I can't believe the day is finally here. I thought the dream of a Hitchhiker Guide movie woul die with Douglas Adams. I didn't even know a movie was coming out until Feb. (6 years in the military will do that to you.) I'm bursting with joy. Hold on one sec....
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Ok, that's better. As a kid I had three movies I wanted to see but doubted would ever see the light of day. Two have already become movies. They're the Lord of the Rings and the Hitchhikers Guide. Surely Enders game will complete my Holy trilogy. I'm not worried, I know where my towel is.
Post thoughts on the movie here...
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Enigmatic and I are going this afternoon. My towel is in my truck.
Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
I am extremely excited to see it. Unfortunately, I promised to take my girlfriend to see it after forcing her to read the book, which means I can't see it until next weekend, after finals are done. Blast! Why are some folks so enamored of this "studying" idea.
I guess I'll have myself a stiff Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster and wait it out.
--ApostleRadio
Posted by DemonGarik (Member # 7793) on :
I went and saw the midnight showing early this morning (and I had to be at work by 7 am!) The movie is amazing. They definately take some liberty with it and go places that I don't remember happening in any of the books though I havne't read salmon of doubt so maybe they pulled it from there. But the movie is visually spectacular and they keep the dry brittish wit throughout the movie, it had a large chance of collapsing into a slapstick movie and didn't. I was glad I sacrificed my health and sleep to see it!
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
quote:My towel is in my truck.
Hey, you sass that hoopy ElJay? I sass ElJay. There's a frood who really knows where her towel is.
(I crack myself up sometimes. )
Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
My towel is sitting next to my stuff, and will be in my truck within the next 20 minutes. I'm going to go see it this afternoon with a bunch of my friends. Hopefully will be awesome!
[ April 29, 2005, 10:07 AM: Message edited by: Mr.Funny ]
Posted by Traveler (Member # 3615) on :
I just can't get excited about this movie. Don't get me wrong...I loved the books. I just can't imagine that Hollywood is going to do this right. So...perhaps if I set my expectations REALLY low then I'll enjoy the movie.
Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
The Beloved and I are going tonight. We have a sitter lined up and everything.
I really want a loud-colored, tight T-shirt with "Hoopy Frood" written across the boobies.
I think it's a sign I'm having my Geek Mid-Life Crisis. O_O
Posted by no. 6 (Member # 7753) on :
Didn't you all hear? The opening has been cancelled and all copies of the Movie have been destroyed, citing that the author was already dead. Posted by imenimok (Member # 7679) on :
quote: I really want a loud-colored, tight T-shirt with "Hoopy Frood" written across the boobies.
Sign me up. Posted by Popcornbaby (Member # 7046) on :
None of my friends want to go with me. The only one who's read it is afraid of seeing it and having the book ruined for her. I might be going alone... Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
I really don't understand the concept of a movie *ruining* a book. The book is still there, just as it was before.
The movie could suck, but it won't change the hours of geeky fun I had reading the books.
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
This is one case where "true to the book" uptightness is just ironic. It was a radio play and a mini-series before it was a book. I mean, you clearly haven't read the preface to the leather bound trilogy edition with bonus novella "young Zaphod plays it safe".
Then he had to go and write a fourth one...
He says something about setting the history straight, or at least firmly crooked.
I want to go but not sure... probably will wind up going with my mom tonight.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Give me a couple hours and the Hoopy Frood shirt might be a possibility...
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Annie and I are on the same page. I'm just sitting her trying to imagine if it would be better done all in embroidery, or appliqued. Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
O_O Wow, Annie. That would make you the queen of the hoopy froods. Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
As soon as I get to work and a high-speed connection, it can be done.
Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
LOL, Belle! YOU certainly know where your towel is!
I wonder if they'd let me in with a hand towel soaked in coke if I kept it in a plastic bag.
*quietly sucks towel*
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
It's been a radio show, five+ books, a TV show, a comic book, a stage play, a Web site, a video game, and a beach towel. Why not a movie?
Just please, please tell me the scene of the crew getting whapped by buried sticks that they keep showing in the commercials is a small and unregarded scene. As a representative sample of the movie, it frightens me.
Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
I looked up the trailers, and I think I liked the Second one best (That should be the one that presented itself as the Guide's entry on Movie Trailers). That was great. Except maybe it's not the best indicator of how good/bad the movie will be.
*continues sucking on towel*
Posted by Traveler (Member # 3615) on :
I have no problem with it being a movie... I just don't think Hollywood is going to do it right. Hollywood and british humor usually doesn't mix very well. I hope I'm wrong.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
I'd buy that, Annie!
Not sure when I'll get a chance to go. Maybe next Saturday, so we can go with our neighbor and her son.
Posted by Ela (Member # 1365) on :
Ooh, ooh, I want a hoopy frood tshirt too. Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
One of the things that really worries me is the reference to Author as being on a trip to save the galaxy. That completely misses the complete triviality of the series. It's not a "let's save the universe" space opera. Arthur Dent is not the chosen one. He's this completely disregarded, neglible guy who has a bunch of things happen to him. Even when the galaxy is saved from the masters of Krikkit, it's just this thing. If you don't get how insignificant everything is to the people going through it, but at the same time can be terribly important, you miss the flavor of the books.
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
From the Orlando Sentinel:
quote:An early example. The hero, Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman), is arguing with a bulldozer crew about to knock over his house, and he has just been told he should have protested before now because the details of the demolition have been "on display" in his local planning office.
"It was on display. . . in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet. . . stuck in a disused lavatory. . . with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the leopard!' " says Arthur in the book, the radio series, the TV series. Funny.
What's the line in the movie?
"They were in the basement."
This worries me. This happens right at the beginning and, to me, set the tone for the constant banter.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
quote: "let's save the universe" space opera.
You know, I think she could.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
The storefront is being a little wonky, but I think following these links directly will take you to the right place. Let me know if they don't.
And wow - I knew there was a reason I was hanging on to that picture of the towel I scanned.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
That is majorly cool! I just sold a dress on E-bay for $18, so I can justify it even.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I wish they'd show the image bigger - the letters are terry-cloth/towel texture, if you can't tell.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
You can zoom in on the image - I could see it. Very nicely done. Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
Ooooooooo!
*hops from foot to foot*
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
I just saw it, and it was merely alright. Nothing to write home about. There were no major laughs, the acting was mediocre, and sometimes horrible (which was disappointing, because Mos Def and Sam Rockwell are usually great). The movie did pick up at about the halfway point, and some of the special effects were great. I can see how some major fans of the books will be disappointed.
quote: Just please, please tell me the scene of the crew getting whapped by buried sticks that they keep showing in the commercials is a small and unregarded scene.
'Fraid not. It's probably the scene which is the most played for laughs in the entire movie.
Posted by Portabello (Member # 7710) on :
I am physically incapable of wearing a shirt without a pocket.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Nerd.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I'm also toying with the idea of a Babelfish tshirt. It'll take some illustrating, though.
Posted by romanylass (Member # 6306) on :
Porter, does the pocket have a protector? Some pencils and a slide rule?
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
I just saw it and I don't want to talk about it(but will).
To even complain about ways it strayed from the spirit of the original creations would imply that there were ways in which it stayed true.
It didn't wak the fine line between pleasing old fans and new. It sat and had a picnic lunch on the "new Hollywood action/romance fan" side and occasionally threw scraps of funny over the fence. And by occasionally, I mean twice. Maybe three times. The best lines were neutered. The plot...well, they tried to give it one.
The highights of the movie were the Serenity and Episode 3 trailers.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
Hm. Maybe it's for the best that I can't see it tonight like I planned. I don't want to see the Serenity trailer anyway, and I loved the books in elementary school.
[ April 29, 2005, 07:23 PM: Message edited by: twinky ]
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Well I actually enjoyed it. It had enough inside jokes to keep me happy. (Ford saying Belgium, The theme music from the tv show, Marvin from the show). I wish I had some 3d glasses, Oh well.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
We saw iton Thursday night. The sound cut out and we missed the last 20 minutes - which, by that point we didn't really care.
I was very underwhelmed.
But at least we got some free passes out of the deal!
