Maurice Broadus has posted a review on Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy at Hollywood Jesus: Pop Culture from a Spiritual Point of View. When you’ve seen the movie, head on over and add your comments!
Tags: Douglas Adams, Hollywood Jesus, Movies, pop culture, science fiction, Spirituality
Tonight I went with the family to the opening night of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was excellent.
It was different to the radio series, book and television series. Apparently Douglas Adams had a policy of adding or changing something every time he produced a new format. He was the key script writer and one of the producers for the movie. It’s so sad that he died in May 2001, at the age of 49. I remember the shock of hearing the news.
The official Hitchhikers Movie website is at hitchhikers.movies.go.com
It includes an excellent trailer and plenty of interactive material.
The movie starts with the dolphins. At first with an entry from the Hitchhiker’s guide, and then in full colour, wide screen glory. There’s not a lot of visual magic - we treated more to big budget of the Doctor Who style of science fiction. The theme music from the television series, “Journey of the Sorcerer”, originally by the Eagles, is used in the movie as well.
As I said earlier, there a few bonus pieces added in by Adams. Like John Malkovich playing the specially created character of Humma Kavula, the leader of a cult that worships the God who created the universe by sneezing it out of his nostril. The Vogons stay active in the plot as the StarWars-like Empire fleet dragged down by bureacracy. The movie is full of oblique references to Star Wars in fact, but always in the sense of “what would be the opposite of the Star Wars plot”. There’s a romantic interest in the movie, an interest that was kept for later in the series when in book form.
Look out for the collection of planets in Slarti Baartfast’s study - one is in the shape of Douglas Adams’ head. Also look for the entry to Humma Kavula’s cathedral, which is in fact a 10 foot high rendition of Douglas Adams’ nose. Halfway through the credits there’s a bonus section from the Hitchhiker’s Guide.
Ennis, my wife, discovered a class set of the first book at school and is getting ready to teach it.
I’m wondering if the rest of the series will be or has been made. We’ll see.
We have, somewhere in the house, a copy of The Salmon of Doubt, a collection of Douglas Adams’ writings ranging from a childhood letter to the editor through to notes for his incomplete third Dirk Gently novel.
Adams explores in an essay his ponderings about God, science and the origins of the universe. He comes across as a secular scientist who has trouble buying the concept of personal creator. That’s no surprise, considering the number of references to weird and wonderful concepts of creation in the Hitchhikers series. He’s introduced us to pluralism at an astronomical level.
Tags: Douglas Adams, Movies, science fiction
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