The Golden Compass (New Line)

The Golden Compass (2007)
Director & Screenplay: Chris Weitz, based on the novel “Northern Lights” by Phillip Pullman
Starring: Dakota Blue Richards, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Ben Walker, Jim Carter, Ian McKellen (voice), Ian McShane (voice), Freddie Highmore (voice), Kathy Bates (voice), Kristin Scott Thomas (voice)
Release company: New Line Home Entertainment
DVD release date: April 28, 2008
Rating: PG-13

Screen format: NTSC; color

Running Time: 113 minutes

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen

Audio: English 6.1 DTS-ES Discrete / English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX / English 2.0 stereo
Subtitles / Closed Captions: English closed captions / English subtitles / Spanish subtitles
Chapters: 20
Do Previews Play Upon Disc Insertion? Yes (Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D and the World Wildlife Fund); both are skippable with the “menu” or “next chapter” buttons

Extras: None
Packaging: White Amaray keep case with embossed slipcover

One of the most disappointing would-be blockbusters of 2007, The Golden Compass featured a big ad campaign six months in advance of the film’s release date, touting it as the next Lord of the Rings trilogy. New Line Cinema, makers of said trilogy, lavished over $180 million to make this film (and a considerable amount on marketing, pushing the film’s total costs over $200 million). And even though it topped the box office upon its opening weekend, it quickly disappeared from sight, making a pitiful $70 million domestically (although it did quite well internationally, drawing in a huge profit of $230 million).

Many question the failure of The Golden Compass. It was based on a highly popular children’s book series published by Scholastic (who also published the U.S. versions of the widely-popular Harry Potter series) and had recognizable names in the supporting cast (though none were big A-list draws). Many blame the backlash it got from the Catholic Church because they accused the author of promoting atheist values in the book (and subsequently the film), although The Da Vinci Code got similar backlash from the church but did very well. And some blame the ad campaign, which tried to ride the coattails of Narnia and Harry Potter without distinguishing itself from its competition.

I personally think the film was a victim of circumstance and that the studio in charge of its production was in dire financial straits (New Line Cinema was placing its bets that The Golden Compass would reinvigorate the studio’s finances and lift them into the black, but instead it did the exact opposite). You’d think that with an impressive international tally of $300 million The Golden Compass would lift New Line out of the red, but since the company had sold off the international rights to the film in order to produce it, NL essentially screwed themselves. The religious controversy in my opinion had nothing to do with it, mainly it was poor marketing and inflated expectations that doomed The Golden Compass.

It’s a shame, really, as the film itself is quite competently mounted and executed. Chris Weitz handles smaller, intimate scenes easily as the CGI-intensive battle sequences. Dakota Blue Richards, snapped up from obscurity, does well as the main character. While she is not as good as the main trio from Harry Potter or the actors that play the Pevensie children in Narnia, she provides the spunk and gravitas needed to make her character likeable and grounded, even if her character does have a tendency to lie and rebel for her own reasons.

The supporting cast also do a competent job. Nicole Kidman is perfectly cast as the venomous Mrs. Coulter (in fact, she was the author’s first choice to play Ms. Coulter, although she was the only acting choice by the author to actually make it into the film), knowing when to deftly walk the line between icy ambivalence to chewing the scenery. The other actors, such as Daniel Craig, Eva Green and Sam Elliott are also perfectly cast, but probably due to time constraints/story compression, their characters really aren’t given enough room to shine.

And seeing as the film faces the stigma of religious controversy -- primarily from the Catholic Church -- accusing the books (and the film) of encouraging atheism among children. While author Philip Pullman is indeed an atheist, I’m told that the series has minor themes about atheism but does not encourage it. The film is more about encouraging individuality and being your own person, as opposed to conforming, and embracing your childhood. In short, the controversy around the film is pretty much unearned.