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
I liked it. I thought it was fun. I knew they wouldn't be able to do everything, and that they'd have to change the structure somewhat to fit the narrative arc of a film as opposed to a book/radio play/computer game/whatever. But what they did do, I thought they did rather well.
Of course, I am a geek. Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
lol, you went in a bathrobe? I'd rather be a h2g2 geek than a Star Wars geek anyday. Walking around in a bathrobe is far less strange then being a storm trooper. And alot cheaper.
[ April 30, 2005, 12:11 AM: Message edited by: Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged ]
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
All I know is I want one of those mini light saber/automatic bread toasters.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Yes, I went in a bathrobe, and jammie pants and slippers, with a towel over my shoulder. And went out for dinner and drinks afterwards, too.
And I also really, really covet the bread toaster.
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
Maybe it's been too long since I read the books, but I loved it. Yes, it was much more American than the book, but I didn't think it was a bad thing. ElJay said it well: they had to change some things to make it work as a movie, but it worked well and was very enjoyable.
Posted by HesterGray (Member # 7384) on :
I saw it tonight. There were parts that were better than I expected, and some parts that were worse, so it pretty much evened out.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
I'll echo Jon Boy because I loved it too. There were plenty of giggles all the way through (but then, it doesn't take much for me to giggle) and I really DID feel the triviality of the whole non plot. In this case, I think that's how I was supposed to feel.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
I liked it quite a bit. I thought it stayed true to the characters and the general overall feeling of the book without being too silly. Zaphod was probably the most hilarious guy in the movie.
Then again, I spoiled myself, and it's ALWAYS smart to spoil yourself when it's something you love.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
quote: Then again, I spoiled myself, and it's ALWAYS smart to spoil yourself when it's something you love.
Are you sure about this? Because I love Firefly and I'm relucant to spoil Serenity...
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
(spoilers)
What a great movie... but why all the changes?
Why take us to the Vogon homeworld? Why take out Z-man's other head? Why kill the Pan Dimentional Beings? I can see why they used the Vogons in every possible place, considering the massive budget to make them. But to use them instead of the Galactic Police on the attack on Magrathia kinda gets us away from the feeling of the undercover/forgotten nature of the quest for the Ultimate Question. Magrathia and the Pan-Dimentional Beings were working together. What's his name hired the Vogons to destroy Earth because if we all became enlightned then there would be no need of his profession as philosopher/theologian/psychiatrist.
And what's with that gun thing? I thought at first they were talking about the Cricket super weapon. And of course we just had to have that emotional thing with Arthur talking about all he ever wanted was Trillian (when of course we all know his true love is Fenchurch) Ah well. Still a great movie.
[ April 30, 2005, 10:32 AM: Message edited by: Telperion the Silver ]
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
I've never like Fenchurch. I was pretty happy when she simply vanished in the book Mostly Harmless.
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
I loved Sam Rockwell's Zaphod. I *really* loved Alan Rickman's Marvin. Arthur didn't bumble enough. Mos Def was quite good as Ford, I thought. Eddie and Slartibartfast were spot on.
The inside jokes like people calling Ford "Ix" on occasion, the Vogon captain sitting on a crushed Gazelle-like creature, the crabs... even the additions like people on Vogsphere getting slapped everytime they have an idea or the bar patrons lying down with bags over their heads... all of them seemed fitting and appropriate.
So why was I so disappointed?
*spoilers*
I think it has to do with the fact that people are putting "spoilers" on their reviews. There shouldn't be plot points. The thing is supposed to be a manic, disconnected series of jokes. Trillian's capture and rescue and the whole Humma Kavula subplot were entirely too... well... plotted.
They were onto something when they weren't sure where the improbability drive was going to take them... that's a perfect metaphor for what they *didn't* capture in the movie.
Somehow they made a *predictable* hitchhiker movie...
A small example... the babel fish scene. Ford has to wrestle Arthur to the ground and shove the fish in his ear... probably more realistic and it was actually pretty funny in the movie, but isn't it funnier and more *random* to just have Ford suddenly stick it in Arthur's ear? There's an element of surprise or timing or something that is missing in that slight change, and it's what's missing from nearly the entire movie.
So close... so close...
