[Josh]

^

Yup.

This film was hit and miss for me. I found some things about the film really quite funny but there were also scenes that felt very padded and uninteresting. I wasn't thrilled with the ending either. Or that damned song at the beginning.

[Delvo]

I really don't get how this concept would be done in a medium that has neither a visual element (movie/TV, magazines, comic books) nor plenty of essentially unlimited wordspace (books) in which to depict the strangeness verbally.

[Christopher]

Delvo, on May 6 2005, 05:59 PM, said:

I really don't get how this concept would be done in a medium that has neither a visual element (movie/TV, magazines, comic books) nor plenty of essentially unlimited wordspace (books) in which to depict the strangeness verbally.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, a radio play is mostly words, and the rest is done with sound FX. Indeed, HHG's sound FX were cutting-edge for their day; the production team elevated radio-drama sound design to a whole new level, inventing novel techniques to process and create sounds.

And of course something like this is often better without the visual element -- because aside from there being no budget limitations, the audience member is also free to use one's imagination rather than being constrained by what someone else thought up.

Anyway, if you're really curious about how the radio show did it, you can listen for yourself right here:

http://kcrw.org/show/hg

[KRAD]

Yes, it was originally a radio drama, and the BBC TV miniseries was based on the radio drama. The books are, in many ways, the third form it's taken, with the fourth being the Infocomm video game and the fifth being the comic book that Byron Preiss packaged for DC about a decade ago.

In any case, think about what's most memorable about Hitchhikers -- the book's narration, and the dialogue. Both of those are there in the radio drama. The whole aspect of Zaphod having a third arm and second head actually works best in the radio drama, as Ford comes onto the Heart of Gold, is reunited with Zaphod, and he casually says, "Love the second head" and "the third arm suits you." And then it's never mentioned again, which makes it all the funnier.

Trust me, there has yet to be a version of Hitchhikers -- not the visually flawed BBC miniseries, not the often self-indulgent books -- that surpasses the original radio drama.

This post has been edited by KRAD: 06 May 2005 - 05:50 PM

[ChicaFrom3]

Kosh, on May 6 2005, 09:31 AM, said:

Fans, a big diapointment, trying to cram five books into an hour and a half leaves you with little resemblence to the books.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Uhm. Actually, the movie only covers the first book, not all five.

[Christopher]

KRAD, on May 6 2005, 06:50 PM, said:

Yes, it was originally a radio drama, and the BBC TV miniseries was based on the radio drama. The books are, in many ways, the third form it's taken, with the fourth being the Infocomm video game and the fifth being the comic book that Byron Preiss packaged for DC about a decade ago.

Wasn't the second incarnation the record albums? They were similar to the radio plays, but I gather they were new productions and told the story in their own distinct way. And I'm pretty sure the first book came out before the TV miniseries. So yeah, the books would be the third form, the TV series the fourth, and then the video game and the comic.

Quote

Trust me, there has yet to be a version of Hitchhikers -- not the visually flawed BBC miniseries, not the often self-indulgent books -- that surpasses the original radio drama.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Still, the TV version does have its charms -- the animations of the Guide entries foremost among them. Plus I like the Vogons better in the TV version. In the radio play they were given these high, reedy voices that clash utterly with their big, blobby, lumbering, thuggish nature.

On the other hand, the TV version requires enduring Sandra Dickinson as Trillian. But everything's a tradeoff.

[QueenTiye]

Well, I saw this movie Sunday, and then life went straight down the tubes so I didn't post a review...

I smiled my entire way through this movie! Having not reread the book in a while, the movie was zany enough to be something I wouldn't have watched if it hadn't been THIS movie, and yet, familiar enough that little things made me smile. In short - I found it pleasant, and wasn't disappointed. That was pretty good, actually - there were just so many ways for this movie to totally tank that its failure to do that was a major accomplishment.

That said - I wasn't clear at all that someone who didn't know the books would get some of the jokes. Zany movies like this wants to be need more plot, in my opinion. The movie reminded me of the classic "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," which to me, is one of the best of the genre, till today. Having listened briefly to the radio show that Christopher linked to, I have to admit to being prejudiced in favor of the books, but I still found the radio show more effective than the movie at being immediately accessible, without any prior knowledge needed.

I did bring my towel to the show. I didn't happen to see anyone else with a towel, but at my movie theatre, the audience applauded when it was all over. That made me think there were lots of Hitchhikers in the crowd. The towel did in fact come in handy, when, after a trip to the ladies room I discovered that the electric hand dryers weren't working...

