Movie: 'The Golden Compass'

The Golden Compass

Author Philip Pullman, 'His Dark Materials'

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The Golden Compass is a 2007 fantasy-adventure film (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_film) based on Northern Lights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Lights_%28novel%29) (published as The Golden Compass in the U.S.), the first novel in Philip Pullman's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Pullman) trilogy His Dark Materials (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Dark_Materials). Directed by Chris Weitz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Weitz)

The story depicts the adventures of Lyra Belacqua (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyra_Belacqua), an orphan living in a parallel universe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_universe_%28fiction%29) on a world that looks much like our own. In Lyra's world, a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium is conspiring to end tolerance and free inquiry.

Before its release, the film received criticism from secularist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secularism) organisations and fans of His Dark Materials for the dilution of the anti-religious elements from the novels, as well as from some religious organisations for the source material's anti-Catholic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Catholic_sentiment) themes. The studio ordered significant changes late in post-production, which Weitz later called a "terrible" experience. Although the film's visual effects (which Weitz has called the film's "most successful element") won both a BAFTA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAFTA) and an Academy Award (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award), critical reception was mixed.

Starring:

Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Ian McKellen, Kathy Bates and Daniel Craig

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Prelude Footage:

About the Novel - Author Philip Pullman

'The Consequences of Curiosity'

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Group discussion after movie!

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Food and beverage welcome!