Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[Shane Martin]

THGTTG is a quirky British Sci Fi/Comedy film based on a book by Douglas Adams. The film itself is definitely a love it or leave it type affair. You may like it, you may not.

I'd advise a rent based on this.

I however liked the film so I bought it.

The Video is top shelf which is a surprise from Buena Vista/Touchstone/Disney.

The Audio is first rate as well in DD and DTS 5.1.

Definitely a case of different strokes.

[George Bellefontaine]

Rent first for me.

[Foxman]

I took a flier on it and bought it yesterday. I like Sci Fi and figured this would provide some good SQ opportunities. I lookforward to viewing it.

[ThomasW]

This is one of those situations where it really helps to have read the books, or heard the BBC radio series. So much is either left out of the movie or time compressed, that lots of the very funny but very subtle humor is lost.

It's to bad the Sci-Fi channel didn't make this a mini-series like they did with Dune. That would have been much better than the way the movie came out...

[Kingdaddy]

I loved this movie, especially Zaphod Beatleblob (whatever) character, he's a hoot.

[David Meek]

Beeblebrox.

[Chris D]

I really liked the books. This movie... eh. Didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. I'd say it was worth the rental (but not by much) but definitely glad I didn't buy. Amusing.

Thomas, you hit on a great idea--I really would have liked to have seen this as a TV mini-series.

[Brandon B]

The Video is top shelf which is a surprise from Buena Vista/Touchstone/Disney.

Curious why you say that. They are at times uneven, but on films they "care" about, a lot of their transfers are really really good. I would be more surprised at a bad transfer for a major film from them than a good one.

BB

[Shane Martin]

Curious why you say that

Heavy EE and poor PQ on the following releases( some most recent):

The Village or heck any of Shymalans movies
Alamo - horrific pq
Cold Mountain - god awful PQ
National Treasure: pq was average at best. Noticable EE even on my 55".
Pirates of the Carribean - ICK

I could go on but if you follow the reviews especially at HTF, the guy is right on when it comes to video. So basically what you are saying is that on Disney films they care about(which should be ALL of their titles they put their name to and seems false when you consider we're talking about National Treasure and PITC), they work especially hard on to ensure the best PQ. Frankly I'm not surprised by poor PQ from the mouses' subsidiarys. As far as their animation goes, they are fine and I don't blink twice but on film titles, it's a jekyl and hyde performance.

[Nick M]

Here is my review from when I saw it in theaters...

Doled out my $4.50 'fer it.
Not a hardcore fan, but I definetly enjoy Sci-Fi and dry humor.

As Shane mentioned, emotions, characters, and their relationships lacked definition. Little time was spent on anything as the movie moved really quick. I thought some scenes were hilarious, but as Thomas mentioned this film is geared towards people who watch Reality TV and have a shallow capacity for thought. A real shame, as I'm sure the material deserves much more justice than this.

:25: out of :5:
Worth a rent when it comes out on DVD.

[cinema bob]

the bbc did a mini series of thgttg a few years ago and it is great. you can pick it up at a barnes and noble store that has films.

[ThomasW]

IMO the 'best' THGTTG is the BBC radio series, for me it's actually better than the books. The BBC TV series was a bit too funky (think Dr Who) for my tastes.

Douglas Adams was involved with the making of the movie, but died before it's completion. Adams was of course involved with both the first BBC radio and TV series.

This past summer BBC Radio-4 started airing the 3rd-5th books of Adam's ‘trilogy in five parts’, Hitchhiker series...

[CJ Paul]

I purchased the Ultimate Hitchhicker's Guide book (its all 5 novelettes in one book) and had finished the first two or three "books" when the DVD came out so I'd already read HHG + 1 or more of the other stories when I watched it. I definately noted some stuff in the film that I think would HAVE to be lost on people that have never read the book. I'm not sure if you fault the movie for that, or just say hey, guess you should have read it. Certainly with the history of this story (which I read, its the preface in the "ultimate..." book) between radio and TV and rewrites etc. I actually dont find it odd at all the the filmmakers might have just decided to hell with it, lets assume people are familiar with the content at this point.

[ThomasW]

Right....

Adams was a true 'wordsmith', so condensing the first book into a movie was a lose-lose situation for hardcore fans.

I think the movie was technically very well made. And they did a good job casting the characters. But it's fundamentally impossible to capture the nuance of the book in a feature film.

At times the movie seemed like I was watching a video-tape on fast-forward....

[CJ Paul]

Thomas, you are spot on. Also the book expounds a lot more. For example the book really made me laugh when I read about the babblefish (I get the joke in reverse since I was aware of the site babblefish.com (that translates crap for you) before I was aware of the book). Any way, in the movie they totally gloss over all these types of things that Adams expounds on.

[ThomasW]

BABEL FISH :

The Babel fish is small, yellow and leech-like, and probably the oddest thing in the Universe. It feeds on brainwave energy recieved not from its own carrier but from those around it, It absorbs all unconscious mental frequencies from this brainwave energy to nourish itself with. the practical upshot of this is that if you stick a Babel fish in your ear you can instantly understand anything said to you in any language.

Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God. The argument goes like this : "I refuse to prove that I exist", says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."

"But", says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn't it? it could not have evolved by chance. it proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."

"Oh dear", says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.

"Oh that was easy" says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.

Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation.