| Stardust | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Matthew Vaughn |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Stardust byNeil Gaiman |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ben Davis |
| Edited by | Jon Harris |
| Music by | Ilan Eshkeri |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 128 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $70–88.5 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $137 million[4] |
Stardust is a 2007romanticfantasyadventure film directed byMatthew Vaughn and co-written by Vaughn andJane Goldman. Based onNeil Gaiman's1999 novel, it features anensemble cast led byClaire Danes,Charlie Cox,Sienna Miller,Ricky Gervais,Jason Flemyng,Rupert Everett,Peter O'Toole,Michelle Pfeiffer andRobert De Niro, with narration byIan McKellen.
The film follows Tristan, a young man from the fictional town of Wall inEngland. Wall is a town on the border of the magical fantasy kingdom of Stormhold. Tristan enters the magical world to collect a fallen star to give to his beloved Victoria, in return for her hand in marriage. To his surprise, he collects the star, a woman named Yvaine.Witches and the Princes of Stormhold are also hunting for Yvaine. Meanwhile, Tristan tries to get her back to Wall with him before Victoria's birthday, the deadline for her offer.
The film was released to positive reviews and grossed $137 million on a $70–88.5 million budget.[4] In 2008 it won theHugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.[5] It was released onDVD,Blu-ray andHD DVD on 18 December 2007.
The English village of Wall lies near a stone wall that borders the magical kingdom of Stormhold. A guard prevents anyone from crossing. Dunstan Thorne tricks him and crosses over the wall to a marketplace. He meets Una, an enslaved princess who offers him a glasssnowdrop in exchange for a kiss. They spend the night together. Nine months later, the guard delivers a baby named Tristan to Dunstan.
Eighteen years later, the dying King of Stormhold throws aruby into the sky: his successor will be the first of his sons to recover it. The gem hits a star, and both fall out of the sky, landing in Stormhold. The princes Primus and Septimus independently search for the stone.
In Wall, Tristan and Victoria see the falling star. He vows to retrieve it in return for her hand in marriage. Despite his mother being from beyond the wall, he cannot get past the guard. He receives a Babylon candle that she left for him, which can take the user to any desired location. Tristan lights it and is transported to the fallen star, personified as a woman named Yvaine. He uses a magic chain to claim her and take her to Victoria.
Three ancientwitch sisters resolve to eat the fallen star's heart to recover their youth and replenish their powers. Their leader, Lamia, eats the remnants of an earlier star's heart and departs to find Yvaine. She conjures up a wayside inn as a trap.
Yvaine becomes tired, so Tristan chains her to a tree and promises to bring food. In his absence, aunicorn releases her but unwittingly takes her to Lamia's inn. Tristan discovers that Yvaine is gone, but the stars whisper that she is in danger, telling him to get on a passing coach, which happens to be Primus's. They stop at the inn, interrupting Lamia's attempt to kill Yvaine. Lamia kills Primus, while Tristan and Yvaine use the Babylon candle to escape into the clouds, where they are captured bypirates in a flying ship. The leader, Captain Shakespeare, tells his crew that Tristan is his nephew and Yvaine is a friend. He gives them new clothes and teaches Tristan how tofence and Yvaine how to dance.
Septimus, being the last surviving son, needs only to find the stone to claim the throne. He learns that Yvaine has it and realizes that her heart grantsimmortality.
After leaving Captain Shakespeare, Tristan and Yvaine confess their love for one another and spend the night together at an inn. The next morning, Tristan leaves the sleeping Yvaine and leaves with a lock of her hair to tell Victoria that he has fallen in love with Yvaine. When the lock turns to Stardust, he realizes that Yvaine will die if she crosses the wall, and rushes back to save her.
Yvaine finds Tristan gone, and, thinking that he has abandoned her for Victoria, despondently walks toward the wall. Una notices Yvaine walking to her doom and takes the reins of Ditchwater Sal'scaravan to stop her. Lamia kills Sal, and captures Una and Yvaine, taking them to the witches' manor. Septimus and Tristan pursue Lamia, agreeing to work together. Barging into the castle, Septimus recognizes Una as his long-lost sister, and Una tells Tristan that she is his mother.
