The Hogfather

The Hogfather
by Vadim Jean

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DVD details

Actor: David Jason, Joss Ackland, Neil Pearson, Stephen Marcus, Tony Robinson
Director: Vadim Jean
Brand: WELLSPRING/GENIUS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 189 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-03-04
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Genius Products (TVN)

DVD Reviews of The Hogfather

DVD Review: A Happy Hogswatch, Indeed
Summary: 4 Stars

I enjoyed the film adaptation of Terry Pratchett's novel as much as I enjoyed reading the book. The essence of the character of Death isn't captured quite as well as the others, but otherwise The Hogfather is a wonderful cinematic adaption of the Discworld and it's unique citizenry.

DVD Review: Very good, but a slight miss
Summary: 4 Stars

The Discworld is a planet where magic is not only in existence but more or less commonplace and well known. It is, as you may guess by the name, a disc-shaped world flying through space on the back of 4 elephants, on the back of a tortoise. Why? Because. If you have trouble accepting this, you may not enjoy Discworld.

I had to buy this movie after watching it, because I enjoyed it a great deal, but also because it seemed worth watching again and I had it as a rental. I really enjoyed the book this is adapted from, especially because it is one of Pratchett's more complex books. This, however, is lost a bit in the movie translation. Because this book is so complex, it makes for a difficult screenplay. Also, the book really is not as new-reader friendly as others in the series, and requires you to know the characters. The movie tries to fill in these gaps, for the non-Discworld fan, by having dialogs tossed in, such as Susan repeating many times about her relation, or Quoth (the raven, not sure if he's ever named in the movie) giving an extremely out of character talk about history.

Also, the book itself runs on several different tracks at the same time, gradually letting the reader understand what the full impact is. Unseen University, for example, has the events sped up quite a bit, and moved out of order for cinematic benefit. The shower scene for instance, in the book version, is much funnier, longer, and much later. Also, Ridicully (the head wizard) also has a cloud of swear words flying around him like bats due to the random magic. Instead of these, you see the spell being cast by the wizard in the Tooth Fairy's castle, which does not happen in the book, nor do you get the long explanation (twice!) of why and what they are doing.

These flaws are like any book to movie translation though - you have to understand that a movie simply moves different, and they did a decent job. The acting is very true to character, and with a vast majority of the talk being word for word, down to the physical posturing, pulled from the book (the last 10 minutes are a great example of this). The end of the thieves in the castle was likely cut out due to time, as it's played up much more in the book, however the one thief you do see go panicky, Cheesewire, plays his part excellently. If they had left in some of Medium Dave's responses to him, it would have been even better.

Susan, Death, and the children (minor roles but exactly as listed in the book) are played very well. Albert was a bit over the top, but he really does act that way in this book, which is a bit atypical for his character. Hex is portrayed a bit better in the book, but they were fair to it in the movie. I would have liked the scene with Death and Hex to have been a bit more true to the book - it was really good.

My final comments are about features - this DVD is sorely lacking in subtitles, which should be a basic feature on every movie. I enjoy putting them on to read along, as sometimes you may miss or not hear a comment, or perhaps understand the scene more, not to mention the hearing-impaired would of course desire this. There is no option for this, and I was not able to make my DVD pick any up at all. Secondly, the interviewer for Mr. Pratchett has very poor interviewing skills. His answers are well given, with open ends that she completely fails to ask about. She is obviously reading off a script, and if he is he fakes it well. She replies "brilliant." in a flat tone after every answer, and sounds bored. This was disappointing.

In summary, I would recommend this for any Discworld fan, as it's a fairly good interpretation of the book. It is about 90% true to the book, and nothing is far enough off to make you want to turn it off. For the unfamiliar with Discworld, I would suggest picking up a novel first at your local library to see if you like it, as a lack of knowledge of the world may really impact your enjoyment of it. Think if you picked up the 3rd Harry Potter book as the first one. Would you understand why these kids are being chased all the time, and the school seems to be inhabited by madmen? There are something like 30 Discworld books out, with Hogfather being about midway through the run. A good jumping on book might be "Guards, Guards", or perhaps "Mort". The first in the series is "The Colour of Magic", but it may be a hard read for the new user. The follow up, "The Light Fantastic" is a much better book.

DVD Review: Wonderful adaptation of the book....
Summary: 5 Stars

I really enjoyed the movie; it's a great adaptation of the book. To be honest, I found the book a little confusing at points, as there are many characters and the timing of events seemed odd. The movie actually clarified the story for me, and I thought the Michelle Dockery did a fine job as Susan. It's three hours long, but it's a very fun three hours.

DVD Review: Good but inconsistent
Summary: 4 Stars

I liked the book so I bought the movie.
The pacing was to slow and the villian too feminine. This could have been a much better movie in half the time. They also left out some of the best jokes.
Why have a narrator for just the beginning?
The guy that looked like Clint Eastwood was great till he did his line.
I think Pratchett should write screenplays if he wants to make movies, rather then butcher his truely amazing books into subpar films, or go with someone like disney who could truely realize his vison.

DVD Review: From The Pen Of Pratchett...
Summary: 5 Stars

HOGFATHER was and is a really delightful entry into the fantasy film genre. Witty, clever, with great characters and an engrossing plot line, this film is a must have for those decrying the state of fantasy films today.
I had bought this as a gift for a friend, but had to screen it first and I was both surprised and delighted by the work.
Read rge book, watch the film, I think that you will agree.

Description of The Hogfather

Hogfather is the magical menacing wicked and witty family story unlike anything else you could ever imagine. From the imagination of best-selling author Terry Pratchett comes Hogfather. It s the holiday of Hogswatch the night when kids anticipate presents from the beloved Hogfather. But someone wants the Hogfather out of the way. Now it s up to the most unlikely of heroes to get the holiday back on track. Just in time for the Easter season Hogfather is a cross between Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter that s sure to be a family favorite you ll be watching for years and years to come. System Requirements:Run Time: 189 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC:?796019806046 Manufacturer No:?80604

Based on a fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, The Hogfather is an extraordinary satire-adventure set in the mythical realm of Discworld, a kind of parallel-universe version of Earth. Discworld's alternative to Santa Claus is the Hogfather, who also chases around in a sled delivering gifts to children (on a Christmas-like night known as Hogwatch), but who looks like, well, a wild hog and is pulled through the skies not by reindeer but a bunch of grunting porkers with long, dangerous teeth. Just as the Hogfather is about to complete his annual mission to leave toys for kids under their Hogwatch trees, a specter makes a deal with a professional assassin to kill the jolly old fellow. The job is farmed out to a psychotic monster named Teatime (Marc Warren), who sets about trying to get to the Hogfather through, of all things, the Tooth Fairy. While danger stalks these immortal characters, Death (Ian Richardson) himself takes the Hogfather's place on his magical rounds, with comic consequences. Meanwhile, a governess named Susan (Michelle Dockery), possessor of a strange secret and awesome powers, determines that the Hogfather is in danger. She sets about trying to find him and discovers Teatime's plot, while a cluster of clumsy wizards (led by Joss Ackland) try to make sense of what has happened and what they can do about it. It's hard to explain the charm and wit of The Hogfather, which is full of quirky, ironic humor, except to say that it's easy to fall in love with this British television special and its dark delights. (Some a bit too dark for younger viewers.) The cast includes a very funny Tony Robinson of Black Adder. --Tom Keogh

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