QT

[ultraviolet]

My review of the movie:
http://enterline2.tr...ikersguide.html

I wish I could write it like a Guide entry. Maybe I will do that for the DVD review months from now.

This post has been edited by ultraviolet: 12 May 2005 - 12:12 PM

[Christopher]

ultraviolet, on May 12 2005, 01:06 PM, said:

My review of the movie:
http://enterline2.tr...ikersguide.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A nitpick...

Quote

The 2005 movie pays tribute to the TV series by using the theme tune from the TV series....

The TV series had the same theme song as the radio series and the record albums which preceded it: the Eagles song "Journey of the Sorcerer." So that isn't specifically an homage to the TV series.

[Kosh]

Christopher, on May 6 2005, 10:10 AM, said:

Kosh, on May 6 2005, 09:31 AM, said:

Fans, a big diapointment, trying to cram five books into an hour and a half leaves you with little resemblence to the books.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why is it that everyone keeps assuming that the books are the original or "pure" version of HHG???? The radio series came first! The books are just an adaptation!

I guess it's just a reflection of how much our society has forgotten what radio used to be. Today we only think of it as a source of music, news and rabid political-extremist blather. We've forgotten that back in the days before TV, it was full of classic dramas and sitcoms and adventure series and game shows and all the rest. I imagine that fairly few people today are aware that the Lone Ranger and the Shadow originated on radio, or of how many of the conventions and catchphrases associated with Superman originated on radio and fed back to the comics.

This annoys me partly because I'm a fan of old-time radio, and partly just because I believe that credit should be given where it's due, that when people put their care and effort into creating something, they deserve recognition for it. A lot of very creative people worked on the HHG radio series; Douglas Adams couldn't have done it all without them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My original exposure to HH was a tape of the original radio broadcast. I liked it much better then the books myself.

[ultraviolet]

Christopher, on May 12 2005, 08:44 PM, said:

ultraviolet, on May 12 2005, 01:06 PM, said:

My review of the movie:
http://enterline2.tr...ikersguide.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A nitpick...

Quote

The 2005 movie pays tribute to the TV series by using the theme tune from the TV series....

The TV series had the same theme song as the radio series and the record albums which preceded it: the Eagles song "Journey of the Sorcerer." So that isn't specifically an homage to the TV series.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But clearly it does pay tribute to earlier versions/versions. I have never listened to the radio version (not every Hitchhiker fan has listened to the radio version - probably more have watched the TV series). I have read the books and watched the TV series. I did go back to see the movie again yesterday so I can watch the Guide entry that plays during the middle of the end credits (and I love this movie). It is about the only movie (in years) I have seen more than once in theaters.

[Christopher]

ultraviolet, on May 18 2005, 12:51 PM, said:

Christopher, on May 12 2005, 08:44 PM, said:

A nitpick...

Quote

The 2005 movie pays tribute to the TV series by using the theme tune from the TV series....

The TV series had the same theme song as the radio series and the record albums which preceded it: the Eagles song "Journey of the Sorcerer." So that isn't specifically an homage to the TV series.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But clearly it does pay tribute to earlier versions/versions.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, but the point is that it's a factual error to attribute the theme solely to the TV series. Since this was a formal review, I figured you'd want to edit out any factual errors that slipped through.

[ultraviolet]

I will try to update the review the next time I put up a DVD Review (which is tonight or tomorrow). I have been thinking of writing a second review of the movie in the form of an entry from the Hitchhiker's Guide (when I have time after other writing projects).

[ultraviolet]

But I could always add that the sequence with the theme is straight homage to the TV series.

[Christopher]

ultraviolet, on May 18 2005, 09:10 PM, said:

But I could always add that the sequence with the theme is straight homage to the TV series.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Again, why would it be an homage to the TV series in particular when it's the same theme song that was used on the original radio series and the record albums???

[ultraviolet]

Christopher, on May 19 2005, 01:48 PM, said:

ultraviolet, on May 18 2005, 09:10 PM, said:

But I could always add that the sequence with the theme is straight homage to the TV series.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Again, why would it be an homage to the TV series in particular when it's the same theme song that was used on the original radio series and the record albums???

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because the sequence is very much like the title sequence for the TV series (which also had the same theme song and down to the way the book is revealed in that sequence).

[Kosh]

ChicaFrom3, on May 6 2005, 08:54 PM, said:

Kosh, on May 6 2005, 09:31 AM, said:

Fans, a big diapointment, trying to cram five books into an hour and a half leaves you with little resemblence to the books.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Uhm. Actually, the movie only covers the first book, not all five.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I got that from the reviewer. The Gazzettes reviewer aren't the best.

[Zoxesyr]

Mostly Harmless.