Septimus and Tristan kill two of the witches, but Lamia uses avoodoo doll to kill Septimus. Lamia is about to kill Tristan when she appears to break down over the loss of her sisters. Lamia frees Yvaine, but her feigned defeat is a ruse and she tries to kill both. As Tristan and Yvaine embrace, their love allows her to shine once again, killing Lamia.
Tristan retrieves Yvaine's gem, and Una reveals that, as her son, Tristan is the last male heir of Stormhold. He becomes king with Yvaine as his queen, and Dunstan and Una are reunited. Since Tristan has Yvaine's love, he metaphorically has her heart and gains eternal youth. After eighty years of rule, they use a Babylon candle to ascend to the sky, where they live together as stars.
Theillustrated fantasy storyStardust was created byNeil Gaiman, with art byCharles Vess. It was first published byDC Comics in 1997 as a prestige format four-issue comic mini-series. Encouraged by publisher Avon, Gaiman decided to adaptStardust, and in 1999, it was republished as a conventional novel in hardback without illustrations. Gaiman has compared the story to a fantasy version of the 1934 romantic comedy filmIt Happened One Night.[8][9]
In 1998,Stardust wasoptioned for afilm adaptation byBob Weinstein atMiramax. Gaiman wrote a treatment, and thenEhren Kruger wrote a treatment.[9] Gaiman described the process as "an unsatisfactory development period", and he recovered the rights after they expired. For years, Gaiman refused offers to develop the film. Having seen the disappointing results of the hands-off approach taken byAlan Moore, Gaiman preferred to retain control and influence the development of the film.[10][11]
Eventually, discussions about a film version ofStardust took place between Gaiman, directorTerry Gilliam, and producerMatthew Vaughn. Gilliam dropped out following his involvement withThe Brothers Grimm and not wanting to do another fairy tale. Vaughn left to produceLayer Cake but then became the director for the first time for that project. After Vaughn withdrew from helming the filmX-Men: The Last Stand, talks resumed, and in January 2005, Vaughn acquired the option to developStardust.[12] In October 2005, the director entered final negotiations withParamount Pictures to write, direct, and produceStardust with a budget estimated at $70–88.5 million.[13] Vaughn said half the financing for the film was British.[14][15]
The adapted screenplay was written by Vaughn and screenwriterJane Goldman, who had been recommended by Gaiman.[11][9] When asked how the book inspired his vision for the film, Vaughn said that he wanted "to doPrincess Bride with aMidnight Run overtone".[16] One of the difficulties with adapting the novel was its earnest and dark nature: an adult fairy tale in which sex and violence are presented unflinchingly. With Gaiman's blessing given to the screenwriters, the movie version has a greater element of whimsy and humor. Gaiman did not want people to go to the theatre to see a film that attempted but failed, to be completely loyal to the book.[17] After creating theaudiobook version of the novel, Gaiman realized that there were 10½ hours of material in the book. This led him to acknowledge that the film would have to compress the novel, leaving out portions of the work. Budgetary concerns also factored into the adaptation, even with the level of 2006 technology.[10] Gaiman understood the need to move the plot along faster: "In the book, Tristan crosses the wall, meets a strange creature, goes through the wood of vampire trees and, as his reward, gets the Babylon candle. Now we skip that. He gets the candle and just lights it and gets to Yvaine earlier. Otherwise, that would take an hour." Also, the newly created character of Ferdy the Fence was used to push people together faster.[18] Vaughn acknowledges the changes from the book were substantial. The character of Captain Shakespeare was expanded extensively from the novel, where Captain Alberic is only briefly mentioned, and the last half hour of the film is almost entirely different from the book.[14]
Vaughn and Goldman decided that the witches needed names, as in the book they were collectively theLilim. They chose names fromclassical sources that coincidentally included names found in Gaiman'sThe Books of Magic (Empusa) andNeverwhere (Lamia).[19]
