The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Widescreen Edition)
starring: Bill Bailey (IV), Anna Chancellor, Warwick Davis, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel
directed by: Garth Jennings
directed by: Garth Jennings
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Product Description:
Arthur dent is having a really bad day! when he learns that a friend is actually an alien with knowledge of earths impending destruction he is transported off the planet. And if thats not enough throw in being wanted by the police & a chronically depressed robot & youve got the greatest adventure off earth.Studio: Buena Vista Home VideoRelease Date: 08/10/2007Starring: Martin Freeman Zooey DeschanelRun time: 109 minutesRating: Pg
Amazon.com:
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. In particular, there's John Malkovich's creepy, CGI-enhanced Humma Kavula. He's aguru leading a religion that worships the gigantic nose that allegedly sneezed the universe into existence (naturally all their prayers end not with "Amen" but with "Bless you.") The aliens the team encounters are inspired creations, eminently worthy of action figure-ification, and the sets belie an attention to detail worthy of freeze-framing. Fans of the other Hitchhiker manifestations, namely the British TV series, will be amused by a number of in-jokes sprinkled throughout the movie.
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 cast seems at times bewildered, at least when Sam Rockwell isn't picking pieces of scenery out of his teeth, perhaps a natural reaction to an adaptation of a book with no traditional plot. 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
A Guide to the Guide
Interviews with The Cast and Director
Arthur dent is having a really bad day! when he learns that a friend is actually an alien with knowledge of earths impending destruction he is transported off the planet. And if thats not enough throw in being wanted by the police & a chronically depressed robot & youve got the greatest adventure off earth.Studio: Buena Vista Home VideoRelease Date: 08/10/2007Starring: Martin Freeman Zooey DeschanelRun time: 109 minutesRating: Pg
Amazon.com:
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.
 Hitching a ride. |
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. In particular, there's John Malkovich's creepy, CGI-enhanced Humma Kavula. He's aguru leading a religion that worships the gigantic nose that allegedly sneezed the universe into existence (naturally all their prayers end not with "Amen" but with "Bless you.") The aliens the team encounters are inspired creations, eminently worthy of action figure-ification, and the sets belie an attention to detail worthy of freeze-framing. Fans of the other Hitchhiker manifestations, namely the British TV series, will be amused by a number of in-jokes sprinkled throughout the movie.
 Concept art: The Heart of Gold pod on the planet Vogsphere |
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 cast seems at times bewildered, at least when Sam Rockwell isn't picking pieces of scenery out of his teeth, perhaps a natural reaction to an adaptation of a book with no traditional plot. 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
A Guide to the Guide
 The Soundtrack |  The Radio Play (CD) |  The TV Series |
 The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (Deluxe Edition) |  The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide (Paperback) |  The Filming of the Douglas Adams Classic (book) |
Interviews with The Cast and Director
 Watch our interviews with the cast and director of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and find out what they think of other DVDs and books: high bandwidth low bandwidth |
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- YAY Silliness!
A wonderfully Witty Silly movie -I recomend it to all ages.Almost as good as the book!
Rating: - What could have been...
I read that Adams had picked Hugh Laurie and Jim Carrey to play the leads in this, but it was changed after Adams died. I bet that would have been something great.
Rating: 
- I Loved This!
This is one of the strangest movies I have ever seen.There were Doctor Who elements, The Fifth Element elements and Monty Python elements all wrapped up into one quirky but thoughtful and entertaining film.Despite the many random events that take place there is a peculiar order to things... it all makes sense... eventually!Great characters and dialog.And I loved the song So Long and Thanks for all the Fish (lol)!Definitely Brit-humor.
Rating: - The art of the humor of a cup of tea
That's probably not a masterpiece, not even as good as the radio show. But it is good. The main handicap for this film is that everything that was pure imagination on the radio show has to become visible, visual, hence no longer requiring the audience's imagination but satisfying their visual curiosity. Then of course this film has to use visual surprises and visual absurd hiatuses or oxymora. Thus the main character has to be in his pajamas all along since he was "captured" in them. A little bit ... Read More
Rating: 
- Pathetic at every level
I have never been more disappointed in a film I expected to enjoy. This boring, beyond childish, piece of wasted energy should be flushed immediately before infection occurs.
- YAY Silliness!A wonderfully Witty Silly movie -I recomend it to all ages.Almost as good as the book!
- What could have been...I read that Adams had picked Hugh Laurie and Jim Carrey to play the leads in this, but it was changed after Adams died. I bet that would have been something great.
- I Loved This!This is one of the strangest movies I have ever seen.There were Doctor Who elements, The Fifth Element elements and Monty Python elements all wrapped up into one quirky but thoughtful and entertaining film.Despite the many random events that take place there is a peculiar order to things... it all makes sense... eventually!Great characters and dialog.And I loved the song So Long and Thanks for all the Fish (lol)!Definitely Brit-humor.
- The art of the humor of a cup of teaThat's probably not a masterpiece, not even as good as the radio show. But it is good. The main handicap for this film is that everything that was pure imagination on the radio show has to become visible, visual, hence no longer requiring the audience's imagination but satisfying their visual curiosity. Then of course this film has to use visual surprises and visual absurd hiatuses or oxymora. Thus the main character has to be in his pajamas all along since he was "captured" in them. A little bit ... Read More
- Pathetic at every levelI have never been more disappointed in a film I expected to enjoy. This boring, beyond childish, piece of wasted energy should be flushed immediately before infection occurs.
