His Dark Materials

RuailleBuaille

I loved ths trilogy so much, best thing since LOTR IMO. The movie coming out at Christmas but I read they're taking all the religious element out, how will that work?

John

Not very well I imagine considering that was the crux of the plot.

Valmont

I will never forgive Peter Jackson for replacing my fond memory of Frodo from the book with Elijah Wood's annoying face. I enjoyed 'his dark materials' so much that I am going to avoid even the trailers for the film. I was only a wee lad when I read them but I didn't notice a religious element and I took away a lot from those books especially the Amber spyglass

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you didn't notice a religious element?

rofl

Valmont

I was 12, 13 and 14 reading those books so I don't think it's that strange I missed the underlying religious theme. I just took it for what it was, a great fantasy trilogy.

doonothing

i read it at that age too... and i can't see how the religious theme was in any way "underlying"!
it was pretty on the surface!

amazing books, i cant wait to see the film regardless, if i get to see 30% of it done correctly on a big screen, ill be happy!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

Valmont wrote: »

I was 12, 13 and 14 reading those books so I don't think it's that strange I missed the underlying religious theme. I just took it for what it was, a great fantasy trilogy.

didn't god die in the third book.....

RuailleBuaille

Mordeth wrote: »

didn't god die in the third book.....

:eek: OMG naughty mod giving away the buzz! :eek:

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you can hardly expect spoiler tags on a thread about a 12 year old series.

star-pants

Love the books -- hoping it transfers well to the big screen.
By the looks of the ad - it might just be good

Have to agree the religious theme was rather prominent. But I guess dependent on your age you may not have picked up on it as much as others.

Esmereldina

Is it 12 years ago that the first one came out... gaah I feel old!

This is prob my favourite trilogy of books. I though the religious element was pretty freaking obvious too (and one of the reasons I liked it so much ) but I was a bit older, maybe 16 when I started to read them (I think I must have discovered them a few years after they first came out, I'm not quite that old, now that I start to add up the numbers ).

I think I'll be too disgusted at a sanitised film version that contains no mention of ... oh, the central idea of the trilogy... to go and see it.

When's it coming out though?

doctor evil

John wrote: »

Not very well I imagine considering that was the crux of the plot.

Especially after the first one.

Valmont

It was 7 years ago that I read them and I think at the time I was more concerned with remembering armoured bears, magical knives, daemons and harpies to specifically remember a religious theme, but I do remember the whole thing about the spirits and the stopping them escape fro hea....:eek: wait it was religious wasn't it! ah well, I think the movie will do fine if it avoids that because it's a good yarn anyway. My favourite trilogy by a long shot.

Dades

Mordeth wrote: »

you can hardly expect spoiler tags on a thread about a 12 year old series.

To be fair - just because it's 12 years old doesn't mean spoiler tags aren't required. "They've had enough time to read 'em" doesn't quite work with large works of fantasy. And loads more people will read it now because of the movies.

Re the books themselves I can see how a child will miss a lot of the religious under/overtones. That's why the books are so good for adults too. There's more to them than the adventure fantasy element.

Movie out on Dec 7th, btw.

r3nu4l

Dades wrote: »

To be fair - just because it's 12 years old doesn't mean spoiler tags aren't required. "They've had enough time to read 'em" doesn't quite work with large works of fantasy. And loads more people will read it now because of the movies.

Agreed, I reported the post but notice that the mods didn't snip it...

doonothing

the religious element wasn't as big a part of the first book as it was with the second and third was it?

HDM are definitely the books i'll be giving to my kids if i have any...

LoLth

keep yer hair on. its edited.

If mordeth spoiled the book on you, go out and drink until your liver explodes. chances are you wont care about the spoiler after that (unless you decide to read it in hospital if you survive , then you'd be really p*ssed)

theprodigals0n

I'm worried about Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig being in the film. I'm not sure if they can do the characters justice. Hope I'm wrong of course.

mathias

I loved this set of books , and I cant stand Nicole Kidman , Ive seen the trailer and was disappointed with it , but thats always the way its going to be if youve read the book first ,

I'll go see it anyway, even if its just to see how bad it is.Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised , your not supposed to like Nicole kidmans character anyway.

DublinWriter

ItchyInside wrote: »

...but I read they're taking all the religious element out, how will that work?

