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''Stardust'' is a 2007 romantic fantasy
adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...
directed by Matthew Vaughn and co-written by Vaughn and
Jane Goldman Jane Loretta Anne Goldman''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 11 June 1970) is an English screenwriter, author and producer. With Matthew Vaughn, she co-wrote the screenplays of '' Kingsm ...
. Based on Neil Gaiman's 1999 novel of the same name, it features an ensemble cast led by
Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, '' Time'' named her one of the 100 most influenti ...
,
Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, including lead roles in the television series '' Daredevil'' (2 ...
,
Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian ''Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli ca ...
, Ricky Gervais,
Jason Flemyng Jason Iain Flemyng''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 25 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for roles in British films such as '' Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' (1998 ...
,
Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...
, Peter O'Toole,
Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and popular sex symbols during the 1980s a ...
, and Robert De Niro, with narration by Ian McKellen. The film follows Tristan, a young man from the fictional town of Wall in Great Britain. 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. He collects the star who, to his surprise, is a woman named Yvaine.
Witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
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 of her offer. The film was released to positive reviews and grossed $137 million on a $70–88.5 million budget. In 2008 it won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. It was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
,
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of stori ...
and HD DVD on 18 December 2007.


Plot

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 the guard and crosses over the wall to a marketplace. He meets an enslaved princess named Una, who offers him a glass
snowdrop ''Galanthus'' (from Ancient Greek , (, "milk") + (, "flower")), or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leaves and a single ...
in exchange for a kiss. They spend the night together. Nine months later, the Wall guard delivers a baby to Dunstan, saying the baby's name is Tristan. Eighteen years later, the dying King of Stormhold throws a ruby into the sky, decreeing that his successor will be the first of his fratricidal sons to recover it. The gem hits a star, and both fall out of the sky, landing in Stormhold. The remaining 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. Tristan learns that his mother is from beyond the wall, but he is not able to 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 beautiful woman named Yvaine. He uses a magic chain to claim her and to take her to Victoria. Three ancient
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
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 sets off 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, a
unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
releases her, but unwittingly takes her to Lamia's inn. Tristan discovers Yvaine gone, but the stars whisper that she is in danger, telling him to get on a passing coach, which happens to be Primus'. They stop at the inn, interrupting Lamia's attempt to kill Yvaine. Lamia kills Primus, but Tristan and Yvaine use the Babylon candle to escape into the clouds, where they are captured by pirates in a flying ship. The leader, Captain Shakespeare, tells his crew that Tristan is his nephew and Yvaine, a friend. He provides them with new clothes, teaches Tristan how to
fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...
and Yvaine how to dance. Septimus discovers he is the last surviving son, and only needs to find the stone to claim the throne. He learns it is in the possession of the fallen star and realizes that the heart of a star grants immortality. After leaving Captain Shakespeare, Tristan and Yvaine confess their love for one another and spend the night together at an inn. Next morning, Tristan leaves Yvaine sleeping and goes with a lock of her hair, to tell Victoria he has fallen in love with Yvaine. When the lock has turned to stardust, he realizes Yvaine will die if she crosses the wall, and rushes back to save her. Yvaine finds Tristan gone, and–thinking he has abandoned her for Victoria–despondently walks towards the wall. Una notices Yvaine walking to her doom and takes the reins of Ditchwater Sal's
caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...
to stop her. Lamia kills Sal, and captures Una and Yvaine, taking them to the witches' manor. Septimus and Tristan both pursue Lamia, agreeing to work together for the time being. 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 a
voodoo doll The term Voodoo doll commonly describes an effigy into which pins are inserted. Such practices are found in various forms in the magical traditions of many cultures around the world. Despite its name, the dolls are not prominent in Haitian Vodo ...
to kill Septimus. Lamia is about to finish Tristan off, when she appears to break down over the loss of her sisters. Lamia frees Yvaine, but her feigned defeat was a ruse, and she tries to kill them both. As Tristan and Yvaine embrace, their love allows her to shine once again, killing Lamia. Tristan retrieves the gem that Yvaine was wearing from the floor, and as it turns red, 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. After eighty years of benevolent rule, they use a Babylon candle to ascend to the sky, where they live together as stars.


