Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23118 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-05
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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. 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. 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 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, Amazon.com

Synopsis
The long-awaited film version of Douglas Adams' THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, based on his five-book series, is a funny, wacky, highly creative ride through a bizarre universe. Martin Freeman (Tim from THE OFFICE) stars as Arthur Dent, a British everyman suddenly thrust into intergalactic intrigue when the earth is destroyed by the Vogons to make room for an interspatial highway. Arthur travels the skyways with good friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def), an alien writer for an electronic encyclopedia called THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Things get downright dangerous--and absolutely hysterical--when Arthur and Ford thumb a ride with the president of the universe, two-headed Zaphod Beeblebrox (a wild and crazy Sam Rockwell); earthling Tricia McMillan (Zooey Deschanel), whom Arthur once had a thing for back in England; and a perpetually depressed robot named Marvin (voiced by Alan Rickman, played by Warwick Davis). With much of the galaxy after them, the motley crew makes its way toward a super-computer that just might be able to provide them with the ultimate question; they already know the answer. Based on a second-draft script written by Adams himself, who died shortly thereafter, H2G2 is a winning film that rightfully earns its place in the storied HITCHHIKER'S lore. And for an extra little bonus, make sure to sit through all of the credits.

Synopsis
Earthman Arthur Dent is having a very bad day. His house is about to be bulldozed, he discovers that his best friend is an alien and, to top things off, planet Earth is about to be demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Arthur's only chance for survival: hitch a ride on a passing spacecraft. For the novice space traveler, the greatest adventure in the universe begins when the world ends. Arthur sets out on a journey in which he finds that nothing is as it seems: he learns that a towel is just the most useful thing in the universe, finds the meaning of life, and discovers that everything he needs to know can be found in one book: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

^{© 2005 Buena Vista Pictures Distribution}

Customer Reviews

Wasted Opportunity
I really looked forward to watching this film having enjoyed the TV series so much as a child. Despite Martin Freeman's best efforts and a good cameo from Bill Nighy, the plot creaks along to utter tedium.

If you're a purist, you won't like this...
...but then you're not going to like much, because anything which doesn't precisely follow the book will be condemned. What you have to remember is that film is a different medium from literature, radio and even TV, so this version of Hitchhiker's is never going to be like these others. The script was at least partly written by Adams before his death, and many of the revisions to the story are his (purists take note).

There is so much to like in this version if you swallow your purist pride. For a start, Sam Rockwell's interpretation of Zaphod is perfect for me. Over-the-top (he's supposed to be!), shallow, self-centred and egotistical. Delivered with great panache by Rockwell. Trillian is also well cast. Although she's American (forgive that), Zooey Dechanel has the right kind of quirkiness. Martin Freeman is great as an Arthur Dent for the naughties, and although he's not Simon Jones (who pops up in a nice cameo), it's an astute bit of casting. The only weak link for me is Mos Def. He underplays his lines too much, and loses some good ones as a result. Bill Nighy is good value as always, and it's nice to see John Malkovich too.

The special effects are of course way ahead of the BBC's original series, and the improbability drive is particularly nicely done. The Vogons are well used in the this version, but for those of us who work in the public sector, many of the jokes here are very resonant! Stephen Fry as the book doesn't equal Peter Jones (who could?), but is a good substitute.

All in all it's not a perfect film, but it pushes most of the right buttons, and has one of the best opening titles sequences I've ever seen in the Neil Hannon-penned 'So Long and Thanks for All the Fish' dolphin display.

Don't panic! Just watch it...

The same but different.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy has been in many forms; originally a radio series, then books, then a TV series, then a play (which flopped fantastically) and now the film has arrived.
Douglas Adams was all for technology. When making the radio series, they spend more time making their sound effects than some bands do to produce an album, and that's because they wanted to do something different. They wanted to take advantage of the technology available, because that's a major part of what Hitchhikers is about - weird and wonderful alien technology.
The books achieved this in a different way. Adams used his incredible genius to create books that made you either gasp in amazement or laugh out loud when reading every page. I really have read no other books like them.
The TV series was not particularly enjoyable because the acting was pretty terrible and the special effects didn't do the ideas justice. They were just the visual version, without trying anything new.
Now I expected the film to be different. Knowing that Adams had worked on the screenplay, I knew it wouldn't be terrible and when I watched it. I was not disappointed. They certainly take advantage of the special effects on offer now, and use them to create immensely beautiful scenes - even the demolition of the world is breathtaking. The casting was, on the whole, a good one. For example, the fact that they got an American to play Zaphod was a great idea, as it fitted his personality.
As far as the Vogons are concerned, the film also did an excellent job. It did NOT make them seem evil. It portrayed them as they really are: a neutral force that is concerned more with bureaucracy rather than right or wrong. The other detours were also interesting, as they added something new, even to the Hitchhikers fanatic.
And the fact that they didn't include everything from the books etc. was, in a way, a good choice. Because if someone sees the film and takes an interest in the books, they will read more than just the book of the film.
All in all, it does the rest of the forms justice.