The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Director:

Garth Jennings

Writers:

Douglas Adams (book), Douglas Adams (screenplay),

Stars:

Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Bailey	...	The Whale (voice)
Martin Freeman	...	Arthur Dent
Mos Def	...	Ford Prefect
Sam Rockwell	...	Zaphod Beeblebrox
Zooey Deschanel	...	Trillian
Bill Nighy	...	Slartibartfast
Warwick Davis	...	Marvin
Anna Chancellor	...	Questular Rontok
Alan Rickman	...	Marvin (voice)
Helen Mirren	...	Deep Thought (voice)
Stephen Fry	...	Narrator / The Guide (voice)
Simon Jones	...	Ghostly Image
John Malkovich	...	Humma Kavula
Thomas Lennon	...	Eddie the Computer (voice)
Kelly Macdonald	...	Reporter

Storyline

Everyone has bad mornings. You wake up late, you stub your toe, you burn the toast...but for a man named Arthur Dent, this goes far beyond a bad day. When he learns that a friend of his is actually an alien with advanced knowledge of Earth's impending destruction, he is transported off the Earth seconds before it is exploded to make way for a new hyperspace motorway. And as if that's not enough, throw in being wanted by the police, Earth II, an insane electronic encyclopedia, no tea whatsoever, a chronically depressed robot and the search for the meaning of life, and you've got the greatest adventure off Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

galaxy | alien | spaceship | friend | meaning of life | 

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Taglines:

Don't Panic

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, action and mild language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Guía del viajero intergaláctico

Filming Locations:

Beehive Pub, Hare Street, Nr Buntingford, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$35,905 (Norway) (19 August 2005)

Gross:

$1,188,799 (France) (19 August 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Everyman Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The registration of Arthur's caravan is T863 XT0.

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Goofs

The head on Ford's first pint in the pub before the Earth's destruction changes from shot-to-shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Book: It's an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem. For instance, on the planet Earth, Man had always assumed that he was the most intelligent species occupying the planet, instead of the *third* most intelligent. The second most intelligent creatures were of course dolphins who, curiously enough, had long known of the impending destruction of the planet earth. They had made many attempts to alert mankind to the danger, but most of their communications ...

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Crazy Credits

"For Douglas" -- precedes the closing credits, after the final action sequence.

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Connections

Referenced in Inside 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Magic Moments"
Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Performed by Perry Como
Courtesy of RCA Records
By Arrangement with SONY BMG Music Licensing

User Reviews

Those Cheeky Mice And Their Excellent Film

Overall a tremendous success. It's very funny, very kooky and visually gorgeous. I saw it with about 2000 media persons and we all loved it, which is a pretty hard thing to accomplish.

If you've never read the books (and I suggest you do, it moves at such a pace you might find yourself going 'eh?' a lot) then I don't know what you'd make of it. Think Monty Python in space, or a very British version of The Fifth Element.

As an adaptation I think it works extremely well though there were a few confusing moments even for me as the large philosophical questions were crammed into two hours worth of movie. The new stuff is cleverly done and works a treat IMO.

The cast: never been a fan of the office but Martin Freeman is perfect as Arthur Dent, Sam Rockwell hilariously OTT and Mos Def a surprising choice but one that really works. Trillian isn't that important in the novel and the movie bumps up her role to a love triangle situation between her Arthur and Zaphod. Again, Deschanel is an odd choice (another yank) but she is utterly spellbinding (oh the shower scene...hubba hubba).

The FX are great, both CGI and the Jim Henson creatures (the Vogons, brilliantly voiced by The League of Gentleman). The opening title song is worth the price of admission alone (think Eric Idle at his peak).

So I loved it, though the ending is also a bit of an anti-climax, but only perhaps because I was expecting something bigger. Still, it's p***-funny and that's the main thing.

Best moment: Ford attacks the Vogons with a towel and foils them by closing a tiny garden gate ("Oh no! We'll have to go around!").