Having not read the book, one can tell that the film almost tries to tell too much story in the two hours its set, and some of the explanation for some plot revelations (certainly at the climax where a pivotal connection to Lyra is revealed) feels rushed. As a result, the movie is centered on Richards and Kidman, while the other characters take a backseat to the action. Maybe there will be an eventual director’s cut that give characters such as Lord Asriel, Serafina Pekkala and Lee Scoresby more time to grow and develop. Another point of contention is that while the book’s actual ending was shot, the film was altered in post-production, ending on a much earlier and upbeat note--undoubtedly leaving room for a sequel to pick up from.

It also helps that The Golden Compass is bolstered by an excellent production design by Dennis Gassner (Quantum of Solace) and gorgeous cinematography by Henry Braham, and no expense is spared on the Oscar-winning visual effects (mainly on rendering the various people’s dæmons and Iorek Byrnison the polar bear). Topping off the gorgeous trappings is an equally epic and unique score by Oscar-nominated Alexandre Desplat. Every dollar has been spent making this film look and sound like a million dollars, and it is certainly multimillion-dollar eye candy.
Even with the obvious plot compression and somewhat stilted feel, The Golden Compass is far better than the critical reviews and middling box office would suggest. Provided that your expectations are in check and don’t expect anything revolutionary, The Golden Compass is a fairly entertaining film that deserves more than a cursory look.

Video and Audio: Even with their box-office duds, New Line always gives their films the presentations they deserve. As such, this single-disc edition is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen that preserves the original aspect ratio (a foolscreen edition is available separately, but who’d want that?). As this is a barebones disc, the video is encoded at a high bitrate, with hardly any compression problems whatsoever. Black levels are deep and inky, and flesh tones are natural.

The sharpness is excellent for most of the time, although it tends to err in the more darker scenes of the film (the climatic scene at Bolvangar is especially problematic, even more so with a deep greenish-blue tone permeating throughout), but in the lighter scenes at places such as Oxford College look razor sharp and picturesque (and the frequent CGI‘d dæmons are well-rendered with a high amount of detail). Topped off with an immaculate print with just enough film grain to add needed texture, the video for The Golden Compass is close to reference quality.

Now, the audio is certainly reference quality. As this film was released by the same company that did The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the disc also offers up similar audio: DTS 6.1 ES Discrete, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and stereo surround. The 5.1 EX mix plays by default and is amazingly immersive, with genuine ambiance in the quieter scenes and frequent panning to the side and rear speakers. Alexandre Desplat’s score is leaked through the soundstage, and it never feels gimmicky or forced with clear delineation of the instruments (particularly the harp and woodwinds).

The subwoofer also earns its keep, not just in the action sequences where it is carefully employed and doesn’t feel boomy. Any sequence featuring a rampaging Iorek Byrnison, the altheiometer’s answers to Lyra’s questions or Mrs. Coulter’s airship, you will definitely feel it radiate throughout. Even in a quieter, more suspense-laden scene featuring Billy and his dæmon both the music and subwoofer work together to provide a true jolt, showing off the wide dynamic range of this mix. As I don’t have a DTS encoder, I can’t comment on the DTS-ES mix but I can imagine it ’ll more transparent and immersive than the 5.1 track. The stereo mix sounds just as robust as the 5.1 EX mix, but much more limited in surround activity.

Extras: As New Line released this film in two options: single-disc and a packed 2-Disc Platinum Series editions, you’d figure with the mass production of the single-disc would port over the director’s audio commentary from the Platinum Series’ first disc, but no. Like with Warner Brothers’ release of Batman Begins, New Line has made sure to omit the audio commentary. Aside from “Play Movie”, “Sneak Peeks”, “Set Up Options” and scene selection, the disc has nada. Which is rather silly of them to do so, as having at least a commentary wouldn’t screw over casual fans of the film completely.

Like many of New Line’s DVD releases, the main menu (and the “Set Up Options”) are presented in glorious 5.1 surround. The main menu has some neat animations and clips of the film set to a playful section of Alexandre Desplat’s score, while the submenus are static (only the “Set Up Options” has a section of score playing behind it).

I can’t recommend this barebones disc to die-hard fans of the film, as fans get nada in the way of extras. This disc is given a reluctant recommendation for casual fans who don’t want to pay more for bonus material, but I’d suggest renting it first.