The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Including Life, the Universe and Everything

At some point in their life, every person has wondered what their purpose in life is. Questions involving why humans are on Earth, what they are supposed to do with their lives and whether there is more to life than what meets the eye have wandered through many minds without really producing a definitive answer. But it is likely that a definitive answer does not exist; or in fact, a definitive answer is not really needed to carry on with life. And that is the point made in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Arthur Dent rises one morning to a rude awakening that his house is to be demolished immediately to make way for a bypass. In denial but unable to do anything about the situation, Arthur is dragged off to a pub by his friend Ford Prefect under the pretext of having a pint of beer before the world comes to an end. Ford confesses to being an alien from a neighbouring planet and a journalist who is commissioned to complete writing The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Reluctant to believe him, Arthur gets dragged along and finds himself on an alien ship with planet Earth reduced to dust. An altercation with their host results in them being evacuated and picked up by the Heart of Gold, a ship stolen by the President of the Universe and Ford’s semi half-brother, Zaphod Beeblebrox. Also on board are Marvin the Paranoid Android and Tricia McMillian aka Trillian, a human who Arthur knew from his days back on Earth and who becomes his love interest. Together the collective travel the galaxy in search of the true question to life, the universe and everything that will be a suitable match for the answer 42.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was directed by Garth Jennings and released in 2005. It is adapted from a novel of the same name which was written by Douglas Adams, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film. The franchise includes the original novel, the film and several other spinoffs that arose after the original book was published. The film can be easily identified as science fiction with elements of fantasy spun into it, but the comedy in the film is a standout which cannot be ignored.

The actors have been cast excellently considering they fit perfectly into the style of their respective characters. The biggest challenge for the actors and the director in the film would have been to convey the deadpan style of humour which is unique to this franchise and incredibly difficult to recreate. As such, the film is a credit to the franchise and has been done well. The film does not attempt to raise questions and then solve them, it pokes fun at the idea of having an answer to everything we do in life and the constant need to rectify thoughts and actions with an ultimate purpose to one’s existence.

The tongue-in-cheek jokes that come up every now and then can be hilarious once understood in context. A constantly depressed robot saves the lives of a group of people by depressing their attackers, a Vogon’s preferred form of torture is to read poetry and a whale has just come into existence in free-fall unaware of what he is supposed to feel; certain moments such as these are truly hilarious and well done in the film. The superimposing of Arthur’s house being destroyed to make way for a national bypass and then his entire planet being destroyed to make way for a galactic bypass blends both tragedy and comedy, a rare occurrence in any film. Even the misfortune involving the President of the Galaxy ordering a planet to be destroyed when he thinks he is signing an autograph is a ridiculous moment which is then exaggerated because the same planet happens to be the most important in the galaxy that was created with a purpose of solving the ultimate question.

The film is mostly comedy mixed with science fiction. Few elements of romance crop up during the course of the film but it is overall a very good deadpan humour-based comedy film.

A Clockwork Orange: A little bit of the ‘ultra-violence’

There are few films that keep the audience hooked from start to finish. There are fewer yet that manage to keep the audience constantly guessing as to what will happen next in the story. When a film manages to captivate its audience in such a way, it is usually expected that such a film would be highly rated. Such is the case of the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange which was directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Alex is a teenager who enjoys getting into trouble. His past run-ins have lead to several warnings and he is on the brink of being locked away in a cell, but his violent nature will not allow him to reform himself of his own account. He is joined by a group of three friends who share his penchant for violent and abusive behaviour. Together they go about vandalising property, engaging in fights, assaulting peace-loving citizens and sexually abusing anyone they fancy. With time, Alex becomes a dictator-like head of the group and frustrates the others into a mutiny. Stifled by Alex’s aggression, the others hitch a plan to get him locked away by putting him in a situation where he will lose all calm and commit a horrible act of aggression that will ultimately change the rest of his life.

A Clockwork Orange was directed by Stanley Kubrick who also wrote the screenplay based on a novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess. The story uses extremely unpleasant behaviour from the main characters to depict the traits of juvenile sociopaths. It is an exaggerated social commentary on the thoughts of adolescent young men. The main highlights of the film are the subjects of rape, ‘ultra-violence’ and an obsession with classical music which provides the protagonist with a belief that he is better than other delinquents because of his refined tastes.

