The Golden Compass (Updated)

Marjorie Campbell, marjorie@marjoriecampbell.com

For those who, like me, are trying to decide whether to haul the kids to The Golden Compass this holiday season, I found the USCCB review by Harry Forbes and John Mulderig the most helpful, and reassuring, yet. 

BUT WAIT.  "Today [December 11 2007]the U.S. bishops withdrew the review of the film “The Golden Compass,” which opened in theaters in the United States Dec. 7.

No reasons were given - but see the comments below following my earlier post.

Nor can I find a "corrected" or "revised" review from the bishops, though calls for them to fire Harry Forbes, the director of the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting abound. 

I, for one, often consult the USCCB movie reviews - and have done so for years.  But, I have to admit, the story of the Catholic reaction to The Golden Compass has gotten far more entertaining than most reports suggest the movie only aspires to be.  I'll content myself with that for now.

I only hope and pray that I am watching a charitable Catholic drama.

Comments

[CV]

Harry Forbes makes his living critiquing the work of others. That makes his own reviews fair game for evaluation and commentary.

I too consult the USCCB movie reviews from time to time (since they are distributed by CNS, they are easy to find in diocesan newspapers). I also read other film commentary such as the online guide Decent Films by Steve Greydanus.

I have been underwhelmed by the quality of Forbes' work for quite a while now. There are far, far better film critics out there, and this latest debacle with the Compass review is inexcusable, given the fact that he provided little or no context for the reader regarding the source material for the movie.

This guy works for the US Catholic BISHOPS, for pete's sake. We're helping to pay his salary. Give me a break.

Those who are calling for Forbes' replacement are well-informed and perfectly within their rights to do so, IMO. It's unpleasant and uncomfortable but not uncharitable.

[Gigi]

Do NOT rely on the USCCB review! There is NO WAY I would take my Catholic child under 18 to a movie referring to the "Magisterium" as evil. There are several bishops who have strongly advised their flocks via diocesan newspapers to avoid seeing this movie. They are appalled by the USCCB review.

G

[BenYachov(Jim Scott 4th)]

In the various movie guides I own BIRTH OF A NATION(a slilent film made back in the 20's that portrayed members of the KKK as heroic defenders of white womanhood & Blacks as raping ignorant animals) got four stars.

Clearly you can make a "good" film with an offensive & sickening subject matter. So the positive review is still irrelavent GC may be a well made movie. Like BIRTH OF A NATION it's still bigoted crap.

[Blake]

Unrelated... but interesting:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22896334-2,00.html

Interesting story that might merit conversation... I hope the Vatican takes an early stand against this sort of fanitical environmentalism.

[Jeannine]

I found the books of the Pullman trilogy quite repulsive when I read them several years ago. These are the only books that I ever told my son not to read. Now that he's an adult, he'll make his own choices of reading material, but when he was a child, I decided that he didn't need that kind of anti-Catholic propaganda.

[CV]

I am weighing my options about which movies to take my kids to this holiday season also.

They loved Narnia, and in watching the Compass trailers have found the armoured polar bears to be quite intriguing as well.

It costs me close to $100 to haul the family to ONE movie (including snacks). Before I spend that kind of money on Compass, I'm going to rely on the review that comes straight from the horse's mouth. Pullman has been remarkably straight about his philosophy and intent in writing these books (in the interviews he did in Europe and elsewhere before he started worrying about the box office on the movie, that is). I think he summed it up pretty well when he said "my books are about killing God."

Why, then, should I spend upwards of $100 to see a movie that may well be harmless in the short term, but will in all likelihood encourage my kids to go out and buy/read Pullman's books and absorb a message that is completely counter to the worldview I am trying to teach them? Do I need to further line Pullman's pockets AND make this task even harder than it already is?

I'll pass, thanks.

[Sandra Miesel]

You're basing your decision on that one review? Without further investigation of Pullman, his books, or the film makers' intentions? Without noticing that the majority of film reviewers from Joel Morgenstern to Steve Greydanus have panned GOLDEN COMPASS as boring, rushed, and confusing, etc.? My, my, what blind faith.

Would you buy your children candy from a porno shop on the excuse that the candy was sanitary? That's the same thing as putting money into GC's box office. If a "sanitized" GC makes a profit, that would fund the filming of THE SUBTLE KNIFE and THE AMBER SPYGLASS, which Director Chris Weitz promised won't be purged of their anti-Christian elements.

I speak as co-author of PIED PIPER OF ATHEISM: PHILIP PULLMAN AND CHILDREN'S FANTASY (Ignatius). See our website You can learn more about the issue there than one misguided reviewer from the USCCB knows.