The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[Brian in Mesa]

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Release Date: May 6, 2005
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Director: Garth Jennings
Screenwriter: Douglas Adams, Karey Kirkpatrick

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Anna Chancellor, John Malkovich, Warwick Davis, Steve Pemberton

Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Official Website:Hitchhiker's Guide

Plot Summary: Don't Panic... Stick out your thumb to join the most ordinary man in the world on an extraordinary adventure across the universe in the hilarious comedy, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." 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."

 

[Stout]

I love that, before he died, Douglass Adams created a role specifically for John Malkovich, and he's taken the role.

 

[cardsunsfan]

I remember playing the computer word game..very tough..brings back memories.. I remember it starts of with everything in haze and nothing makes sense.. If you don't get the aspirin in your robe and swallow it you'll stay confused and your house gets bulldozed with you in it. That's just the beginning of the game..very fun but quite tough...

 

[cardsunsfan]

You know most of the time I feel like a thread killer I usually start off a topic with noone responding or I'm the last person to post on one, I think SunCardFan is too anonomous... I need name like Assface.. I hardly even looked at his threads until he chagned his name

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Poster out now...

 

[FischerKing]

new trailer here

and it looks good!

shawn

 

[cardsunsfan]

where did it go? I was watching it for a little bit than a friend called and I had to turn it off..now it's just sending me to Amazon books and the only trailer I can find is the old one

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Looks good!

Mike

 

[FischerKing]

where did it go? I was watching it for a little bit than a friend called and I had to turn it off..now it's just sending me to Amazon books and the only trailer I can find is the old one

still works for me - must be operator error...

shawn

 

[cardsunsfan]

works this time..sometimes when I click on it it just sends me to books...doubt it's operator error

 

[CardinalLaw]

This movie is gonna be great. Only about a month to go. There is a fairly new trailer for this, March 2nd. I had to go back 4 pages to find this, it will be the comedy of the year. Even the trailer is great. Enjoy,

http://filmforce.ign.com/hhgttg/articles/592/592807p1.html

 

[Stout]

I'm very worried about Zaphod, though. I didn't see an extra arm at all in the preview, and it looks like the only time you see the extra head is under certain circumstances. That would just plain SUCK.

 

[CardinalLaw]

I'm very worried about Zaphod, though. I didn't see an extra arm at all in the preview, and it looks like the only time you see the extra head is under certain circumstances. That would just plain SUCK.

Zaphod?

I haven't read the book so I don't think I'll be missing anything, books ruin movies.

I think it will be the Spaceballs of this generation.

 

[Gizmo Williams]

Did anyone see the BBC series of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? I remember it having terrible special effects...but in general it was entertaining.

Can't wait to see this version....even though I think a movie would never do justice to the "trilogy".

 

[Pariah]

I just read the book a couple of weeks ago for the first time and enjoyed it, but this movie stank.

The only redeming factors, IMO was the over-the-top (in a good way) preformance put in by Rockwell, and Marvin. Otherwise it was average at best, and most times it was really pretty bad.

I wonder if I hadn't read the book if any of it would have made any sense to me at all--particularly about the improbability drive.

 

[Sandan]

The movie was a disaster, it was pathetic.

Half the movie was not written by Douglas Adams, I know. I heard the radio show when first broadcast in the UK in 1978, I've read the books, seen the BBC TV version. All were great.

This sucked , it beyond sucked, I really wish I'd walked out and saved the time.

They already had a script that ran for 3 hours [I think], all they needed to do was trim it down. Can someone please explain why they felt the need to invent half [or more] of the movie from scratch ?

 

[Sandan]

Remember the 'Original' was a radio play in 1978 on BBC radio.

Somewhere, Douglas Adams is sobbing

 

[Pariah]

Somewhere, Douglas Adams is sobbing

Yeah, probably in the one of the three alabaster bathrooms of his multi-million summer home.

J/K...I don't know how much money he was paid for the rights.

 

[Sandan]

Yeah, probably in the one of the three alabaster bathrooms of his multi-million summer home.

J/K...I don't know how much money he was paid for the rights.

He died in 1991

 

[Pariah]

He died in 1991

That's what he wants you to believe.

 

[Sandan]

Zaphod?

I haven't read the book so I don't think I'll be missing anything, books ruin movies.

I think it will be the Spaceballs of this generation.

The book came later and was probaly the lesser of the three versions.

Radio = best, tv =2, Book =3, movie not based on the same story so can't be compared

 

[Stout]

Wow, all the hatred for the flick. I love the books, and I thought the movie was incredible. It was funny, ingenuitive, captured the story, and translated well to the screen.

And, nidan, Douglas Adams did write much of the script, approved everything about it, and gave it his full stamp of approval. Even though I never saw the show (which I heard was quite ********), or listened to the radio version (which I heard was very good), I just have to remind you that Adams constantly revised all of these stories, and that the film supposedly brought to life the story in the final version that Adams envisioned.

