The Golden Compass

"There are worlds beyond our own. The compass will show the way."

2007 1h 53m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🥫

42%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 4,951🥫42%Rotten Tomatoes●51Metacritic★6.1IMDB · 199,671

AdventureFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a parallel universe, after overhearing a shocking secret, precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua trades her carefree existence roaming the halls of Jordan College for an otherworldly adventure in the far North, unaware that it's part of her destiny.

“There are worlds beyond our own. The compass will show the way.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Dakota Blue Richards
Lyra Belacqua
Nicole Kidman
Marisa Coulter
Daniel Craig
Lord Asriel
Ben Walker
Roger Parslow
Freddie Highmore
Pantalaimon (voice)
Ian McKellen
Iorek Byrnison (voice)
Eva Green
Serafina Pekkala
Jim Carter
John Faa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chris Weitz
Writers: Chris Weitz, Chris Baker, Temple Clark
Languages: Icelandic, English, Russian, French
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$180M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Icelandic, English, Russian, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

245+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chris Weitz, shot by Henry Braham. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anne V. Coates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Weitz directs. Henry Braham behind the camera. Alexandre Desplat scores. Anne V. Coates cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Icelandic, English, Russian, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$180M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Released 19 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 4 languages: Icelandic, English, Russian, French.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5245+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Chris Weitz, shot by Henry Braham. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Alexandre Desplat. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Anne V. Coates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Dakota Blue Richards and Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "There are worlds beyond our own. The compass will show the way.".
11IMDB entry: tt0385752 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 10 themes, including "compass", "experiment", "england", "polar bear".
13Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Henry Braham
Original score: Alexandre Desplat
Editing: Anne V. Coates
Production design: Dennis Gassner
Costume design: Ruth Myers
Makeup / hair: Nicola Buck
VFX supervisor: Bill Westenhofer
Sound: Mike Prestwood Smith
Stunt coordinator: Paul Jennings
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $180,000,000
Box office: $372,234,864
Return: 207% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Golden Compass (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes: 42% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 51/100
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 199,671 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 7 wins & 32 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Chris Weitz

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-11-17
★ 6/10
Philip Pullman novels are always dark and intricate - and they don't necessarily make a great deal of sense in isolation - so adapting them for the screen was likely to be a tough ask. This story centres around the young "Lyra" (Dakota Blue Richards) who overhears some sinister plotting by the "Magisterium" that could put the lives of other children - and the demons with whom they are connected - in dire jeopardy. Determined to thwart this, she heads to the frozen Arctic where she encounters "Scoresby" (Sam Elliott) and helps the dispossessed king of the polar bears "Iorek Byrnison" to reclaim his kingdom before all descend on an heavily guarded secret location where she hopes to free the children from the experiments. Director Chris Weisz has assembled a strong cast, on paper, here - but they don't really add much to what is an increasingly sterile story full of imaginative and impressive visual effects, but is remarkably devoid of engaging characterisations. Richards is fine, indeed given that she probably spent much of her time acting against a blue screen, she fairs quite well but Daniel Craig isn't on screen often/long enough to make much impact, nor is the conniving "Mrs. Coulter" (Nicole Kidman) used to anything like enough of an extent to exude much menace. Her adventures are well put together but are too episodic to knit the whole story together very well before a denouement that clearly illustrated that this story is part of a series and that more was yet to come in a sequel - if we were to make enough sense of the continuing dynamic. It's also rather wordy, too, which paired with the manner in which Weitz has decided to present this leaves it all just a bit dry, dull even. Great looking, though...!

Production companies