Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10646 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-04-23
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Box set, Limited Edition, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: 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. This limited edition version includes a note to Terry Pratchett fans.

Customer Reviews

Could have been much, much, much better
A rule of thumb for writers - if the director offers you a part in the adaptation of your book ... he's only trying to distract you from noticing how bad things are getting.

I was looking forward to Hogfather, it WAS one of my favourites - but since I watched this travesty of casting (and acting) I haven't been able to stomach the thought of reading again.

One of my biggest problems is with the casting of Mark Warren as Mr Teatime, or as the character would say Mr Te-a-ti-may and not as Warren insisted Te-a-tam-ay, which would make him Teatame not Teatime. Warren is the flavour of the month, but as displayed by his roles in Messiah 5 and Dracula, he's only got one character and that's the one in the series The Hustle. In the extras, which were the build up programmes shown on sky, he says that he based the character of Mr Teatime on Johnny Depps in Willy Wonka, and in a magazine interview he admitted he had never read a Pratchett book in his life, "but I have seen them on the shelf at the airport and that". Next time, mate, read the book and base the character on what's in the book not on what someone else as done, because as an impersonator of other actors you suck.

I don't have as much of a problem as some other fans do with David Jason as Albert (except for the fact that he played is as cuddly David Jason rather than grumpy old ex-wizard Albert). Heaven help us if he is Rincewind.

The only one I think they got right was Banjo.

My distaste for the rewriting of parts of the book, especially what happened in the Tooth Fairy's palace cannot be put into words. I realise that you have to condense a book and miss things out to fit the time constraints but why mess with the "inner babysitter" bit, it's one of my favourite lines in the book and showed Susan's inner strength.

At last a Pratchett adult adaptation that delivers
The best programme on TV last Christmas - This is just fantastic - the casting of the late Ian Richardson as the voice of DEATH was inspired .So sad he wont be around for any more
David Jason's contribution is a tad underplayed but there again he doesnt steal the show and I suspect he deliberately pitched it so he wouldnt be THE BIG STAR
The FX are very well done the story moves at a cracking pace - all the flab from the book is gone
The Unseen University is magnificent and Joss Ackland has the time of his life as the Chancellor

teh hogfather (DVD)
i am a fan of the books but not the tv versions. this one is different. i watched it when it was broadcast over the christmas period and it is fantastic. the special effects are top notch and the storyline matches the written version. buy it and get your family and friends round to watch it