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
not reading the thread yet cause I'm going today, but posting this so it bumps to new post status for when I get home tonight. =)
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
The thing that bummed me out was that we only had 3 trailers and one of them was for that weird 3-D animated pigeon movie!!!
Though one of them was for Batman, so I was temporarily appeased by seeing Christian Bale on the big screen for a minute. But we didn't get Episode III or Serenity. What's up with THAT?
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
I really don't understand how people could dislike it so much. You guys all realize that Douglas Adams wrote the script before he died, right? And that it was polished by the scripwriter from Chicken Run?
I wasn't bothered by the changes (except for some jokes that got cut short) any more than I was bothered by the changes from the radio script to the book, or from the book to the computer game, or from the book to the BBC movie . . . you get the point. Douglas Adams seemed to enjoy rewriting the story with every iteration.
Posted by Frisco (Member # 3765) on :
The fact that DNA wrote the script doesn't change the fact that it wasn't well done. It did, however, cause my expectations to be set a little high.
So rather than this being a predictable disappointment, I went in expecting something good.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Marvin and Slartibartfast were perfect. Otherwise I found myself rather lukewarm towards the film.
[ April 30, 2005, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: Puffy Treat ]
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
I enjoyed it. But then, I went in knowing it wasn't going to be a 100% re-telling of the books (or any of the other versions for that matter). Sure, I can think of dozens of really hilarious lines that were absent from this version... but so what? There were also a lot of great gags new to it. You can definitely tell they were walking a line between the absurdity and randomness fans of the books wanted and the resemblance of a normal story-arc that the typical movie-goer is going to expect.
If it had been a fairly straight forward retelling of the first book in the series, 90% of the story arcs would be completely unresolved, and I doubt they had LotR's luxury of knowing they would make the sequels no-matter-what.
Clearly, it's not for everyone. Neither were any of the other versions of it. There were a few bits where I was laughing nearly to tears only to look around and find I was the only one laughing. At one point ElJay whispered "Is there something I just missed there? It was a little funny, but not like THAT."
Btw, for anybody who just wanted to hear all the fun dialogue they remembered, I highly recommend the unabridged audiobooks read by Adams himself. He's got a great voice(s) for it and (amazingly enough) a perfect sense of comedic timing for his own jokes.
--Enigmatic (who is, at least, definitively wrong)
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
I really liked it too. And I came close to wearing a bathrobe...
The theater was half empty for a 5:15 showing, almost everyone had towels but nobody was in obvious nightwear.
There were a few places where I sat there thinking "I don't remember THIS" - the flyswatters, Humma Kavula and the brainectomy, a couple others. Dad was fairly confused, he remembered even less, but he hasn't read the series in at least 10 years, where I read it a month ago.
I'll definitely be going at least once more on the big screen, probably wait until it's in the second run theater so I can see it for 3 bucks, and it's a mandatory addition to the permanent collection.
And I'm sooooooooooooooo getting a Hoopy Frood shirt!!! Maybe two, I think I'll give Dad one.
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
Jon Boy,
I actually liked it quite a bit... it just fell short of what I wanted it to be and that was all the more bitter for how good the parts they got right were...
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
Saw it twice. Took a towel both times, the same towel. Loved it. Decided to find the Marvin action figure and yarn dolls at a store near me. Didn't. Very disappointed. Decided to buy it on DVD the second it comes out. Does that cover it? Posted by School4ever (Member # 5575) on :
Whoever decides which trailers to show with a movie had it totally wrong at our theater. They advertized Chicken Little, some Spy Kids like thing and some other kids' movie. There was no excitement in the entirely kid-less theater for any of the movies. I don't know what they thought Hitchhiker's Guide was.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Discussed this at length online with Shmuel, ultimately came away with this: it was probably a better movie than a faithful recreation of the first book would have been. More accessible, more of a coherent plot, character development. But it wasn't a very good representation of the mania and flying wit of the first book, which is what caused my disappointment.
The stuff that was added/expanded, I really liked. The lines that were watered down for (IMO) no good reason bugged me.
