Customer Reviews

Hogfather

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

After much hunting I found this DVD in the US... I wasn't sure what to expect from a live action Discworld movie, I just couldn't imagine that the humor could translate properly. In the end, it did and it didn't.

A short Summary:

In the fantasy world of Discworld, their winter festival is called Hogswatch, which is ruled over by the Hogfather... a fat jolly man with tusks who doles out gifts to nice little children. An Assassin is hired to "take care of" the Hogfather, and he goes about it by invading the lair of the Toothfairy. To try to keep the world in order, Death puts on the Hogfather Costume and tries to sub in for the evening... meanwhile, Death's grandaughter, Susan is off to figure out what happened to the Hogfather.

If you have read the book, then you know that you probably laughed so hard you cried. Though the movie is funny, it is not nearly so as the book. They remain fairly faithful to the book, cutting only where necessary. But if you have not read the book... then you will watch this film in puzzlement. There is a great deal of assumption by the filmmakers that the viewer is already aware of Discworld and how it works. The opening shot of Great A'tuin with the four elephants is shown but never explained. The Unseen university is baffling if you don't already know about the wizards, and the Death of Rats makes no sense at all.

But if you HAVE read the book, you will be able to follow quite happily seeing the characters from your head pop into life.

The acting, though theatrical, is wonderful. The costuming is brilliant and the sets are strange and beautiful. Susan is a powerful yet likeable character. Death, though his mouth never moves, is one of the most human creatures in the film. Albert is a scream... you can't help but love him.

Final summary: If you have read and enjoyed the book, this film is a must-see. If you have not read the book, then you might enjoy the movie... but you won't "get" most of it because of the level of discworld knowledge you are assumed to already have.

Kiddie Rating - I will probably let my kids watch this (ages 6 and 10) there are a few murders but very little blood, and they are not overly graphic. I didn't catch any profanity on my first watch through, there is of course no nudity. I would be more concerned of their lack of interest because I'm not sure if they are old enough to comprehend the humor of Death delivering presents dressed as a jolly fat man.

While awaiting the release of the Hogfather movie on DVD, I was amazed to run across the movie on the ION cable TV network on 12/23/07. I too expect that for those not familiar with the Discworld, it may be a little mystifying, but for those of us that are, the little details were wonderful. I particularly liked the rendition of HEX, complete with the "Anthill Inside" sticker and the little hourglass which popped out when it was processing. Getting a look at actual actors in costume playing Constable Visit and Nobby Nobbs, however briefly, was a treat--in fact, all the costuming and casting was very reminiscent of the way the Discworld is pictured in the Paul Kidby illustrations. The rendition of Susan and Bilious the Oh God inside the child's painting on their way to the Tooth Fairy's domain was excellent and very much as I had imagined it. Finally, Terry Pratchett himself makes a cameo appearance as the proprietor of the toy store where Death purchases the wooden horse to give to the young Albert. This movie really gives me hope for the "Light Fantastic/Color of Magic" movie which I understand is in the works--it shows that the Discworld CAN be translated to the live screen. My only negative criticism is that every time Mr. Teatime spoke with that weird voice of his, I was reminded of the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live--it may be that the actor just didn't understand how this would sound to an American ear. However, all in all it was a really great effort and no Discworld fan should pass it by.

The Hogfather, on the Discworld, is what Santa Claus is in the United States. Except it's called "Hogwatch" rather than Christmas. All the way back to that red and white, the colors of blood on snow.

The Discworld has Auditors, creatures who loath humanity and all the things that make us human. The Auditors engage the Guild of Assassins to whack the Hogfather, and the Guild designates the very spooky Jonathan Teatime (it's pronounced "tee-ah-tim-eh"), who hires a gang and methodically sets about this task. It takes Death; Death's granddaughter, Susan; Bilious, the Oh God of Hangovers; most of the wizardly faculty of Unseen University; and the Tooth Fairy to defeat Teatime, his gang and the Auditors.

Because more is at stake than Father Christmas. Belief is what makes us human, where the rising angel meets the falling ape. And if we can't practice on little lies - the Hogfather, the Tooth Fairy and the like - we won't be ready for the big lies - that there are such things as truth and justice, and that the sun will rise tomorrow.

The movie is brilliantly cast and acted. The difficult task of turning a Pratchett novel into a screenplay is generally successful, and the sets are simply terrific. Watch for Pratchett himself in a cameo. To paraphrase Pratchett, "They actually got it right."

Very highly recommended, and not just for hard core fans of Terry Pratchett.

I have been dying to see a film adapted from a Pratchett Discworld novel. As I don't live in England and I don't have any means of viewing anything from England, I was incredibly delighted to see this dvd on the shelf of a local bookstore. I bought Hogfather, even though I have never even read the book (shame on me--I have read other Discworld books, but have not come to this one yet). Two words--LOVE IT! It's over 180 minutes of viewing-time, so there is plenty of time to unfold Terry Pratchett's weird and wonderful storyline--I only wish it were a little longer. I hated coming to the end of it. Loved the music, too. Too bad it's not on cd (as I can see--drat and tarnation!).

The performances were all very good. Susan was pretty much how I envisioned she would be. Mr. Teatime (pronounced TEE-a-time-AY)was on the creepier side of Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka (I don't know how the character was in the book, but the portrayal in the movie was such a sickly creepy one that it sent shivers down my spine--truly a much scarier approach than if he were a hissing sort of assasin with a gravely voice and a five-o'clock shadow). Death's stint as the Hogfather was absolutely hilarious and tinged with moments of levity that make you nearly want to cry.

Terry Pratchett is a master of both praising and mocking the human condition. This adaptation of Hogfather will not disappoint. My only wish is for more film adaptations like this one to be made of his wonderful Discworld books.

Terry Pratchett fans long waited for the transformation of Discworld tales into visuals. Computer games, animations and stage productions were all right in their place, but film adaptations are the mark of success. Pratchett resisted adaptations because most producers "didn't get it". Vadim Jean "got it" and has made the story of "Hogfather" into a fine film presentation. As a TV production, there are limitations and omissions, but these do not detract from the success of Jean's efforts to bring Pratchett's story of intrigue, power and imagination to the small screen.

But what of the newcomer to Pratchett and his Discworld? Will they gain the same satisfaction from the visual presentation of one of the more compelling [and best-selling] authors of the past generation? The DVD opens with a Bang. Not a very Big one, but enough to discharge a wondrous sight - a disc sitting atop four elephants who stand on the carapace ["shell"] of a giant tortoise. The vision certainly imparts the feeling that something unusual will follow. Which it does: a young governess is reading "Jack And The Beanstalk" to a pair of youngsters on Hogswatch Eve. Tucking them in, Susan notes: "If you don't believe in the Hogfather, there won't be any presents." It is the film's key statement.

For the Hogfather has gone missing. This may be because the Auditors of the Universe, who resent life and loathe humans because they're unpredictable, have commissioned Guild of Assassins to have the Hogfather "brought to an end". The Guild's Head assigns the job to a young Assassin, Mister Teatime ["Tee-ah tim-eh, most people get it wrong, Sir."] who has already devised a plan to accomplish it. Teatime gathers a team to put his plan into effect. This scheme starts by kidnapping the Tooth Fairy. Wot?

Meanwhile, across town, the wizards of the Unseen University are experiencing some bizarre events. Strange new beings enter their lives - not entirely strange, however, since they all seem to represent tales of their childhood. Among the wizards is one who has constructed HEX, a "thinking machine". You can tell what it is from the label "Anthill Inside" pasted on one side. Archchancellor Ridcully is suspicious of such devices, but thinks he can make HEX do his bidding by mere shouting.

Throughout these events, an Anthropomorphic Personification, known as Death, feels an imbalance in the universe. Discovering the Hogfather has failed to go out on his rounds delivering gifts, Death dons a red suit, a false beard and, with his assistant Albert, undertakes the role. Death is interested in humans, finding their habits and prejudices fascinating, and he wants to know more about them. The rituals of Hogswatch [Christmas] are but one aspect. Those rituals extend from deep time and are thereby fundamental. Resolution of the Hogfather's disappearance and the Teatime Gang's invasion of the Tooth Fairy's castle are gently woven into the film's concluding scene. There are many threads and the novice Discworld viewer will note there are many levels to the story. That's what turns the first Discworld encounter into a habit.