Cast


Production


Development

The illustrated fantasy story '' Stardust'' was created by Neil Gaiman, with art by
Charles Vess Charles Vess (born June 10, 1951) is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau pain ...
. It was first published by DC Comics in 1997 as a prestige format four-issue comic mini-series. Encouraged by publisher Avon, Gaiman decided to adapt ''Stardust'', 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 film '' It Happened One Night''. In 1998, ''Stardust'' was
optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...
for a
film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
by
Bob Weinstein Robert Weinstein (born October 18, 1954) is an American film producer. He is the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company, all of which he co-founded with his older brother, Harvey. He h ...
at Miramax. Gaiman wrote a treatment, and then Ehren Kruger wrote a treatment. 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 by
Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
, Gaiman preferred to retain control and influence the development of the film. Eventually, discussions about a film version of ''Stardust'' took place between Gaiman, director Terry Gilliam, and producer Matthew Vaughn. Gilliam dropped out following his involvement with ''
The Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among t ...
'' and not wanting to do another fairy tale. Vaughn left to produce '' Layer Cake'' but then became the director for the first time for that project. After Vaughn withdrew from helming the film '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', talks resumed and in January 2005, Vaughn acquired the option to develop ''Stardust''. In October 2005, the director entered final negotiations with Paramount Pictures to write, direct, and produce ''Stardust'' with a budget estimated at $70–88.5 million. Vaughn said half the financing for the film was British.


Adaptation

The adapted screenplay was written by Vaughn and screenwriter
Jane Goldman Jane Loretta Anne Goldman''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 11 June 1970) is an English screenwriter, author and producer. With Matthew Vaughn, she co-wrote the screenplays of '' Kingsm ...
, who had been recommended by Gaiman. When asked how the book inspired his vision for the film, Vaughn said that he wanted "to do '' Princess Bride'' with a ''
Midnight Run ''Midnight Run'' is a 1988 American road action comedy film directed by Martin Brest and starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, and Philip Baker Hall play supporting roles. At the 4 ...
'' overtone." 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 humour. 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. After creating the
audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
version of the novel, Gaiman realised 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. 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. Vaughn acknowledges the changes from the book were substantial, the character Captain Shakespeare was expanded extensively from the novel, where Captain Alberic was only briefly mentioned and the last half hour of the film was almost entirely different from the book. Vaughn and Goldman decided that the witches needed names, as in the book they were collectively the
Lilim Lilin () were hostile night spirits that attacked men in ancient Mesopotamian religion and Jewish folklore. Judaism In Jewish mythology, ''Lilin'' is a term for night spirits. Biblical apocrypha In the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, ''lilin'' c ...
. They chose names from classical sources that coincidentally included names found in Gaiman's '' The Books of Magic'' (Empusa) and ''
Neverwhere ''Neverwhere'' is an urban fantasy television miniseries by Neil Gaiman that first aired in 1996 on BBC 2. The series is set in "London Below", a magical realm coexisting with the more familiar London, referred to as "London Above". It was de ...
'' (Lamia). 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 the Earth-Two version of ''Stardust''. It's a parallel Earth version of ''Stardust'', 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." 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.


Casting

In March 2006, the studio cast Robert De Niro,
Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and popular sex symbols during the 1980s a ...
,
Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, '' Time'' named her one of the 100 most influenti ...
,
Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, including lead roles in the television series '' Daredevil'' (2 ...
, and
Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian ''Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli ca ...
. Production began in the United Kingdom and Iceland in April 2006, with the majority of filming taking place in the UK. Vaughn picked Danes, Cox, and Pfeiffer for their roles. He intended Captain Shakespeare to be played by either De Niro or
Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
. Stephen Fry was pitched as a possible Shakespeare, but Vaughn eventually picked De Niro. Vaughn insisted on an unknown actor for the part of Tristan. 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. Cox had worked alongside Miller before, and played a small supporting as her brother in the 2005 film ''
Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...
''. Sarah Michelle Gellar was offered the role of Yvaine but turned it down, not wanting to be apart from husband
Freddie Prinze Jr. Frederick James Prinze Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American actor, television & film producer and screenwriter. He has starred in films such as ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997) and its sequel ''I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' ...
while he was filming in the U.S. The role of Quintus was originally given to comedian
Noel Fielding Noel Fielding (; (born 21 May 1973) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for his work with The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongside Julian Barratt in the 2000s, and more recently as a co-presenter of ''The Great British Bake Off'' ...
, but due to health issues he had to drop out and was replaced by another comedian
Adam Buxton Adam Offord Buxton (born 7 June 1969) is an English actor, comedian, podcaster and writer. With the filmmaker Joe Cornish, he is part of the comedy duo Adam and Joe. They presented the Channel 4 television series ''The Adam and Joe Show'' (1996 ...
.


