The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (movie)
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | |
| Missing image Hitchhikerposter.jpg | |
| Directed by | Garth Jennings |
| Written by | Douglas Adams (book/original screenplay) Karey Kirkpatrick |
| Starring | Martin Freeman Mos Def Sam Rockwell Zooey Deschanel Bill Nighy Stephen Fry John Malkovich Anna Chancellor Jack Stanley Dominique Jackson Warwick Davis |
| Produced by | Douglas Adams (posthumous credit) Derek Evans Robbie Stamp |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
| Release date | April 28 2005 (UK, Ireland, Australia); April 29 2005 (USA) |
| Runtime | USA: 110 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45-50,000,000 (estimate) |
| IMDb page | |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science-fiction movie based on the book of the same name by Douglas Adams. Shooting was completed in August 2004 and the movie was released on April 28 2005 in the UK, Australia and New Zealand; and on the following day in the USA. It is scheduled to be rolled out to cinemas worldwide during May, June, July, and August.
The screenplay was begun by Adams and completed by Garth Jennings and Karey Kirkpatrick after Adams' death.
| Contents |
Cast
- Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent
- Mos Def as Ford Prefect
- Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox
- Zooey Deschanel as Trillian
- Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast
- John Malkovich as Humma Kavula
- Anna Chancellor as Questular Rontok
- Jack Stanley and Dominique Jackson as Lunkwill and Fook
- Steve Pemberton as Prosser
- Albie Woodington as the barman
- Jason Schwartzman as Gag Halfrunt
- Simon Jones as "Ghostly Image"
- Mark Longhurst as "Bulldozer Driver"
- Su Elliott as "Pub Customer"
- Terry Bamber as "Technician"
- Kelly MacDonald as "Reporter"
- Helen Mirren as the voice of Deep Thought
- Bill Bailey as the voice of the whale
- Tom Lennon as Eddie the Shipboard Computer
- Warwick Davis as the body of Marvin
- Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin.
- Stephen Fry as the voice of The Guide
- Ian McNeice voices Kwaltz, a Vogon
- Richard Griffiths as the voice of Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz
- Mark Gatiss - Vogon voice
- Reece Shearsmith - Vogon voice
- Steve Pemberton - Vogon voice
Production
In a Slashdot interview [1], Robbie Stamp, one of the film's executive producers, noted the following about the cast of the film:
- The hardest character to cast was "the voice of the Guide itself and in the end came back to somebody who was one of the people Douglas himself had wanted, namely Stephen Fry."
- "Douglas himself is on record as saying that as far as he was concerned the only character who had to be British, indeed English, was Arthur Dent."
Stamp also commented on how much role the studio and the other screenwriters (other than Adams that is) had on the film:
- "I think that a lot of fans would be surprised to know just how much of a free hand we have been given in the making of this movie. I know how easy it is to see every decision to cut a scene as 'studio' pressure but it was always much more to do with pacing and rhythm in the film itself."
- "The script we shot was very much based on the last draft that Douglas wrote....All the substantive new ideas in the movie...are brand new Douglas ideas written especially for the movie by him....Douglas was always up for reinventing HHGG in each of its different incarnations and he knew that working harder on some character development and some of the key relationships was an integral part of turning HHGG into a movie."
Soundtrack
H2G2_Movie_Soundtrack_front.jpg
The complete motion picture soundtrack was released as an iTunes Music Store exclusive on 12 April 2005, two weeks before the scheduled CD release. The iTunes Music Store also has two further exclusive sets of tracks related to the movie:
- The Marvin Mixes are remixes of a new version of Reasons to be Miserable, here performed by Stephen Fry, as well as a new vocal and a new instrumental track for Marvin, also performed by Fry. Stephen Moore had recorded the vocals of both tracks in 1981.
- The Guide Entries are new spoken "Hitchhiker's Guide" entries, all read by Fry, with accompanying music by Joby Talbot, who wrote the film score.
The soundtrack CD was released on 26 April 2005, by Hollywood Records, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The CD has the same 33 tracks as the previous iTunes Music Store release. The enclosed booklet includes acknowledgements from Joby Talbot and notes on the creation of the song So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, written by Garth Jennings.
Plot
The movie follows the general plot of previous versions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy though, as with previous incarnations, there have been changes for this version. Most notable are the sections on the planets Viltvodle VI and Vogsphere. Also the love story between Arthur and Trillian is emphasized and more fully developed in this movie than previous renditions.
