T H E  G O L D E N  C O M P A S S

 

 

Steer your path through life by our GOLDEN COMPASS the quest for eternal happiness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cup of Christ is the Holy Grail, that has never been found, in all searches through the ages.

 

 

 

 

The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy adventure film directed by Chris Weitz, from a screenplay by Weitz, and based on the 1995 novel Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, the first installment in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It stars Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra Belacqua, Nicole Kidman as Marisa Coulter, and Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel, alongside Sam Elliott, Ian McKellen, and Eva Green. In the film, Lyra joins a tribe of seafarers on a trip to the far North in search of children kidnapped by the Gobblers, a group supported by the universe's rulers, the Magisterium.

Development on the film was first announced in February 2002, but difficulties over the screenplay and the selection of a director (including Weitz departing and returning) caused significant delays. Richards was cast as Lyra in June 2006, with Kidman and Craig joining soon thereafter. Principal photography began that September and lasted for several months, with filming locations including Shepperton Studios and also on location throughout England, Switzerland, and Norway. With a production budget of US$180 million, it is one of New Line Cinema's most expensive films, and prior to release, the film faced criticism from secularist and religious organisations due to the source material's anti-religious themes, which caused several changes to the film in post-production.

The Golden Compass premiered in London on November 27, 2007, and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom by Entertainment Film on December 5 and in the United States by New Line on December 7. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the casting and visual effects, but criticism for its pacing, characterization, and screenplay, drawing unfavorable comparisons to Pullman's novel. The Golden Compass has grossed $372 million worldwide but was a box office disappointment in North America which directly contributed to New Line Cinema's 2008 restructuring. The film won for Best Visual Effects at the 80th Academy Awards and for Best Special Visual Effects at the 61st British Academy Film Awards. 

 

 

 

 

 


 

The Last Supper, a painting by Leonardo da Vinci


 

 

PLOT

 

On an alternate retrofuturistic Earth ruled by the Magisterium, every person's soul exists outside the body as an animal companion, a dæmon.

Lyra Belacqua is an orphan raised at Jordan College in Oxford with her dæmon Pantalaimon or "Pan". Her uncle Lord Asriel returns from seeking the elusive Dust, a cosmic particle the Magisterium forbids to be mentioned. Lyra saves him from wine poisoned by a Magisterium agent, and Asriel presents his discovery that Dust at the North Pole links to infinite worlds. He is granted another expedition though his theory, if proven, could undermine the Magisterium's control.

Mrs. Coulter, a wealthy "friend" of the college, invites Lyra to stay with her in London. The Master of the college entrusts Lyra with her uncle's alethiometer, a compass-like artefact that reveals the truth, warning her to keep it secret. Kidnappers called "Gobblers" have been abducting children, including Lyra's friend Roger and Billy Costa, a young Gyptian. Lyra discovers Mrs. Coulter is head of the General Oblation Board, realising they are the Gobblers, and she and Pan escape when Mrs. Coulter's dæmon attempts to steal the alethiometer.

Lyra is saved from Gobblers by Ma Costa, Billy's mother, and taken to the Gyptian king John Faa, who is sailing north to search for the children. Gyptian elder Farder Coram recognizes the alethiometer, which Lyra discovers she can decipher. In league with the Magisterium, Mrs. Coulter sends mechanical spy-flies after Lyra, but one is caught by Farder Coram. Asriel reaches Svalbard, the kingdom of the Ice Bears, but is captured by Samoyed tribesmen hired by Mrs. Coulter.

The witch queen Serafina Pekkala tells Lyra the children are at Bolvangar, and Lyra befriends Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby, who suggests she hire him and his friend Iorek Byrnison, an armoured bear he has come to rescue. Once a prince of the bears, Iorek was defeated and exiled, and the townspeople have tricked him out of his armour. Lyra uses the alethiometer to help Iorek recover his armour, and he and Scoresby join the Gyptian trek northward.

Lyra, astride Iorek, follows the alethiometer and finds Billy, whom the Gobblers have experimented on using "intercision", a procedure that surgically separates him from his dæmon. The Gyptians are attacked by Samoyeds who capture Lyra, with Iorek and Lee in pursuit in Lee's airship. Lyra is taken to the bear king Ragnar Sturlusson, and tricks him into fighting Iorek himself. Ragnar, who poisoned Iorek's father, has the upper hand until Iorek feigns weakness and kills him, reclaiming the throne.

Iorek carries Lyra to Bolvangar, but she is forced to cross a narrow ice bridge alone before it collapses. Reaching the experimental station, Lyra reunites with Roger, and overhears Mrs. Coulter say that Asriel will soon be arrested for heresy. Caught by the scientists, Lyra and Pan are thrown into the intercision chamber but rescued by Mrs. Coulter. Explaining that the Magisterium believe intercision protects children from Dust's corrupting influence, Mrs. Coulter admits she is Lyra's mother, and Lyra realises Asriel is her father. Mrs. Coulter asks for the alethiometer, but Lyra gives her the can containing the spy-fly, which tranquilizes Mrs. Coulter unconscious.

Destroying the intercision machine, Lyra leads the children outside. They are confronted by Tatar mercenaries, who are defeated by Iorek, Scoresby, the Gyptians, and flying witches led by Serafina. With the children safe, Lyra, Roger, Iorek, Lee, and Serafina fly north to search for Asriel. Confirming Serafina's prophecy of a coming war with Lyra at its centre, Lyra is determined to fight the Magisterium, who plot to control all other worlds in the universe. 

 

 

 

CLONING & QUESTS FOR LIFE FILMS A-Z

 

2001: A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C Clarke

Ben Hur (Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins) 1959

Fools Gold (Matthew McConaughy, Kate Hudson) 2008

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989

Jungle Cruise, (Emily Blunt, Dwayne Johnson) 2021

Jurassic World Dominion, (Chris Pratt) 2022

La Amistad (Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey) 1997

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider, Pandora's Box 2001

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider, Cradle of Life 2003

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider, Himiko 2018

Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975

Oblivion (Tom Cruise, Andria Riseborough) 2013

Planet of the Apes (Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall) 1968

Sixth Day (Arnold Schwarzenegger) 2000

The Count of Monte Cristo (Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce) 2002

The da Vinci Code (Tom Hanks) 2006

The Fly - (Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis) 1986

The Golden Compass (Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards) 2007

The Greatest Story Ever Told (Charlton Heston) 1965

The Medicine Man (Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco) 1992

The Pope's Exorcist (Russell Crowe, Julius Avery) 2023

The Ten Commandments (Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner) 1956 Cecile B DeMille

Total Recall - (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone) 1990

Uncharted (Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg) 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  THE GOLDEN COMPASS IS A CHILDREN'S FANTASY FILM STARRING DAKOTA BLUE RICHARDS, DANIEL CRAIG AND NICOLE KIDMAN

 

Please use our GOLDEN COMPASS to navigate this story, or revisit our BEGINNING OF THE QUEST 

 

 

 

 

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