list=search&securekey=sk979966957&search=The+ Golden+Compass Clemmensen, C Connolly, K. (2011). Editor Anne V. Coates - From Lawrence of Arabia to Erin Brockovich. Retrieved May 24, 2012 from http://film- makersinconversation.blogspot.com/2011/05/editor-anne-v-coates-from-lawrence-of.html Edwards, G FoxNews.com. (2007). Christian Groups Claim Pro-Atheist 'Stealth Campaign ' in Nicole Kidman Fantasy Film 'The Golden Compass '. Retrieved May 14, 2012 from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,305487,00.html Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C.P IMDB. (2012). Full Cast and Crew of The Golden Compass. Retrieved May 13, 2012 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385752/fullcredits#cast Levy, E Lewis, K. (2010). COATES of Many Colors The Varied Career of Anne V. Coates. Retrieved May 24, 2012 from https://www.editorsguild.com/magazine.cfm?ArticleID=831 Miller, G Murray, R. (2012). How Does a Film Earn Its Rating? Retrieved May 13, 2012 from http://movies.about.com/od/miscellanous/f/film-ratings.htm Nissim, M Rotten Tomatoes. (2012). Critic Reviews for The Golden Compass. Retrieved May 13, 2012 from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/