Waking to the sound of bulldozers encroaching upon his house, Arthur Dent tries to prevent the destruction of his home by laying in the path of the bulldozers. His attempts are interrupted by his friend Ford Prefect, who convinces Arthur to accompany him to the local public house. Here Ford reveals that he is actually an alien (and not from Guildford) and as a favour is planning to save Arthur from certain death when the Earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass in the next few minutes. After hitchhiking aboard one of the orbiting Vogon ships, the duo are captured by the Vogons, forced to listen to the Vogon Captain's poetry (the third worst in the universe), and then thrown out an airlock, where (against all probability) they are rescued by the Heart of Gold, a spaceship stolen by Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox, and accompanied by Tricia McMillan, now calling herself Trillian (whom Arthur once met at a party) and Marvin the Paranoid Android.
It is at this point that the plot begins to diverge from previous versions of the story. In this version, Zaphod is already aware of the Quest for the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, and desiring the Question for himself he stole the Heart of Gold with the intent of using it to visit the planet Magrathea. It is a Magrathean data archive cube that reveals the story of Deep Thought, but not the identity of the computer built to discover the "Ultimate Question." Also in this version, the Vogons remain in persuit of Zaphod and the Heart of Gold throughout, at the behest of the Galactic Vice-President who wishes to "rescue" him from his abductor (Zaphod abducted himself when he stole the Heart of Gold).
The Improbability Drive takes the ship to Viltvodle VI, home of the Jatravartids and Humma Kavula, who was Zaphod's opponent in the election for President of the Galaxy. Kavula has a small red cube that contains the coordinates to Magrathea, and offers it to Zaphod in exchange for a gun (the Point-of-view gun) that can be found near Deep Thought. Kavula requires a "hostage" in order to ensure that Zaphod will complete the quest, and removes Zaphod's second head.
During their departure from Viltvodle VI, Trillian is captured by the Vogons and brought to their homeworld, Vogsphere. Our heroes go to the Vogon homeworld and try to rescue Trillian. Upon stepping off their ship they briefly encounter subterraneous fauna that attack people who exhibit original thought, which they manage to evade once they reach an urban area. The excessive bureaucracy associated with many governing bodies is parodied when they are confronted by the amount of red tape that they must forge through to rescue Trillian. As Trillian is processed, she learns of the destruction of the Earth, which Arthur had not told her about (after he had been threatened on the subject by Zaphod). She also learns that Zaphod was the one who absent-mindedly autographed the demolition order for Earth (by signing "Hugs & Kisses, Zaphod"). Arthur, Zaphod, and Ford manage to fill out the appropriate Presidential Prisoner Release forms to have Trillian released just before she is fed to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal and the crew escapes Vogsphere. Just as the Vogons are about to give pursuit a klaxon sounds and they delay the chase as they take an hour off for lunch.
The Heart of Gold heads for Magrathea, where the company is separated - Zaphod, Trillian, and Ford meet Deep Thought, while Arthur meets Slartibartfast, and learns of Earth's origin. While touring the Magrathean Planet Factory Floor, Arthur is introduced to the Earth Mark II, a backup copy. He is eventually led to his house in England, now restored.
Meanwhile, beneath Deep Thought, Zaphod, Trillian, and Ford find the Point-of-view gun, the object sought by Humma Kavula. According to the Guide, it was built by Deep Thought for a council of angry housewives who were tired of ending arguments by complaining to husbands that "you just don't get it, do you?" When fired, the Point-of-view gun causes the target to experience the point of view of the wielder. Trillian uses it to make Zaphod understand her conflicting feelings about their relationship.
Back at Arthur's house, Arthur is reunited with Ford, Zaphod and Trillian, who are busy enjoying a lavish meal provided by the mice. The meal however has been laced with sedative, and consequently Arthur finds his three companions falling fast asleep. It is a trap to enable the mice to restrain Arthur and extract his brain (being the most recent component left from the Earth after its demolition, and thus needed to complete the Earth's computer program). Faced with his demise, Arthur finally expresses his love for Trillian. Before the mice manage the extraction, Arthur breaks free from his restraints, and squishes the mice with a teapot.
The heroes leave the recreation of Arthur's house, only to be confronted by a large number of Vogons. While Zaphod attempts to operate Arthur's "spaceship" (which is in fact just a caravan), Arthur and Trillian try to retrieve the dropped Point-of-view gun but are forced to use the caravan as cover from the hail of fire the Vogons direct at them. Marvin goes to catch up with the rest, remarking that Vogons are the worst marksmen in the universe, but he is hit in the back of the head by a Vogon blast and collapses.
Just as it seems that they are doomed, Marvin reactivates and picks up the nearby Point-of-view gun. He fires, hitting all of the Vogons and they are exposed to his perspective on life; they all instantly become incredibly depressed and collapse.
As the depressed Vogons are taken away and the final touches are applied to Earth Mark II, Slartibartfast asks Arthur if there is anything that the new Earth could do without and Arthur replies, "Yeah, me." The movie ends with Arthur and his companions leaving the newly "rebooted" Earth and reboarding the Heart of Gold, with the intended destination of Milliways, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
Differences
The story is largely identical to the earlier versions until the characters arrive on the Heart of Gold, the most notable changes being the introduction of Trillian earlier, and a motivation for Ford rescuing Arthur being given.
