Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3415 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-04-23
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 184 minutes

Synopsis
With an all-star ensemble cast of the UK's most loved actors including David Jason, Ian Richardson, Peter Guinness, Marc Warren and Tony Robinson, Hogfather brings Pratchett's infamous 'Discworld' to life.

Discworld is a world very similar to our own - if you overlook the fact that it is flat, and balanced on four elephants, which in turn are standing on the back of a giant turtle. The inhabitants of Discworld have their own version of Christmas, Hogswatch, and their own version of Santa, the Hogfather - who is pulled across the sky in a hog-drawn sleigh.

This year, however, something is amiss, when on the night before Hogswatch, Death (voiced by Richardson, Bleak House), who is responsible for escorting all beings to the afterlife, notices that the Hogfather's life-timer is lying broken on the floor of his castle. Could it be that Hogswatch will not happen this year?

With much of the fabric of reality dependent on the human power of belief, Death swaps his black shroud for a false beard and red coat to make sure that the children of Discworld remain blissfully unaware of the Hogfather's absence. With the help of his faithful servant Albert (Jason, A Touch of Frost, Only Fools and Horses) Death dutifully travels from house to house delivering gifts, leaving his granddaughter Susan (Michelle Dockery) to find the real Hogfather before belief in him, and subsequently Discworld is destroyed.

Synopsis
In this live-action adaptation of the Terry Pratchett book of the same name, the inhabitants of Discworld celebrate a form of Christmas called Hogswatch, where the Hogfather travels in a hog-drawn sleigh, delivering presents to children. In this world, the fabric of reality is predominantly dependent on the power of belief. So, when the Hogfather mysteriously disappears, Death dons a red coat and false beard and sets about delivering all the presents before the children of Discworld notice that anything is amiss. Of course, he cannot do it all alone, and enlists the help of his trusty servant Albert (David Jason, ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES). Meanwhile, Death’s granddaughter Susan (Michelle Dockery, CONSENT) searches for the Hogfather before belief in him disappears, leading to the destruction of Discworld. This adaptation of THE HOGFATHER is the first time a live-action version of a book by the hugely successful author Terry Pratchett has been made and it manages to be an entertaining Christmas family tale. With a sizeable budget and a charismatic performance by David Jason, THE HOGFATHER brings Discworld fully to life.

Customer Reviews

A successful move from book to screen
This is the first "theatrical" (i.e. live actors, not cartoons) realisation of a Terry Pratchett novel, and like, I'm sure, all Pratchett fans I approached it with some trepidation. Would it work? Would the intricacies and atmosphere of the Discworld be adequately represented for us here on Roundworld? Could they be? It was a bit like going to see the first of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy at the cinema - could such a different place, which each of us believed in in our own way, actually be filmed successfully? The answer with the Peter Jackson film(s) was, of course, a resounding "yes" and the same goes for this less ambitious venture.
There have been cartoon versions of two Terry Pratchett novels, "Wyrd Sisters" and "Soul Music" and these worked reasonably well, but the limitations of the media (and some rather quirky editing) mean that we had to wait for the live action "Hogfather", with excellent casting and production, CGI, and animatronics to start to do justice to Pratchett's vision.
It is difficult to fault it. The only thing the viewer has to take care about is that as well as enjoying it you have to pay attention because otherwise you will miss some typically Pratchett little gems, and possibly something relevant to the plot. Discworld devotees will appreciate it most, I think, but others should too, judging from the positive reaction from my family members who have hitherto resisted the novels. And yes, it is worth buying the two-disc version.

Hogfather - excellent!
I won't make this a long review, but if you want to watch a film that has superb actors and characters along with humour and seriousness, then I strongly recommend you get this film. It makes excellent viewing without going overboard as some films can do. It helps that the film is divided into 2 episodes. My children and I enjoyed this very much.

"And what do you want for Hogswatch, small human?"
THE STORY:
The deranged assassin Mr Teatime has figured out a way to kill the Hogfather (think Santa but with porcine overtones). Knowing that without the Hogfather the sun will not rise, Death decides to boost the power of belief by impersonating the jolly fat man. Meanwhile, Death's (adoptive) grandaughter Susan takes it upon herself to stop Teatime's plans.

WHAT'S GOOD:
Pratchett fans will be pleased by the surprisingly faithful adaption of the Discworld novel of the same name. The character of Susan (played by the beautiful Michelle Dockery) is a wonderfully realised character with the perfect dry wit and cynicism which makes for a great protagonist. In fact, all of the characters are played to perfection by the all-star cast be it Marc Warren's psychotic Teatime or the bemused wisdom of Joss Ackland's wizard Mustrum Ridcully. There's plenty of humour on offer here too, with at least one good chuckle every ten minutes (the Oh God of Hangovers is particularly amusing). However, the element which made this film worthwhile for me is Death. The design of the character is really good, with the twinkling blue lights deep in his eye sockets being more effective than any amount of CGI could be. But it is Ian Richardson's vocal talent which, if you'll pardon the pun, really bring Death to life. Richardson manages to convey everything from Death's confusion over the human race to his rage against the Auditors perfectly. (ALBERT: "Never say die, that's our motto" DEATH: "I can't say it's ever been mine")

WHAT'S BAD:
The plot of this film is really quite intricate and if you don't pay attention you may find yourself wondering things like 'Why are they in the Tooth Fairy's castle?' or 'What's all this stuff about the Verucca Gnome?'. The intricacy of the plot is made more problematic by the film's length. Having originally been two separate two-hour-long episodes, this means you'll have to pay attention for four hours to fully understand the plot. My only other complaint was that we didn't see enough of the Death of Rats, aka the Grim Squeaker.