The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [Blu-ray] | ![The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51z98fYnjUL._SL500_.jpg)
| Actors: Warwick Davis, Stephen Fry, Richard Griffiths, Simon Jones, John Malkovich
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
Category: DVD
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $19.00
You Save: $15.99 (46%)
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Rating:  439 reviews
Sales Rank: 12511
Format: Color
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: Blu-ray
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.4
MPN: DISBR53530
UPC: 786936725360
EAN: 0786936725360
ASIN: B000KEG938
Theatrical Release Date: 2005
Release Date: January 23, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Experience it all as you join the mars rovers spirit and opportunity for an awe-inspiring journey to the surface of the mysterious red planet. Through the eyes of these two intrepid death-defying rovers and with nasa scientists and engineers at your side youll see mars in a way no one ever has before. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 01/23/2007 Run time: 40 minutes Rating: G
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 a guru 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:
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| Customer Reviews: Read 434 more reviews...
 There is an art to adapting novels to film... June 30, 2009
Robert P. Beveridge (Cleveland, OH)
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 scheduled to be demolished to build a hyperspace bypass. Coincidentally, this is supposed to happen the same morning the the house of Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman of Hot Fuzz) is supposed to be demolished to make way for an Earthbound bypass. This creates a minor cognitive disjunction when his beat friend, Ford Prefect (Mos Def from 16 Blocks) tells him that the Earth is about to be destroyed, and to grab his towel. In any case, just after Arthur's house bites the dust, so does the planet, but Ford and Arthur have managed to hitch a ride on one of the spaceships that destroyed it. They make another hop and find out there's one other survivor from Earth: Tricia McMillan (The Happening's Zooey Deschanel), with whom Arthur had connected at a recent party before she was swept off her feet by an impulsive interloper. This turns out to be Zaphod Beeblebrox (Frost/Nixon's Sam Rockwell), President of the galaxy, who dropped into Earth to pick up female companionship (and some really snazzy boots) while tooling around in a stolen spaceship, the Heart of Gold. Consequently, he's being pursued by a number of entities. He's also on a quest to find the Ultimate Question. Everyone knows the Ultimate Answer (which is forty-two), but the Ultimate Question? And thus the four of them, accompanied by a manic-depressive android named Marvin (voiced by Alan Rickman), embark on a series of adventures to that end.
You know what I find most disappointing about this? It was Douglas Adams' own script, which tells me that either Adams' attempted transition to screenwriter was a miserable failure, or co-writer Karey Kirkpatrick absolutely butchered Adams' first draft. At this point I'm about 50-50; while Kirkpatrick has turned out some real gems (specifically Chicken Run), he's also responsible for the horror that was Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves. Which Kirkpatrick showed up to doctor Adams' draft? We'll never know. The acting is quite good, which is to be expected from such a cast (as well as the above, minor roles are filled by such luminaries as Stephen Fry, Helen Mirren, and John Malkovich, among others), but my god, what they did to this book.
Rent the BBC miniseries instead. It's great. This, on the other hand, was mildly amusing, but mostly harmless. **
 Don't leae home without it May 22, 2009
J. Krakowski (Colorado)
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.
 Don't Panic - It's Much Better Than Reported May 18, 2009
E. David Swan (South Euclid, Ohio USA)
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, such as the character of Humma Kavula played by John Malkovich, was actually written by Douglas Adams specifically for a movie adaptation. So I'm giving this film a pass on staying true to the book and I'll simply judge it based on its own merits. Just know that the movie and the book have more than a few plot differences.
I watched the film with low expectations given the disappointing response from the public and the opening credits only increased my concern. They ran over some low quality video of dolphins doing tricks at a zoo in Spain while the obnoxious song `So Long and Thanks For All the Fish' played. Luckily the opening was probably the low point of the film. The one continuing annoyance throughout the movie was the incredibly lackluster performance by Mos Def who seemed to be expending as little energy as possible playing Ford Prefect. On the opposite end of the spectrum was Sam Rockwell who was an absolutely inspired choice to play Zaphod Beeblebrox.
On the whole I would say that the movie is a fine addition to the Hitchikers multimedia empire that includes books, a movie, TV program, radio programs and even video games. It's neither as bad as many people make it out to be or as good as it could have been. Sometimes the film feels a little cheaply built particularly the opening credits but the Vogon's look excellent, the Heart of Gold is well done (although I always imagined it being much sleeker) and the Magrathea factory floor is positively spectacular. This is one of those movies where it's wise to temper your expectations. The humor is subtle and British rather than laugh out loud as in films like Tropic Thunder and Walk Hard. If you've read the book the jokes will probably make more sense and resonate better but then you might find yourself in the unfortunate position of comparing the movie to the book.
It sounds highly unlikely that a sequel will be made which is a shame because despite one very weak performance and some unfortunate stylistic decisions this isn't a bad film. The core story and tone of Douglas Adams's fantastic book is preserved which is the most important thing of all. As a lifelong fan of the Hitchikers Guide I'll give this one a thumbs up.
Excellent and highly improbable flick! March 29, 2009
B. Manette (Pompano Beach, Florida, United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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." March 28, 2009
bernie (Arlington, Texas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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, a girl with wanderlust, is another advantage to this version of the story. She plays the hinge point to the story very well. Moreover, Trillian is a good shot with the Intent gun.
This movie is a lot of fun and pretty much follows the story by Douglas Adams, who just happened to also write the screenplay. A few technology and technical adjustments were made due to this being a new era and a different medium. One example is changing the digital watch for an up-to-date cell phone. The story had to have a beginning, middle and end.
I only viewed the Blu-ray version of this production. This version has a couple of voice over commentaries that give value in reviewing the film knowing the intent of the production.
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