tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post2438227004041058188..comments2023-10-29T06:41:23.910-07:00Comments on Halfway There: On watching The Golden CompassZenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-32358569736625165252007-12-23T11:23:00.000-08:002007-12-23T11:23:00.000-08:00Thanks for your comment, Ridger. I took special no...Thanks for your comment, Ridger. I took special note of the garb of the Magisterium's leadership and observed that Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lee were wearing the stylized M as a pendant on their chests instead of the pectoral cross one would expect of a Christian bishop, but it gave the same visual impact as the usual uniform of the high cleric.<BR/><BR/>I recall only two times when I said a silent "Oops" to myself while watching <I>The Golden Compass</I>: In the scene in the retiring room, the decanter of Tokay is nowhere to be seen when Lyra and Pantalaimon are sniffing about (even when Lyra leans over the table and touches the crystal glassware), but when the Magisterium's representative is escorted in, there it is! Then later, when Lyra confronts the captain of the Tatar guard, Iorek appears out of nowhere. Now just how do you hide a huge armored bear on an open plain? Sure, it's thrilling at the moment, but I guess we were expected to believe that no one noticed all that ursine tonnage loping across the open ground toward them. Right. Not persuasive.Zenohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09058127284297728552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15868947.post-23586108890185774182007-12-23T10:18:00.000-08:002007-12-23T10:18:00.000-08:00I just saw the movie, and I agree with you. I thou...I just saw the movie, and I agree with you. I thought it was excellently done, but certainly it demands your attention. The casting was good - Kidman surprisingly and Eliot perfectly so - and it was nice not to have characters explain things that no one would ever explain. And as for the literary intercision, well, at no time did they ever say the Magisterium <I>wasn't</I> the Church. ;-)The Ridger, FCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01538111197270563075noreply@blogger.com