UKC

went to see it last night with my Pulman obsessed wifey.

I liked the take on the Catholic church - given the protests they don't like it up them.

However, is it me or is the film (not read the book) very derivative?

It borrows from Dune - Dust = spice. Usall moa Deeb (sic) is Christ as is Layla.

The Gyptians are clearly the Jews, as the pogrom battered Semites of history.

The bit where -----spoiler-------Kidman reveals herselfto be her mother had me going` "Luke, I am you Fartherrrr"

In reply to John Rushby:

Only read the book(s), so not sure how much the film has left out.

There are more than enough original touches in the book(s), to make up for any fleeting similarities.

And if the Catholic Church can't take criticism, then it should make a point of always behaving in an exemplary fashion, being open, honest and above criticism...

In reply to Dominion:

Ta

I have been told to read the books so i think I will

In reply to John Rushby:
Just seen it. Read the books the summer before last (somewhat disappointed with the finale) and I recon' that this is a pretty fair adaptation. Recommended.

In reply to John Rushby:

Pullman states in one of the books that his big influence is Milton's Paradise Lost - but there could be others i suppose

In reply to es:

His Dark Materials is a line form Paradise Lost...:O)

In reply to John Rushby:
I've read the books but not seen the film. Is it worth making an effort to see?

I took the Gyptians to be Gypsies.
There's a lot of stuff in the books that seems very original to me (though maybe I juat haben't seen / read where it has come from). I hadn't thought about the parallels between Dust and Spice; you learn a bit more about dust as the books go on and I think the comparison weakens.

In reply to John Rushby:

just seen it myself, thought it was poor.

lyras accent keeps changing too which is annoying.

Iorek is cool though, although i kept thinking he would say "fly you fools, fly"

In reply to John Rushby:

I'm taking the kids over the holidays.

Is it just the first book or all three?

J

In reply to Moacs:
I've heard that the current film is just the first book, minus the last few chapters (!)
I really enjoyed the books, and am quite hesitant about watching this adaption in case it detracts badly from them.

This thread was started in the DOWN THE PUB forum and has now been moved.
Please could you try and post in the correct forum, it makes life easier for both users and moderators.

Culture Bunker - A forum dedicated to reviews and discussion of media and the arts. Just read a book? Why not share it by writing a review (max 250 words). Love music? Want to critique the latest releases? The Culture Bunker is the place. Seen a play or a film? Let's hear about it. This is the place to come if you are looking for a book, album or film recommendation.

More Forum descriptions - http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/info/forums.html

In reply to John Rushby: i watched it, it was RUBBISH

In reply to Iain Forrest:

I don't think any film is ever going to be as good as the book, so with that in mind I think it's a reasonable adaptation. As a film on it's own I think it's good, but I re-read the book a few days before seeing the film, so I was very focused on the comparison between them! They switch some events round slightly, and some actions are done by different people than in the book. I found myself filling in the knowledge that I had from the book, so you probably get more out of the film if you've read the book beforehand. Overall I think it supports the book rather than detracts from it, but depending on your take, you might find the film doesn't have enough depth.

In reply to HC~F:
OK, ta. Reviews seem very mixed; I'll see if I can get a chance to watch it, I guess.

In reply to John Rushby:

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bits will always have to be left out for timing reasons, but I thought the gist was captured really well. there's still a lot to fit in and a few parts felt a touch rushed but overall I think it'd be worth seeing.

In reply to John Rushby:

Went to see it last night.... wasn't too sure at first, wasn't grabbing me and then there were ice bears!!! That and the cool zepellins and I forgave any other failings.

Cheers

Toby

Oh, and witches or rather the witch... few!!

In reply to John Rushby: ok so the bloke took me to see thi last week, he had just read the book, and i was half-way through the book, we were both dissapointed, the film is nothing to the book, so much missed out, things done by other people. it lacked a lot in my oppinion.

i say take the film as a flm and the book as a book, dont link the two together or you will be disapointed.

Jess.x

In reply to John Rushby:

INterestingly I read that the film's US opening weekend brought in $26.1 million, far far lower than usual projections for an "event" film like this with a budget nearing $200 million. Apparently, having already influenced the film itself (in "persuading" the adaptors to change "anti-religion" to "anti-totalitarianism"), various powerful Catholic and Christian groups have been using their influence to steer people away from the film anyway, lest it inspire children to read the books!

In reply to John Rushby:


No the nature of dust will be revealed a bit more in the next one. Also seeing that Layla is the child of Lord Azreal (aka Satan, if you don't know milton that well) then layla isn't so much christ as anti-christ.


again wrong the 'gyptians are gypsies. Ok the rommanys have a similar history of persicution to the jews but for different reasons.

yes there are a lot of references but then for a work that sets out to be "paradise lost told from the point of view of satan" there are bound to be.

In reply to John Rushby: My daughter went to see it at the weekend and said it was 'BRILLIANT'!!

Maybe you're just getting old...

In reply to SI A:


Wasn't that on purpose? I thought when she was trying to fit in with the servant kid she put on a less posh accent but otherwise she was quite posh?


The film wasn't great. Too much stuff squeezed in it and too much explanation of things. Typical problems when you try and cram a book into a film.