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 EARTH'S IMPENDING DESTRUCTION, HE IS TRANSPORTED OFF THE PLANET. AND IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH, THROW IN BEING WANTED BY THE POLICE & A CHRONICALLY DEPRESSED ROBOT & YOU'VE GOT THE GREATEST ADVENTURE OFF EARTH.
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 EARTH'S IMPENDING DESTRUCTION, HE IS TRANSPORTED OFF THE PLANET. AND IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH, THROW IN BEING WANTED BY THE POLICE & A CHRONICALLY DEPRESSED ROBOT & YOU'VE GOT THE GREATEST ADVENTURE OFF EARTH.
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: 
- There is an art to adapting novels to film...
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Garth Jennings, 2005)
I really, really wanted to like this movie. But I knew I was doomed when it opened with a big "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" musical number. Really, from there it had nowhere to go but up, and yet somehow, it just kept going down.
In case you've been in a cave for the past quarter-century, and have missed reading the book and/or seeing BBC's wonderful series based on it in the interim, the plot: Earth is ... Read More
Rating: 
- Don't leae home without it
This movie is truly amazing, based off of the book by Douglas Adams, this movie is full of adventure and wonderment.Blu-Rays high def is amazing deffenitly worth buying on the high def format.
Rating: 
- Don't Panic - It's Much Better Than Reported
I usually ding movies pretty hard for straying too far from the source material. My feeling is if you don't want to follow the story why bother making an adaptation. However, in the case of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy it's hard to say what the source material is. The legendary book of the same was based on a BBC radio program aired in 1978 and there have been so many adaptations that variances in the story are practically expected. Even the parts of this movie not in any previous version, ... Read More
Rating: - Excellent and highly improbable flick!
This is an excellent adaptation of a wonderfull set of stories (observations) by Mr. Adams. I've read all the books and have the original BBC miniseries, and all I can say is that they are ALL great! This version deviates from the original quite a bit, but it retains the obsurdaties, silliness and most of the storyline.
Don't let the single star critics scare you off. They're purists and probably hate the remake of the Pink Panther as well!
Rating: - "She is skinny. She is pretty. And she is lying."
Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) loses his house due to a bypass that when through his property as bypasses are supposed to do. The plans were on record.Looks like the planet earth is also is in the way of a galactic bypass.Due to this situation and Arthur's association with an alien, Ford Prefect (Mos Def) finds himself a hitchhiker of the galaxy and in need of a guidebook. Mean while the plot thickens as we all search together for the meaning of everything.
Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, ... Read More
- There is an art to adapting novels to film...The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Garth Jennings, 2005)
I really, really wanted to like this movie. But I knew I was doomed when it opened with a big "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" musical number. Really, from there it had nowhere to go but up, and yet somehow, it just kept going down.
In case you've been in a cave for the past quarter-century, and have missed reading the book and/or seeing BBC's wonderful series based on it in the interim, the plot: Earth is ... Read More
- Don't leae home without itThis movie is truly amazing, based off of the book by Douglas Adams, this movie is full of adventure and wonderment.Blu-Rays high def is amazing deffenitly worth buying on the high def format.
- Don't Panic - It's Much Better Than ReportedI usually ding movies pretty hard for straying too far from the source material. My feeling is if you don't want to follow the story why bother making an adaptation. However, in the case of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy it's hard to say what the source material is. The legendary book of the same was based on a BBC radio program aired in 1978 and there have been so many adaptations that variances in the story are practically expected. Even the parts of this movie not in any previous version, ... Read More
- Excellent and highly improbable flick!This is an excellent adaptation of a wonderfull set of stories (observations) by Mr. Adams. I've read all the books and have the original BBC miniseries, and all I can say is that they are ALL great! This version deviates from the original quite a bit, but it retains the obsurdaties, silliness and most of the storyline.
Don't let the single star critics scare you off. They're purists and probably hate the remake of the Pink Panther as well!
- "She is skinny. She is pretty. And she is lying."Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) loses his house due to a bypass that when through his property as bypasses are supposed to do. The plans were on record.Looks like the planet earth is also is in the way of a galactic bypass.Due to this situation and Arthur's association with an alien, Ford Prefect (Mos Def) finds himself a hitchhiker of the galaxy and in need of a guidebook. Mean while the plot thickens as we all search together for the meaning of everything.
Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, ... Read More