Very well, for the American market.

Dades

theprodigals0n wrote: »

I'm worried about Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig being in the film.

She was always Pullman's choice to play Mrs Coulter.
And I think Daniel Craig is a great choice tbh. Just think they could have picked an American.

Blush_01

Well it's not set in America, why should they use an American? Kidman's not American.

I really enjoyed the books (although maybe I should have put off reading them when I did) and am unsure about the movies as a result.

Dylan_James

I thought Daniel Craig would be good as Azriel but Kidman I am not so sure about. I thought the second book was better then the first. Does anyone know if this is a once off or are they making all three books into film?

Dades

Blush_01 wrote: »

Well it's not set in America, why should they use an American? Kidman's not American.

Um, they shouldn't. The point was that Hollywood aren't beyond using one of their own in such instances.

Dylan_James wrote: »

Does anyone know if this is a once off or are they making all three books into film?

Should the first film make enough cash, the second and third books will likely be filmed together for release as two movies.

Dylan_James

Dades wrote: »

Should the first film make enough cash, the second and third books will likely be filmed together for release as two movies.

Great stuff

Valmont

I'd say the 13> age group won't give two fecks if the religion is put aside. I never even noticed it,:o:p

I won't be seeing it, I really want to preserve the memories I have from the books. I would go as far to say that they got me reading on a consistent basis when I was younger.

SprostonGreen

I loved the books. Isnt the author aethesist?

I thought thats what he said on Richard and Judy.

Dades

SprostonGreen wrote: »

I loved the books. Isnt the author aethesist?

I thought thats what he said on Richard and Judy.

Pullman is indeed a devout atheist.
But supposed agenda aside, the books are just fantastic works of fantasy.

Tristram

Hadn't read any fantasy in a long while... since second instalment of A Song of ice & Fire. Spotted Pullman's His Dark Materials on the shelf the other day and got stuck in. Well worth a read. I confess to having doubts beforehand but boy was I pleasantly surprised.

studiorat

Hard Back first Ed. Goes for over £1,000 these days if any one has one lying around...

Talliesin

theprodigals0n wrote: »

I'm worried about Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig being in the film. I'm not sure if they can do the characters justice. Hope I'm wrong of course.

Actually, they do very well, but it's a poor adaptation in many other ways.

Dades wrote: »

Pullman is indeed a devout atheist.

That may go some way to explain why the people accusing the Harry Potter books (a series written by a Christian that has almost no mention of religion beyond the holidays that remain large in Western culture and a hospital named after a fictitious saint) of being Satanic are rather bizarrely complaining that the His Dark Materials stories (which is Satanic; positing God and his archangels as evil and climaxing with his destruction and the victory of the rebel angles and their allies) are atheist!

Still doesn't really expain it much.

Dades wrote: »

But supposed agenda aside, the books are just fantastic works of fantasy.

Yep. There's no religious subtext. There's a religious text - the entire series pretty much never stops talking about religion and very little else - but you aren't expected to take any of it literally.

metrovelvet

Havent seen the movie. Seems to me that taking the theology out of HDM is like taking the sex out of Sex and the City.

Dades

metrovelvet wrote: »

Havent seen the movie. Seems to me that taking the theology out of HDM is like taking the sex out of Sex and the City.

Well, they didn't really shirk from the religious aspects in the movie. As in the first book, the only 'controversial' religious element is that the Magisterium are the bad guys.

It's the second and third (in particular) books that go much further. Though I believe the movie sequels are on hold atm.

Talliesin

Yeah, a much bigger change was the lack of the callous child-killing in the end. It does somewhat alter how the audience respond the the character in question!

eVeNtInE

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eVeNtInE

eVeNtInE wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

The books were ok - I haven't seen the movie. However I don't believe that all the hype that surrounds the trilogy is deserved. Yes they were good, but Pullman's style of writing came across as a little too smug for my taste.

Linguo

I did enjoy the books but I don't know if I would read them again, maybe in a good while but they aren't LOTR or anything!

The movie as usual was nothing like I had pictured in my head, although I though Nicole Kidman had the right frosty look

mud

:eek:
my friend won't take my word for it and read these books
:eek:

She saw the movie and thought it sucked really badly (I started watching it but fell asleep)


grrrr wish I could convince her

I *heart* these books so so much