Philip Pullman Movies
Director Phil Hawkins teams with screenwriter Stephen Potts to adapt Golden Compass author Philip Pullman's novel detailing an adolescent romance gone horribly awry. When seventeen year old Chris (Duncan Stuart) and lovely lass Jenny (Jessica Blake) first met at an Oxford college ball, the ruffled later was still in the run from her ex-boyfriend Piers (Dan Morgan) - a tyrannical aristocrat. But Chris' past hasn't exactly been smooth sailing either, and as the young couple enters tenuously into an innocent courtship, a series of flashbacks reveal why their romance may be headed for tragedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A young girl embarks on a perilous journey to rescue her best friend and fight the forces of darkness in director Chris Weitz's adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman's best-selling fantasy trilogy. Screen newcomer Dakota Blue Richards stars as young heroine Lyra Belacqua, Casino Royale star Daniel Craig appears as Lyra's ruthless adventurer uncle, Lord Asriel, and Nicole Kidman assumes the glamorous guise of the villainous Mrs. Coulter. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, (more)
- 2007
- Add Beyond the Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman to QueueAdd Beyond the Golden Compass: The Magic of Philip Pullman to top of Queue
Take a behind-the-scenes look at a world filled with secret codes and magical symbols in this documentary that searches for the hidden meanings in author Philip Pullman's best-selling fantasy novel The Golden Compass. Lyra's world is a parallel universe in which each person is guided by their animal daemon, and where great beauty masks fathomless evil. Follow along as historians, experts, and even the Philip Pullman himself offer a guided tour of this wondrous realm while computer generated animation and rare archival footage turn fantasy into reality right before your very eyes. Other materials featured in this program include a special slide show with Jean Pierre Isbouts and a walking interview with Darkness Visible: Inside the World of Philip Pullman author Nicholas Tucker. This documentary is not authorized or endorsed by New Line Cinema, or in any way associated with the film or the His Dark Materials line of books. The author himself authorized his participation in the program. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
As directed by Brian Percival and adapted by scenarist Adrian Hodges from the bestselling period novel by Philip Pullman, the BBC production The Ruby in the Smoke recounts the 19th Century adventures of Sally Lockhart (Billie Piper), an aggressive and determined young Brit. Wielding a loaded pistol, fluency in Hindustani, and a fundamental knowledge of military maneuvers, Sally is anything but a typically submissive, Victorian Era girl. The tale finds her embarking on a quest to uncover the reasons for her father's premature death, and the reason why three seemingly harmless words from her mouth - "The Seven Blessings" - lead to the sudden demise of her father's associate. The film co-stars Robert Glenister, David Harewood and screen veteran Julie Walters as the vile Mrs. Holland. The film marks the first installment in a planned series of BBC productions based on Pullman's series of novels about Sally Lockhart. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billie Piper
A financial consultant enlists the aid of a skilled detective in tracking down the missing money of a wealthy client, in the process stumbling into a sinister plot hatched by a ruthless industrialist in this mystery adapted from author Philip Pullman's popular novel of the same name. The year is 1878, and Sally Lockhart (Billie Piper) has just gone into business as a financial consultant. Sally's job quickly becomes complicated, however, when she receives news that the unexpected collapse of the Anglo-Baltic shipping line has cost her client Miss Walsh a fortune. Determined to discover why so many ships on the Anglo-Baltic line have vanished without a trace and hopefully get Miss Walsh's money back in the process, Sally calls on her close friends Frederick (J.J. Field and Jim, who have recently opened their own detective agency. Their first mission is to discover the fate of the Ingrid Linde, a sizeable steamship that simply disappeared. It seems that a stage magician named Alistair MacKinnon may somehow be involved in the disappearance of the Ingrid Linde, but why has he become the target of thugs, and what's his connection to a psychic medium rumored to be tapping into unsavory business dealings? Their investigation eventually leading them to cruel industrialist Axel Bellmann, the sleuthing trio soon discovers that Bellmann's highly successful business is built on a dark and sinister secret. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Cumming
The trilogy of novels known as His Dark Materials have been popular for a decade when this documentary, Inside His Dark Materials, was created. The film takes a close look both at the content of these books as well as at the life of the author, Phillip Pullman, responsible for these works. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Pullman
- 2002
Based on the children's book by Philip Pullman, Laurie Lynd's I Was a Rat is a feature-length fable originally made as a three-part BBC miniseries. A reworking of a popular fairy tale, the story opens with a young abandoned pageboy (Calum Worthy) taken in by a childless couple: the aging cobbler Bob (Tom Conti) and domestic worker Joan (Brenda Fricker). Nicknamed Roger, the pageboy claims that he isn't human at all but a rat, which attracts the interest of the Daily Scourge newspaper, a mad scientist, and a carnival owner named Oliver Tapscrew (Don McKellar). The search for Roger's real home is accompanied by the story of Lady Aurelia (Katie Blake) and her prince (James Millard). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Calum Worthy, Tom Conti, (more)