On the film's differences from the novel, Gaiman commented, "I sort of feel like my grounding in comics was actually very useful because, in my head, that's just theEarth-Two version ofStardust. It's a parallel Earth version ofStardust, which has Robert De Niro and stuff. And I get people who come to the book from having loved the movie who are really disappointed at some of the stuff that isn't there that Matthew brought".[20][21] Responding to a fan's statement about preferring the film's climax compared to the book, Gaiman clarified that he in fact had suggested the different ending that the film ended up using and liked it better for the film but liked the book ending better for the book.[22]
In March 2006, the studio castRobert De Niro,Michelle Pfeiffer,Claire Danes,Charlie Cox, andSienna Miller. Production began in the United Kingdom and Iceland in April 2006, with the majority of filming taking place in the UK.[23] Vaughn picked Danes, Cox, and Pfeiffer for their roles. He intended Captain Shakespeare to be played by either De Niro orJack Nicholson.Stephen Fry was pitched as a possible Shakespeare, but Vaughn eventually picked De Niro.[24]
Vaughn insisted on an unknown actor for the part of Tristan.[16][24][25] Cox was tentatively cast as Tristan, but to ensure the leads had chemistry on screen Vaughn would not confirm the casting until both leads were cast. Vaughn had Cox audition alongside the prospective leading actresses until the female lead was cast.[25] Cox had worked alongside Miller before, and played a small supporting as her brother in the 2005 filmCasanova.[25]
Sarah Michelle Gellar was offered the role of Yvaine but turned it down, not wanting to be apart from husbandFreddie Prinze Jr. while he was filming in the U.S.[26]
The role of Quintus was originally given to comedianNoel Fielding, but due to health issues he had to drop out and was replaced by another comedianAdam Buxton.[27]
The production started filming in mid-April 2006, withprincipal photography taking place atPinewood Studios in London. Location filming started inWester Ross, in theScottish Highlands[28] followed immediately by filming on theIsle of Skye. The scene where Prince Septimus consults the soothsayer was shot inIceland.[29] The filmmakers had wanted to use more locations in Iceland but were unable to get the horses they needed.[30][9]
Several weeks of location filming also took place in the woods and the Golden Valley nearLittle Gaddesden,Hertfordshire, in June and July.[31] In mid-2006, there was some filming atStowe School inBuckinghamshire and in the village ofCastle Combe,Wiltshire. Some of the scenes requiring wide open spaces for riding and coach scenes were filmed atBicester Airfield inOxfordshire.
Another film location was onElm Hill inNorwich. The area, with a mixture of Tudor and medieval buildings dating as far back as the 11th century, was transformed into the streets of Stormhold. The Briton's Arms tea house became the Slaughtered Prince public house.[32] The owners were so enthralled with the new look, including a spectacular mural and new thatching, that they appealed to the local council andEnglish Heritage to keep it, but their request was refused.Filming also took place in Wales, at theBrecon Beacons National Park.[33][34]
The design of the witches' lair was inspired by theHall of Mirrors in thePalace of Versailles in France, but with black instead of white and silver instead of gold.[16]
Filming was finished by 13 July 2006.[31]
The film required 830visual effects (VFX) shots which were supervised by Peter Chiang and produced by Tim Field.Double Negative supervised 350 shots, and other work was shared among six other companies including LipSync Post, Cinesite, The Senate, Baseblack, Machine, and Rushes. Mattes & Miniatures provided miniatures. The pirate skyship set was shot against a 360-degreegreenscreen and required fully CG backgrounds and digital extending the size and the bow of the ship. Some distance shots of the ship were entirely CG. Yvaine required a star glow effect for more than eighty shots.[35][36] Two of the witches required a signature magical effect, Lamia had a green fire effect created using a combination of particle animation and joint-driven soft body ribbons, and Sal had a black smoke effect, created by turning animated geometry into a target-driven fluid simulation. The age transformation of Lamia was achieved using a composite of multiple motion control plates, including a pass in the full prosthetic makeup, the transformed youthful Lamia, and a pass where the hair was pulled through a dummy head, played in reverse to give the appearance of hair growing, composited and blended with a procedural glow effect. Twenty feet of The Wall was built on location as a practical effect and extended into the distance using digital painting. VFX was completed by February 2007.[35]
