The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Widescreen Edition)
by Garth Jennings
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Actor: Anna Chancellor, Bill Bailey (IV), Mos Def, Warwick Davis, Zooey DeschanelDirector: Garth Jennings
Primary Contributor: Warwick Davis
Primary Contributor: Mos Def
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 109 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-13
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
DVD Reviews of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Summary: 5 Stars
Great movie. You will want to watch it more than once. So many things are going on that you see new things you missed the first time around. A must have for your DVD collectionDVD Review: Solid
Summary: 3 Stars
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy is one of those films that seems a lot better if one has not read the source material it's based upon- in this case the series of Hitchhiker books by Douglas Adams, the BBC radio shows, or the 1970s BBC television series of the same name. This was manifest immediately to me, as one who'd seen the repeats of the tv show on PBS, but never read the books. In just briefly skimming the online critical consensus this seems confirmed, for rarely does a film elicit such widely divergent reactions. Those critics who came to this film fresh invariably thought it was very good, while those with prior Hitchhiker bonafides thought this new version, by first time director Garth Jennings, who made his name in music videos, was horrible. Oddly, even though I fall into the latter camp, I thought it was a mildly amusing film, in the tradition of Mel Brooks' Spaceballs, and it was scripted by Karey Kirkpatrick, who wrote the delightful claymation comedy Chicken Run, with help from Adams, before he died in 2000. This enjoyment I felt may have been due to the fact that although I enjoyed the old BBC series it's been at least twenty years since I saw the show.
The problem with the film is not really the film's problem, but that the books have such a devoted cult following that even the slightest deviations from the canon seem to be taken personally by fans and critics alike, even though all basic tales must adapt to whatever medium they are in. As long as they capture the essence of the work, that's all that is required. And the essence is a work of humor somewhere between Jonathan Swift and Kurt Vonnegut.... Overall, even if one is not too thrilled with the film, the DVD extras make the effort a little more worthwhile. This zeitgeist may explain the many cameos in the film, by the likes of Jason Schwartzman and John Malkovich, although they are really given nothing to work with. Yet, Slartibartfast's philosophy, `I'd rather be happy than right,' is the sort that, if applied to the film's many disappointed cultist detractors, is hard not to find some resonance with, even if, like him, real happiness has not been reached. Somehow, though, I think Douglas Adams would find their circumstance a hoot.
DVD Review: So Long and Thanks for Almost Getting It Right
Summary: 3 Stars
The uninitiated to the Hitchhiker's Guide universe probably won't get this movie, and those of us who have followed the series for the past thirty years or so will feel let down.
The biggest problem this movie faces is that characters were already created for the BBC TV series, which was pretty much cast from the original radio production. Because we know and like the characters just the way they are, casting new actors is not an easy task. We also know and love the original story, and it takes a Disneyian effort to completely redo the intent and outcome of an established story. Just look at what they did to Pocahontas and The Little Mermaid. (Historically, things didn't turn out so well for Pocahontas, and The Little Mermaid turns into sea foam in the original story.)
Some other problems with the movie:
1 - Zaphod Beeblebrox has 2 heads! Not a flip-top head, he has two heads! Other than that, Sam Rockwell was a good Zaphod.
2 - There is no love story between Arthur and Trillian. In the books, she stays with Zaphod until she gets sick of him, then hooks up with the god Thor at a party. Her interest in Arthur...and Arthur's interest in her, for the most part is just friendly. This is what was so great about the books. Arthur was an "everyman" whose mediocrity managed to get him along in life and save the universe a couple of times. He met a girl at a party who wasn't interested in him, and runs into her after the Earth has been destroyed and she's still not interested. Arthur didn't seem to care because he was more interested in where he could get a good cup of tea. Come on Disney, not EVERY movie needs to revolve around a love story!!
3 - Marvin is depressed, not sad. Big difference. He is also tall and metal, not a small, plastic, and cute.
4 - The Heart of Gold is supposed to look like a sleek running shoe, not a eyeball.
5 - Every character pretty much mumbles their way through this movie. Between Zooey and Mos Def, you need subtitles to finish it.
6 - Mos Def is not a good Ford Prefect. He's good in other things, but not in this.
I guess the biggest problem this movie has going for it is that it isn't based on a book, it's based on a BBC TV series that is based on a book which is based on a radio play. It would be different if we didn't already know all of the characters and how they're supposed to act, but we do. It would be a bit like reforming Led Zeppelin with kids from American Idol. Sure they're talented, but it's not the same.
If you can put all of that aside, and think of it as "A Funny Space Adventure Movie" and not "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", it is a fun show. Three stars.