The film employs first-person narration by the protagonist to emphasis the story. He narrates the emotions that run through his head which would be difficult for the audience to understand since his actions are mostly unexpected. The narration also helps piece together sections of the film which seem to be missing and provide a link as the story skips several months in the timeline. Instead of using track shots, the director opted to use the zoom technique in quite a few shots; particularly in the opening sequences. The first shot of the film itself is a zoom shot which begins with a close-up of the protagonist’s face and then gradually zooms out to establish a large room which he is sitting in. Use of narration and zoom shots are usually considered faux-pas in filmmaking, but the use in this film may be considered an exception since they are used well on occasion. Other techniques utilised include use of classical music in the background score since it forms a key part of the story.

What is most astonishing about the story is that the audience never really comes to grips with what is happen and the guessing game extends from trying to predict what will happen next in the story to what the character is actually thinking. Trying to understand the protagonist becomes important for the audience member since his actions are not easily explained by rational decisions. The language in the film is not easy to decipher since it involves plenty of Cockney slang and made-up words by the protagonist. The character and his idiosyncrasies were created with the intention of the throwing the audience off and to keep them constantly guessing.

The film starts off quick and establishes the character early. From there it moves into his daily life routine which is part amusing and part shocking for the audience. A conflict is then introduced in the storyline which changes the routine life of the protagonist for the rest of the film. Unfortunately, the film moves quickly and is interesting until this point but tends to move slowly and becomes illogical after the conflict is introduced.

The film has its moments and some sections of it are truly iconic. However, it does drag on towards the latter half. All the same, it is quite a good film especially with the interesting use of faux-pas techniques and since it captivates the audience and keeps them guessing.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers: A breath-taking nightmare of an alien invasion

Everyone has probably had a nightmare, or a hidden fear, of the world changing inexplicably one day or of being the last person on the planet and being surrounded by zombies or aliens. What would happen if you were actually in such a circumstance? Or if you were leading up to this circumstance and had to survive, what would you do? This is exactly the fear which is played upon in Don Siegel’s 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

The story begins with a psychiatrist rushing to a hospital where a man is yelling at the top of his voice. The psychiatrist agrees to listen to his story as the man, presumed to be insane, reveals himself to be a doctor by the name of Miles Bennell from a small town called Santa Mira. Miles had just returned from a long trip and was greeted by his nurse with the news of countless patients waiting for his counsel. Peculiarly, all the patients had recovered mysteriously and no longer required a doctor. Miles was then faced with complicated situations as people in his town claimed that their loved ones were no longer the same; that they looked and acted the same but were somehow emotionless. Miles paid no heed to their claims as his psychiatrist friend assured him that it was an epidemic mass hysteria and Miles himself was busy getting reacquainted with his lost love, Becky Driscoll. Soon Miles figured out that the claims were in fact true and that the town was in risk of being run over by alien beings and he had to try to save himself and the ones he loved.

The screenplay of the film was adapted from a 1954 novel called The Body Snatchers. It is a classic in the science fiction genre with very little need for special effects and a film which relies heavily on a brilliant plot. The film was made on an extremely small budget which goes to show that good quality need not have great effects and technology. Every second of the film is captivating and the film as a whole is absolutely enthralling.

Although the film does not fall typically under film noir, it has many elements of the genre. It lacks the theme of crime and a plot with revolves around it, but it does have the use of shadows and background scoring which can place it effectively under the film noir genre. The film also employs other interesting techniques like the Dutch angle which helps build the tension in the particular scenes, the iconic shot of two characters driving in a car – which is done from both sides of a 180 degree axis – and a background score which helps modulate the mood according to the setting of the scenes in the film.

The film is a thriller from start to finish. It is a well made horror film which you cannot peel your eyes, or ears, away from even for a few seconds. It captures its audience with a brilliant story, good performances and a very good production value. It definitely deserves to be considered among the list of the most iconic of films made in the sci-fi and horror genres.