"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Sam Rockwell as ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX Mos Def as FORD PERFECT Zooey Deschanel as TRILLIAN Martin Freeman as ARTHUR DENT Bill Nighy as SLARTIBARTFAST Alan Rickman as MARVIN Rated PG Studio: Touchstone Directed by: Garth Jennings Back to DVD Review Home |  |
I read somewhere (probably on the Internet, so I’m not vouching for any sort of reliability here) that “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” has been adapted to more forms of media than anything else in modern popular culture. It’s seen books, movies, television, radio, video games and other lesser form of media. The story is Douglas Adams’ legacy. He will forever be known for things like the babelfish, gin and tonic and the number 42.
What I came to appreciate with this film is that it was the last stab that Douglas Adams took at the whole “Hitchhiker” phenomenon. Unlike most works of fiction, this story was not one that was set in stone. It was nothing more than a series of adaptations. Adams refined his work with each incarnation. So, instead of making a movie that was a shot-for-shot telling of the book (or the radio show or the television show), this was a different take on it.
Things were changed about the story. New gags were added. Characters were refined. What you have in the feature version of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” is a fresh Douglas Adams-approved incarnation.
There’s a nice selection of special features, running the gamut of the expected features. There are three deleted scenes, as well a couple fake deleted scenes. These fake outtakes are really just some random moments on the set when they did a funny take. They’re not as funny as you might expect, but at least they’re interesting and unique. The best deletion from the film is the additional guide entry featuring the connection between the babelfish and God, himself.
One of the most clever and true-to-spirit pieces of the film is the “So Long and Thanks for All the Fish” musical number sung by humans (the second most intelligent creatures on Earth) featuring the acrobatics of dolphins (the first most intelligent creatures on Earth). The complete song is available with sing-along lyrics.
There’s also a decent making-of featurette as well as a hangman set-top game featuring Marvin the depressed robot. The DVD has two commentary tracks, one featuring the filmmakers and other featuring the producer with a close friend of Douglas Adams. Not only is the filmmaker commentary well constructed and interesting, the Douglas Adams-centric commentary gives great insight into Adams’ new contributions to this movie.
Finally, the DVD comes with an “Improbability Drive” feature that will randomly play a bonus feature when engaged. Press it enough and you can see the cartoon that Deep Thought was watching for millions of years.
Revisiting this movie on DVD was more fun than it was in the theater, mainly because I knew what to expect. I’m not looking for a heavy-duty story and just end up enjoying the weird little universe that Adams has created. So sit back, don’t panic and enjoy this movie.
And don’t forget your towel.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DTS 5.1 Surround Sound. THX-certified, including THX optimizer. Widescreen (2.35:1), enhanced for 16x9 televisions. French and Spanish language track. French and Spanish subtitles. English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