DVD Review: Here's info most viewers did not know
Summary: 4 Stars
Douglas Adams did indeed write almost all of this script, people who are not aware of Mr. Adams general character may not be aware that he has INTENTIONALLY made every version of Hitchhikers different. The Radio series was first and is different from the books which in turn is different than the BBC TV mini seires and so on and so on. He did this on purpose he has been quoted as saying he did not want to keep retelling the same story he wanted to change things and add new things each time he did the story.
And for most people that may not work for you, for me as a looong time Adams fan I appreciate his desire. I mean who wants to keep telling the same story over and over again? SO he plays with it, he always has and were he still alive I feel sure he would still be making changes, just to piss so called purists off. Since there truely is no one pure version of Hitchhikers.
So enjoy, or not that's your choice but don't assume Adams had little to do with this film because you would be wrong.
DVD Review: HiLaRiOuS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
THIS IZ PROBABLY ONE UV THEE BEST MOOVIEZ I HAV EVR SEEN!
MY FAVORITE PART IS WHEN A WHALE STARTS FALLING AFTER THE SHIP GOES AT LIGHT SPEED OR SOMTIN. THEN HES NAMING STUFF LIKE A TAIL, WIND AND THEN HE SAYS, "WHAT IS THIS HARD SURFACE FLYING TOWARD ME VERY, VERY FAST.
I THINK I'LL CALL IT OU...OUND...ROUND...GROUND! YES THAT'S IT! GROUND!
I WONDER IF IT WILL BE FRIENDS WITH ME. HELLO GROUND!" AND THEN HE HITS THE GROUND VERY HARD. WHILE THAT IS HAPPENING ALL THAT THE FLOWERPOT IS
THINKING IS, "OH, NOT AGAIN." YOU'D HAVE 2 C DA MOOVIE THOUGH. IN OTHER WORDS IT IS HILARIOUS!
Description of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Widescreen Edition)
Don't panic! After twenty years stuck in development (a mere blink compared to how long it takes to find the answer to life, the universe, and everything), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has finally been turned into a movie. Following the radio play, TV series, commemorative towel, and books, this latest installment in the sci-fi-comedy franchise is based on the screenplay and detailed notes by Douglas Adams.
 Hitching a ride. |
For those unfamiliar with the story, everyman Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) wakes up one morning to discover that his house is set to be demolished to make room for a bypass. Little does he know the entire planet Earth is also set to be destroyed for an interplanetary bypass by the Vogons, a hideous and bureaucratic race of aliens realized in the film by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Whisked off the planet by his best friend, alien-in-disguise Ford Prefect (Mos Def), Dent embarks on a goofy jaunt across the galaxy accompanied by his trusty Hitchhiker's Guide, which looks like a really fancy PDA.
The guide itself provides some of the funniest bits of the movie, little animated shorts that explain the ludicrous life forms and extraterrestrial phenomena our heroes encounter. Along the way Arthur meets the two-headed party animal/president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) and develops an unrequited crush on fellow earthling Trillian (Zooey Deschanel). The creatures and sets are inspired and answer to the sci-fi fan's primal need to see lots and lots of cool stuff. In particular, there's John Malkovich's creepy, CGI-enhanced Humma Kavula. He's a guru leading a religion that worships the gigantic nose that allegedly sneezed the universe into existence (naturally all their prayers end not with "Amen" but with "Bless you.") The aliens the team encounters are inspired creations, eminently worthy of action figure-ification, and the sets belie an attention to detail worthy of freeze-framing. Fans of the other Hitchhiker manifestations, namely the British TV series, will be amused by a number of in-jokes sprinkled throughout the movie.
 Concept art: The Heart of Gold pod on the planet Vogsphere |
Where the story stumbles is in the telling--as books, the Hitchhiker's Guide was foremost about goofy and brilliant ideas that raised questions about our place in the universe while getting a laugh. The cast seems at times bewildered, at least when Sam Rockwell isn't picking pieces of scenery out of his teeth, perhaps a natural reaction to an adaptation of a book with no traditional plot. The movie has enough trouble figuring out how to get the characters from one fantastical location to the next that Adams's funniest concepts often feel left in the dust. While the reverence the filmmakers felt toward Adams's legacy is apparent, one wonders what we could have expected had the creator of this science fiction universe lived to see it with his own eyes. -- Ryan Boudinot
A Guide to the Guide
 The Soundtrack |  The Radio Play (CD) |  The TV Series |
 The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (Deluxe Edition) |  The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (Paperback) |  The Filming of the Douglas Adams Classic (book) |
Interviews with The Cast and Director
 Watch our interviews with the cast and director of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and find out what they think of other DVDs and books: high bandwidth low bandwidth |
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