I think this is a movie that will improve on a second showing, now that I know to focus on what was there instead of what I was waiting to see.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
Jim, I agree with your statement that they added too much "plot". Otherwise it was a super cool movie. Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
quote: Alan Rickman's Marvin.
Alan Rickman's Marvin ? Alan Rickman's Marvin ? ? ? ? Are you trying to tell me that Alan Rickman is dubbing Marvin ? Because if it is so, I have to see that movie, no matter how crappy it is (and I won't go if it isn't the case, because I really love the books and hate to see such a good material spoiled by Hollywood).
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
Yeah, Alan Rickman was the perfect voice. Or was it prefect voice? Doesn't Alan Rickman play Snape in the Harry Potter movies?
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It didn't follow the book exactly, but the book didn't follow the radio show exactly, and that's fine.
The opening song has been in my head for the past two days. If it isn't nominated for an Oscar, there is no justice in this world.
I thought everything was wonderful. I do wish it had a little more zany humor, but I think it had enough.
As we were walking out of the theatre, a little grandmother was loudly complaining at the top of her voice that she had just spent two hours and nine dollars on the weirdest, most worthless, most confusing experience of her life. Success!!
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
yes he does, he he... Let's face it : he's too old to play Snape (he should be 35, is around 65 and looks at last 50) but his voice still makes him the best for the role.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I asssume, Anna, that you've seen Sense and Sensibility? It's probably the best Alan Rickman goodness of all time.
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
I haven't seen it yet, because I've been unable to find it in DVD ie in original version, and I don't want to spoil the movie by seing it in French. I'll definitively have to search some more.
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
COLONEL BRANDON!!!!!!
*faints*
Posted by Olivetta (Member # 6456) on :
*****SPOILER?****
The only thing that bothered me about the movie was the dewey-eyed lurve between Arthur and Trillian, and even that didn't bother me a LOT.
The Improbability drive was just farking hilarious. "Ford, I think I'm a sofa." *snort*
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
I agree, Olivia, that was my favorite part.
I particularly enjoyed the yarn version. Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I liked both the yarn and the sofas, but I think if I had to choose one it would be the sofas. That was great.
And I loved how the Heart of Gold looked. It was so... fat!
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
I always wondered who paula nancy millstone jennings (who had the worst poetry in the universe.) Well here's a sample of her poetry.
quote:The dead swans lay in the stagnent pool. They lay. They rotted. They turned Around occassionally. Bits of flesh dropped off them from Time to time. And sank into the pool’s mire. They also smelt a great deal.
EDIT 1 Well the poem is real, but Douglas Adams changed the name to "protect" the person who is. His real name is Paul Neil Milne Johnstone.
[ May 02, 2005, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged ]
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
We need a vomiting smiley. Or at last one expressing disgust. I always end in using this one instead, but that's not it.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
BunnV, Grisha, and I went on Friday night. Marvin was great! I think someone should sell knit toy Marvins (as in the scene where they all were knit toy versions of themselves). But overall the movie quickly began to strike me as boring and stupid. The love story between Arthur and Trillian had me rolling my eyes and trying not to wretch. Zaphod wasn't appealingly insufferable, as he was in the books... just insufferable.
Oh well, they tried, but they just didn't pull it off.
On the other hand, we had a great time. We took our towels, of course, and discovered that a Super Grisha is an amazing thing, because he can do everything the regular Grisha can do, plus he has a cape. BunnV and I were in hysterics before the movie even started, trying to figure out what was going on with this strange dying "awwrp" sound we heard from an audience member. Then to top it off, we went to the midnight showing of Kung Fu Hustle, which was a wonderful hilarious movie. My recommendation to everyone is skip H2G2 and go see Kung Fu Hustle. It r0xx0rz!
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
quote: I think someone should sell knit toy Marvins (as in the scene where they all were knit toy versions of themselves).
They are. Action figures too. I only want Marvin.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
The fact that Arthur vomited yarn after they changed back from the knit thing pushes it up higher than the sofas for me. That was fabulous. Otherwise I'd totally agree that the sofas were better. Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
My towel is in my truck.
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![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Hail]](graemlins/hail.gif)
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And went out for dinner and drinks afterwards, too. ![[Wall Bash]](graemlins/wallbash.gif)