The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
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When Earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, a man and his friend must navigate the absurdity of the cosmos.
The story
One Thursday morning, Arthur Dent discovers that his house is to be immediately demolished to make way for a bypass. His friend Ford Prefect, who reveals himself as an alien, convinces him to head to a nearby pub. There, Ford explains that the Earth is scheduled to be destroyed later that day by the extraterrestrial Vogons to make way for a hyperspace bypass. As the Vogon fleet arrives, Ford rescues Arthur by stowing them aboard one of the alien ships. Following the destruction of Earth, the pair is ejected into space and eventually picked up by the starship Heart of Gold, where they encounter a cast of eccentric companions.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Earth is destroyed by Vogons, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect are rescued by the starship Heart of Gold. They join Zaphod Beeblebrox, Trillian McMillan, and a depressed robot named Marvin. The group travels to find the 'Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything' on the planet Magrathea. Along the way, they encounter various obstacles, including a Point-of-View gun and a rescue mission to Vogsphere to save Trillian from the Vogons. Upon reaching Magrathea, Arthur is taken to a pocket dimension by Slartibartfast, where he sees a reconstructed Earth. He eventually escapes and destroys a group of hyper-intelligent mice who intended to use his brain to find the 'Question'. The film concludes with the group deciding to explore the galaxy together, while Arthur allows a new Earth to be completed without him.
- First release year
- 2005
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Garth Jennings
- Writers
- Douglas Adams · screenplay; Karey Kirkpatrick · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Martin Freeman · Arthur Dent; Mos Def · Ford Prefect; Sam Rockwell · Zaphod Beeblebrox; Zooey Deschanel · Trillian; Bill Nighy · Slartibartfast; Anna Chancellor · Questular Rontok; John Malkovich · Humma Kavula; Warwick Davis · Marvin
- Genres
- science fiction; comedy
- Themes
- absurdity; exploration
- Tone and mood
- whimsical; quirky
- Setting
- Space and various fictional planets including Magrathea and Vogsphere.
- Premise and plot tags
- space adventure; sci-fi comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
- Franchise connections
- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- Reception
- The film received mainly positive reviews and grossed over $100 million worldwide.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 63 · scale: 100
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Trailer Award · Most Original · won
- Production trivia
- The film was based on a series created by Douglas Adams.; The film was dedicated to Adams, who died in 2001 before production began.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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