Filming

The production started filming in mid-April 2006, with principal photography taking place at Pinewood Studios in London. Location filming started in
Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the ...
, in the Scottish Highlands followed immediately by filming on the Isle of Skye. The scene where Prince Septimus consults the soothsayer was shot in Iceland. The film makers had wanted to use more locations in Iceland but were unable to get the horses they needed. Several weeks of location filming also took place in the woods and the Golden Valley near
Ashridge Business school Hult International Business School (also known as Hult Business School or Hult) is a private business school with campuses in Cambridge, London, San Francisco, Dubai, New York City, and Shanghai. Hult is named for the school's benefactor Berti ...
, Hertfordshire in the village of
Little Gaddesden Little Gaddesden (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in the borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire north of Berkhamsted. As well as Little Gaddesden village (population 694), the parish contains the settlements of Ashridge (population 53), H ...
in June and July. In mid-2006, there was some filming at
Stowe School , motto_translation = I stand firm and I stand first , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent school, day & boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmast ...
in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east ...
and in the village of
Castle Combe Castle Combe is a village and civil parish within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wiltshire, England. The village is around north-west of Chippenham. A castle once stood in the area, but was demolished centuries ago. The vi ...
, Wiltshire. Some of the scenes requiring wide open spaces for riding and coach scenes were filmed at
Bicester Airfield Bicester Aerodrome, formerly RAF Bicester, is an airfield on the outskirts of the English town of Bicester in Oxfordshire. Dating back to 1916, this military airfield is notable as the location of the first flight of the prototype Handley Page H ...
in Oxfordshire. Another film location was on Elm Hill in Norwich. 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. The owners were so enthralled with the new look, including a spectacular mural and new thatching, that they appealed to the local council and English Heritage to keep it, but their request was refused. Filming also took place in Wales, at the
Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) i ...
. The design of the witches' lair was inspired by the Hall of Mirrors in the
Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
in France, but with black instead of white and silver instead of gold. Filming was finished by 13 July 2006.


Visual effects

The film required 830 visual effects (VFX) shots which were supervised by Peter Chiang and produced by Tim Field.
Double Negative A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. Multiple negation is the more general term referring to the occurrence of more than one negative in a clause. In some languages, d ...
supervised 350 shots, and other work was shared out 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 degree
greenscreen Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to r ...
and required fully CG backgrounds and digital extending the size and the bow of the ship. Some distance shots of ship were entirely CG. Yvaine required a star glow effect for more than eighty shots. 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 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 were completed by February 2007.


Music

The film score was composed by
Ilan Eshkeri Ilan Eshkeri (born 7 April 1977) is a British neoclassical composer known for his concert music, films scores and artist collaborations. Early life Eshkeri was born to a Jewish family in London. During his childhood, he learned to play the ...
, who previously worked with Vaughn on '' Layer Cake''. Eshkeri was given the script before production began and wrote the first pieces of music inspired by the illustrations of
Charles Vess Charles Vess (born June 10, 1951) is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau pain ...
from the graphic novel. Eshkeri was also on set during some of the filming. The score was released by
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
on 11 September 2007. Eshkeri won the award for Best New Composer of 2007 from the International Film Music Critics Association, and the score was also nominated in the category Best Original Fantasy Score. * After watching an early cut, British pop band Take That wrote and recorded a song for the film titled " Rule the World", featuring Gary Barlow on lead vocals. The song features in the end credits to the film and was released as a single on 22 October 2007 in the United Kingdom and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. *
Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...
's song "Eradication Instincts Defined" is featured in both the UK and US trailers. * Prelude 2 in C Minor from the first book of the " Well-Tempered Clavier" by Johann Sebastian Bach was adapted for use in the first part of the scene at Lamia's Inn. *
Slavonic Dances The ''Slavonic Dances'' ( cs, Slovanské tance) are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Op. 46 and Op. 72 respectively. Originally written for piano four hands, t ...
, Op. 46, No. 6 in D Major by
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...
was adapted for use for the dancing scene aboard the flying ship. * "The Infernal Galop" from Jacques Offenbach's " Orpheus in the Underworld", more commonly known as the " Can-can", plays during the fight between Captain Shakespeare's men and Septimus's men on board the sky vessel.


Release


Pre-release

''Stardust'' was well received by test audiences. Producer
Lorenzo di Bonaventura Lorenzo di Bonaventura (; born January 13, 1957) is an American film producer and founder and owner of Di Bonaventura Pictures. He is best known for producing the G.I. Joe and ''Transformers'' film series. The films he produced have earned over ...
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. A March release had been planned but when Paramount saw its commercial potential it was pushed back to a later date.


Box office

''Stardust'' premiered at the Paramount Studio Theatre in Los Angeles on 29 July 2007. 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, with ''
Rush Hour 3 ''Rush Hour 3'' is a 2007 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner, written by Jeff Nathanson, and starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Max von Sydow, Hiroyuki Sanada, Noémie Lenoir, Yvan Attal and Youki Kudoh. It is the thi ...
'' taking 1st. The film also opened the same day in Russia and the rest of the Commonwealth of Independent States, 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. ''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. ''Stardust'' earned a total of $137,022,245 worldwide. Its biggest markets were the United States, where it made $38 million, and the UK, where it made $31 million (approximately ).


Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 77% rating based on reviews from 197 critics, with an average rating of 6.80/10. The critics' 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." On Metacritic the film has a score of 66 out of 100 based on reviews from 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
called it a "fun" movie and gave it a rating of 2.5 out of 4. He criticised the pacing as cluttered and unfocused, and concluded "It's a film you enjoy in pieces, but the jigsaw never gets solved." '' The New Yorker''s Bruce Diones called it "more surprising and effective than the usual kiddie-matinée madness." John Anderson of '' Variety'' 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 of ''
The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...
'', 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.
Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
of '' The 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."
Kurt Loder Kurtis Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American entertainment critic, author, columnist, and television personality. He served in the 1980s as editor at ''Rolling Stone'', during a tenure that ''Reason'' later called "legendary". He has contribute ...
of
MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
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." Michael Dwyer of ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' 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 criticised 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". Dan Jolin of '' Empire magazine'' called it "Patchy but great fun, peppering plenty of black humour into a sweet if silly fairy-tale romance." Glenn Kenny of '' Premiere'' called it "an eye-poppingly elaborate fantasy that's shot through with action-movie adrenaline and attitude." '' Time Out London'' compared the film to '' Time Bandits'' or ''
The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...
'' "but it lacks the former's originality and the latter's heart". Tim Robey of ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' 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."
Philip French Philip Neville French OBE (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio producer, and later a film critic ...
of '' The 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". Deborah Ross of ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
'' called the film "a grindingly familiar huge pile of nothing which may please six-year-olds and fantasy nerds, but that's about it".


Accolades

Associated Press film critic David Germain put the film in 7th place on his list of the 10 best films of 2007. Rule the World was also submitted for consideration at the
80th Academy Awards The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During t ...
for
Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
but was not nominated.


Home media

The film was released on both Region 1 DVD and HD DVD on 18 December 2007. The DVD was released in both Fullscreen and
Widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
aspect ratios. The HD DVD and DVD special features include a documentary entitled ''Good Omens: The Making of Stardust'';
deleted scene A deleted scene is footage that has been removed from the final version of a film or television show. There are various reasons why these scenes are deleted, which include time constraints, relevance, quality or a dropped story thread. A similar ...
s from the film; the film's
blooper reel A blooper is a short clip from a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms o ...
; and the film's
theatrical trailer A trailer (also known as a preview, coming attraction or attraction video) is a commercial advertisement, originally for a feature film that is going to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater/cinema. It is a product of creative and techn ...
. The film and special features on the HD DVD version are presented in 2.35:1 widescreen high definition
1080p 1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen verti ...
and feature a Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio soundtrack. The film was released on Region A Blu-ray Disc (Canada and US) on 7 September 2010.


Legacy

Vaughn had ideas for ''Stardust 2'' that would involve London in the 1960s, but the first film was not financially successful enough to justify a sequel. On the 10th Anniversary of the film's release ''
Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...
'' interviewed Charlie Cox, who is frequently recognized by fans for the role early in his career. Cox is unsure why the film is so popular, but notes that Vaughn wanted to make a film with broad appeal, and Goldman did a great job cutting out extraneous detail, and focusing on the heart of the story. ''Vanity Fair'' notes that the film gets replayed frequently in syndication and describes it as "endlessly likable", with a great cast, special effects that aren't too dated, and "the best adaptation of Gaiman's work, capturing his unique blend of darkness and whimsy perfectly." Vaughn was critical of the marketing of the film, saying it had been promoted as if it were ''
Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 c ...
'' when it had been much more influenced by ''
The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...
''. He noted that although the film didn't do well in cinemas it became an "evergreen title" on DVD.


References


Bibliography

* *


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stardust 2007 films 2000s English-language films 2000s fantasy adventure films British fantasy adventure films American fantasy adventure films American romantic fantasy films Films about royalty Films based on British novels Films based on fantasy novels Films based on Vertigo Comics titles Films based on works by Neil Gaiman Films directed by Matthew Vaughn Films produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura Films scored by Ilan Eshkeri Films set in a fictional country Films set in England Films set in the United Kingdom Films set in the 1830s Films set in the 1840s Films set in the 1850s Films set in the 1930s Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in Buckinghamshire Films shot in Highland (council area) Films shot in Iceland Films shot in Hertfordshire Films shot in Wiltshire Films shot in Oxfordshire Films shot in Norfolk Fratricide in fiction 2000s ghost films High fantasy films Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form winning works Paramount Pictures films Steampunk films 2000s romantic fantasy films Films with screenplays by Jane Goldman Films with screenplays by Matthew Vaughn Films about unicorns Films about witchcraft Films produced by Matthew Vaughn 2000s American films 2000s British films ja:スターダスト (小説)#映画