Zaphod's motivation for finding Magrathea is changed somewhat - he already knows of the Ultimate Answer, and seeks the computer that Deep Thought designed for the Ultimate Question. However, his underlying motivation, to become rich and famous (despite the fact that he already is) remains the same.
The sub-plot involving Humma Kavula is new (the Jatravartids were previously only mentioned), the Heart of Gold originally going directly to Magrathea. In the previous versions the Heart of Gold and Zaphod Beeblebrox are originally pursued by the Galactic Police, not the Vogons, although the Vogons later do catch up with the Heart of Gold, in order to kill Arthur and Trillian.
The character of Vice-President Questular, the belief that the president has been "kidnapped", and the capture and rescue of Trillian are new for the film.
The climax of the action is largely new. In earlier versions the Galactic Police confronted the characters on Magrathea - in the movie the Vogons confront the characters on the Earth Mark II, whilst it is still being worked on. The mechanism for dealing with them (the Point of View gun) is new in the movie, but its application (Marvin exposing the Vogons to his point of view, hence causing them to collapse) is similar to the book version, where Marvin killed the Galactic Police by networking with its computer causing it to become depressed, commit suicide, and shut down the Policemen's life support system. At the very end of the film, the second Earth is rolled out, and Arthur Dent chooses to remain a hitch-hiker. Nothing analagous happens in previous versions - although the Earth does re-appear in So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish - it turns out, in Mostly Harmless to be for completely different reasons.
The romantic triangle between Trillian, Zaphod and Arthur is hinted at in the previous versions, but never went anywhere. This plot thread was more developed in the movie. In the opening scenes, Arthur explains his encounter to Trillian at the party to Ford, introducing the character of Trillian earlier. Trillian is portrayed as American in the movie, as with the television series. In the radio series and the books she has a British accent.
Later, we find that Zaphod is keeping news of Earth's destruction from Trillian, and Trillian eventually dumps Zaphod after she discovers he is responsible for accidentally signing papers authorising the destruction of the Earth (in some earlier versions he had been involved in a conspiracy to destroy Earth).
Nods to BBC productions
- The original Marvin prop from the 1981 TV version of the story can be seen in one scene, in a queue on Vogsphere, albeit with orange eyes, instead of the original red.
- The theme tune for the BBC radio and TV series, The Eagles' "Journey of the Sorcerer", is used, in a new arrangement by Joby Talbot.
- "What A Wonderful World", sung by Louis Armstrong, was used as background music for the film's teaser trailer. This song was also used at the conclusion of the first radio series and at the conclusion of the BBC TV series, both set on prehistoric Earth.
- Simon Jones, who played Arthur Dent in the radio and TV series, makes a brief cameo appearance. He is credited as the "Ghostly Image."
- Deep Thought is watching an old BBC children's show on TV in the film.
Characters
- Arthur Dent, an "ordinary Earthman"
- Ford Prefect, a researcher for "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
- Tricia McMillan, who has re-dubbed herself "Trillian" (because it sounds "spacier"). Over the course of the movie, she comes to dislike Zaphod Beeblebrox.
- Zaphod Beeblebrox, President of the Galaxy
- Slartibartfast, a coastline designer
- Humma Kavula, a religious leader on the planet Viltvodle VI, and Zaphod's vanquished opponent in the recent Presidential election. This character was devised by Adams as the villain for an additional subplot of the movie, not present in previous incarnations of the story.
- Marvin, the Paranoid Android
- Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, leader of the Vogon Constructor Fleet
Box Office earnings
- The movie remained in the US box office top ten for its first four weeks of release.
- The movie's total total box office gross was $82,863,267 worldwide (as of mid-June 2005).
Home video release
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is due to be released in a two DVD set in the UK and North America in September 2005. A VHS release has not been announced.
External links
Owners' sites
- Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie Site (UK)
- Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie Site (USA)
- Official Trailer
- "Hitchhiker Movie FAQ with FUA" from the Douglas Adams Continuum
Interviews
Independent reviews
- Washington Post "...more than a pleasant surprise."
- San Francisco Chronicle "The movie hangs together and gets by with more than a margin of goodwill because the dazzle it offers is one of the mind."
- New York Times "...hugely likeable..."
- Planet Magrathea (2005/3/31) "Not funny"
- BBC - Review: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "Don't panic - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is not as bad as I had feared. Then again, it is not as good as I had hoped."
- The Register "The film version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is faithful to author Douglas Adams' legacy. The trouble is it's simply not especially funny."
- Slashdot Some comments are by people who say they saw the movie.
- Rotten Tomatoes Reviews by professional critics.