You may not have liked it, but it was Adams' baby, and the public liked it, and there will be a highly popular sequa.

 

[Sandan]

Wow, all the hatred for the flick. I love the books, and I thought the movie was incredible. It was funny, ingenuitive, captured the story, and translated well to the screen.

Glad you liked it, I just wish I'd walked out and saved the time I wasted.

And, nidan, Douglas Adams did write much of the script, approved everything about it, and gave it his full stamp of approval. Even though I never saw the show (which I heard was quite ********), or listened to the radio version (which I heard was very good), I just have to remind you that Adams constantly revised all of these stories, and that the film supposedly brought to life the story in the final version that Adams envisioned.

I don't believe it. Yes I've heard he spent a lot of time on the screen play starting in 1979. However it's seems to me that a lot of what was in this production was an invention of the director/script writer.

The bigest problem DA aparently had was cutting down the story to fit in a movie. If so why was most of the movie not drawn from the original. In fact very little of this story was pulled from the original. Most of it was new.

Arthur Dent had no love interest, theses parts looked like they were added because of the forumula that movies must have a romantic interest.

Vogons never chased them, they were penguins not sofas. No member of the crew was kidnapped. That entire detour in the middle of the movie was new.

So yes DA may have worked on the screenplay but I cannot believe he would approve what was made with it. It was pathetic IMO.

I don't know who told you the TV version was ********. Sure the spcial effects were around the level of Dr Who but so what. This is about the dialouger and the images it creates [as an actor you know about this stuff]. The special effects were just a nice extra.

You may not have liked it, but it was Adams' baby, and the public liked it, and there will be a highly popular sequa.

I love DA's work including thinks Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Maybe I like it too much. You see I cannot believe Douglas Adams would have approved of this production. He died in 1991, do you think the script for this movie hasn't changed since then. Movie production doesn't work that way. Also even a script tells you nothing about how the production will look. So know I don't agree that this is his baby.

As for the public liking it I'd give to coments on that.

1. I havn't seen the ratings for it but I suspect that even if it did do well on pening weekend, lets see if it sustains the numbers for a week or two. Many DA fans like myself were suckered into watching this junk.
2. People went to see Dumb and Dumber that doesn't make it a good movie.

Let me offer a suggestion. Before you render a verdict of on this movie, listen to the radio version and watch the TV version [close yours eyes and it's just about identical to the radio version]

What you are missing in the equation is the woinderful dialogue in the original. It's something that you will appreciate with your background. So much of that was missing in this and I can see no reason to remove/change it. That is what made the original so good.

You can't judge this if all you have to compare it is the book, you really have no point of reference.

 

[Stout]

I think the book is just fine as a point of reference. Since it's all I have to go on, and since I don't have access to either the TV or the radio version, I must and will judge the movie on such. Other than the made-up love interest (which was there, but not ever achieved), and the other inconsistencies, I thought it was incredibly accurate. I think the inconsistencies can be easily overlooked.

And Adams was also listed as a producer, I might add. I dunno. It just sounds like you walked in ready to be disappointed, and were disappointed. Like me with the second and third LOTR, you wanted strict adherence to the story and didn't get it. I think it fit the spirit of the story, however, and it was also a blast (including a subtle use of the word 'Belgium' in a major motion picture). By no means do you have to like it, but try not to make yours the only opinion on the matter.

 

[Sandan]

Yes, I know he was listed as a producer, in fact I listened to an article on NPR descibing how he had been working on the script for years.

I wasn't trying to be dismisive of your opinion but to try and add a little imformation. You havn't heard the radio show [or the tv version] so you don't know what you are missing.

The book came much later and is is very poor subsitute for the real thing [of the three it is the least faithful to the radio show]. I have the book and all [I think] subsequent books. This is not a dig at you but if you have not heard the radio/tv version then you are not in a position to judge their relevance.

I'm obviously not explaining myself, so I'll try and explain. Imagine a production of Hamlet where they removed most of the traditional dialogue and production and subsituted something almost totaly unconnected. This is the situation we have here.

Yes his name is on the credits, frankly that I now think is to get people like me into the movie[ as such it was successful]. As I said, I'm glad you enjoyed it, I did not. However, you were not watching the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

As for my expectations nothing could be further from the truth. I was really looking forward to this. In fact in the opening few minutes I kept trying to overlook the problems and tell myself, this must get better.

The start was not too bad and most of the dialogue was there. With Brighteyes being a screenwriter I have more exposure to the process of hollywood film making than most, so I understand how scripts get adjusted and trimmed down.

I thought LOTR was very good, in fact as thay progressivly dropped the inserted for hollywood love interest, it got better. A very good movie set of movies.