The film score was composed byIlan Eshkeri, who previously worked with Vaughn onLayer Cake.[37] Eshkeri was given the script before production began and wrote the first pieces of music inspired by the illustrations ofCharles Vess from the graphic novel. Eshkeri was also on set during some of the filming.[38] The score was released byDecca Records on 11 September 2007.[39][40] Eshkeri won the award for Best New Composer of 2007 from the International Film Music Critics Association,[41] and the score was also nominated in the category Best Original Fantasy Score.[42]
Stardust was well received by test audiences. ProducerLorenzo di Bonaventura was surprised when the film was well received across all demographics, despite the film not having been designed for everyone, expecting instead for parts of the audience to feel the film was not for them. In their feedback audiences agreed it was not a fairy tale, giving various descriptions of it, such as an adventure with magical elements.[49] A March release had been planned but when Paramount saw its commercial potential it was pushed back to a later date.[16]
Stardust premiered at the Paramount Studio Theatre inLos Angeles on 29 July 2007.[50] The film was later released on 10 August 2007 in the United States. It opened in 2,540 theatres, earning US$9,169,779, an average of $3,610 per theatre, putting it in 4th place, withRush Hour 3 taking 1st.[51] The film also opened the same day in Russia and the rest of theCommonwealth of Independent States,[52] earning $8,118,263 as of 14 October 2007. In the UK and Ireland, the film was released on 19 October 2007, it came in second at the box office in its opening weekend and spent 8 weeks in the box office top ten.[53][54]Stardust was blocked from release in China due to additional restrictions on foreign films on top of the existing quota system limiting non-Chinese films.[55]
Stardust earned a total of $137,022,245 worldwide.[4] Its biggest markets were the United States, where it made $38 million, and the UK, where it made $31 million (approximately£19.5 million).
Stardust received mostly positive reviews from critics.[56][57][58] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 77% of 197 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "A faithful interpretation that captures the spirit of whimsy, action, and off-kilter humor of Neil Gaiman,Stardust juggles multiple genres and tones to create a fantastical experience."[59]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[60] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.[61]
Roger Ebert called it a "fun" movie and gave it a rating of 2.5 out of 4. He criticized the pacing as cluttered and unfocused, and concluded "It's a film you enjoy in pieces, but the jigsaw never gets solved."[62]The New Yorker's Bruce Diones called it "more surprising and effective than the usual kiddie-matinée madness."[63] John Anderson ofVariety wrote: "Sprinkled with tongue-in-cheek humor, fairly adult jokes and some well-known faces acting very silly, this adventure story should have particular appeal to fans ofThe Princess Bride, but in any event will never be mistaken for a strictly-for-kids movie." Anderson praised Pfeiffer for her comedic timing and called De Niro's performance "as engrossing as a car crash". He says the romance is the least interesting part of the film, but the sweep of the story and the humor keep the film together.[64]Stephen Holden ofThe New York Times wrote: "Michelle Pfeiffer is Lamia, as deliciously evil a witch as the movies have ever invented" and suggested she should be the center of the film. Holden said that Danes was miscast, and described De Niro's performance as "either a piece of inspired madcap fun or an excruciating embarrassment."[65]Kurt Loder ofMTV News was critical of De Niro's performance saying "This could be the most pointlessly grotesque performance of De Niro's career; it's flabbergastingly unfunny."[66] Michael Dwyer ofThe Irish Times described the film as "diverting in its whimsical way, but burdened with nonsequiturs, and it ought to have been subjected to more rigorous pruning in the editing suite". Dwyer criticized the cameos of Gervais and De Niro as unsubtle, jarring, and self-indulgent, and said Danes was miscast. He praised Pfeiffer, saying she gave the film "the kiss of life".[67] Dan Jolin ofEmpire called it "Patchy but great fun, peppering plenty of black humour into a sweet if silly fairy-tale romance."[68] Glenn Kenny ofPremiere called it "an eye-poppingly elaborate fantasy that's shot through with action-movie adrenaline and attitude."[69]Time Out London compared the film toTime Bandits orThe Princess Bride "but it lacks the former's originality and the latter's heart".[70] Tim Robey ofThe Telegraph wrote: "There's a shameless romantic streak here, quite welcome in a boy-targeted genre that usually insists battles are cool and love is for wimps."[71]
Philip French ofThe Observer said the film "fails on every level" and referring to a scene with Robert De Niro said it "plumbs new depths of camp embarrassment".[72] Deborah Ross ofThe Spectator called the film "a grindingly familiar huge pile of nothing which may please six-year-olds and fantasy nerds, but that's about it".[73]
Associated Press Film critic David Germain put the film in 7th place on his list of the 10 best films of 2007.[74] "Rule the World" was also submitted for consideration at the80th Academy Awards forBest Original Song but was not nominated.[75]
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34th Annual Saturn Awards 2008[76] | Best Fantasy Film | Stardust | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actress | Michelle Pfeiffer | ||
| Best Costume | Sammy Sheldon | ||
| Empire Awards 2008[77] | Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Stardust | Won |
| GLAAD Media Awards 2008 | Outstanding Film - Wide Release | Stardust | Won |
| Hugo Awards 2008[5] | Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form | Jane Goldman (written by), Matthew Vaughn (written by/director), Neil Gaiman (based on the novel by), Charles Vess (illustrated by) | Won |
| Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards 2007[78] | Overlooked Film of the Year | Stardust | Won |
The film was released on both Region 1 DVD andHD DVD on 18 December 2007.[4] The DVD was released in bothFullscreen andWidescreen aspect ratios.[79] The HD DVD and DVD special features include a documentary entitledGood Omens: The Making of Stardust;[80]deleted scenes from the film; the film'sblooper reel; and the film'stheatrical trailer.
The film and special features on the HD DVD version are presented in2.35:1 widescreen high definition1080p and feature aDolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio soundtrack.[81]
The film was released on Region A Blu-ray Disc (Canada and US) on 7 September 2010.[82]
Vaughn had ideas forStardust 2 that would involve London in the 1960s, but the first film was not financially successful enough to justify a sequel.[83]
On the 10th Anniversary of the film's releaseVanity Fair interviewed Charlie Cox, who is frequently recognized by fans for the role early in his career. Cox said that he was unsure why the film is so popular but noted that Vaughn wanted to make a film with broad appeal, while Goldman avoided extraneous detail and focused on the heart of the story.Vanity Fair noted that the film gets replayed frequently in syndication and describes it as "endlessly likable", with a great cast, special effects that are not too dated, and "the best adaptation of Gaiman's work, capturing his unique blend of darkness and whimsy perfectly."[84][8]
Vaughn was critical of the marketing of the film, saying it had been promoted as if it wereLord of the Rings when it had been much more influenced byThe Princess Bride. He noted that although the film did not do well in cinemas, it became an "evergreen title" on DVD.[85]
Production Budget: $70 million
Matthew Vaughn's $88.5 million fantasy
had a bit part in Stardust, in which she was killed by Michelle Pfeiffer.
New music will be released under my birth name, Eliot Sumner. I am looking forward to you hearing it. It's nice to be back.
The last half hour isn't really in the book at all. And Captain Shakespeare is not in the book.
The other 50% was financed mostly by Peter Morton with Vaughn's UK-based MARV Films and Ingenious Film Partners, one of the biggest UK players in movie financing.
I like the end of the film much better for a film. It was why I suggested it. On the other hand, I like the end of the book much better for the book.
Its dramatic landscape and sweeping views are perfect for filming. It was a pleasure to shoot there.
directly quotes Bach, Dvorak and Offenbach
a song for the motion picture Stardust titled "Rule the World", which reached number 2 in the UK charts and went on to be the 5th biggest selling single of 2007.
Stardust, crash-landed, conjuring $9.2 million at 2,540 venues.
domestic dud Stardust showed some promise in Russia, grossing $3 million from 400 screens.
Despite near positive reviews across the board
earning largely positive reviews
Released to generally positive reviews
This could be the most pointlessly grotesque performance of De Niro's career; it's flabbergastingly unfunny.
Stardust was recognized as the overlooked film of the year.
Sometimes a bomb is just a bomb.
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| National | |
| Other | |