There are "big names" in this film - listed lead David Jason does a fine job as Albert, while Ian Richardson's voice of Death is peerless. The surprise here is Michelle Dockery, who picks up this film early and keeps it essentially hers throughout. She is relatively unknown, but won't be after this. As a robed "skellington", Death is hardly visually appealing, but Richardson's inflections on Pratchett's text keep us smiling. Unlike many "fantasy" or SciFi films, "Hogfather" relies on little in the way of "special effects beyond Death's character. Some snow stops falling and a few sparkling things are used, but the story is too straightforward to need extra dazzlement. As with Pratchett's stories it's the characters and what they tell us that counts. Watch this and see. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Terry Pratchett is by far my favorite author but I was bitterly disappointed by this movie. The casting was truly awful and the movie had none of the dry humour that is the driving force behind Pratchett's books. Teatime, Susan and Ridcully were portrayed so badly that I only got about 1/2 an hour into before I was forced to turn it off. Why is it that whenever anyone makes a fantasy movie, the acting is always so corny? The humour in the books stands up quite well without the need for overacting. Next time someone makes one of these movies it would be refreshing indeed if they directed it the same way one would direct any modern comedy or even a serious drama and not the way one would direct a high school musical. Obviously I am in a minority and though I am a huge Pratchett fan I can't recommend this movie to anyone.

First off, let me say that I am a HUGE Terry Pratchett fan and that's why I got this movie. A lot of the humor that I loved in the Hogfather book didn't sit well with me in this movie... mostly came out as cheesy. If I were a child, it might seem silly and funny, but I found it cheesy. I might've actually cringed at some scenes.

Another reason I didn't care so much for the movie is that it's over 3 hours long. I think I read the book faster than that. If you're getting this movie for your kid, good luck getting them to sit through it. Parts that I remembered in the book as being very good were transformed in this movie as parts that dragged on and on. I needed it to be faster paced, I suppose.

I got this movie because I needed my Terry Pratchett "fix" until I could get my hands on the next book of his, but this movie version of the Hogfather didn't deliver. I was disappointed and I've got to go reread Hogfather so I can hopefully get the memory of this movie out of my head. If you're thinking of getting this movie for the same reasons I did, consider yourself warned. :)

I have found my new favorite December movie. While I have not yet read the book this movie was still enjoyable, even with what little Discworld knowledge I have. The characters were engaging and the acting superb. Ian Richardson brought life to the character Death, who wore a simple skull and black robe costume before donning the jolly red suit of the Hogfather, Discworld's answer to Father Christmas. Mr. Teatime had just enough creepy in him to give me the heebie-jeebies. There was even a nice surprise when Nigel Planer, from "The Young Ones", appeared on the screen as a cowardly wizard. All in all this was good clean fun!

What a treat! I found this little gem over the holidays and recorded it, being too busy to watch it during the season. And boy was I so glad that I did.

Anyone familiar with the book knows the basic story - a mysterious group called the Auditors hire the Assassins Guild to terminate the Hogfather, aka the Discworld's version of Santa Claus. Things, of course, are not so simple, because if the Hogfather dies then the first steps would be taken that would ultimately destroy the very thing that makes humans human - the ability to believe. To hope. To dream. To imagine.

Forces are aligned to oppose the Auditors and their plan. Death and his granddaughter Susan (long story, it's best not to inquire too closely, he is Death after all) each use different strategies and tactics to try and save Hogswatch night and the Hogfather himself.

Pratchett's story is a moving one. It's the birth and death of hope, and its rebirth, all wrapped up in the story of Santa Claus' birth and death. What makes a human believe in concepts with no real meaning? Hope, justice, mercy, maybe love. What are these things except concepts we invented in our heads and then tried to make the world conform to our new beliefs? We have to dream first, then try and make that dream reality. But, without the dream, there is no reality.

It really is an excellent story, and the movie version did it true justice, which only we humans can judge and to which I think Death would approve. The only thing which kept it being five stars in my rating is that it wasn't the book. That such a deep and moving concept can be written about and still be incredibly funny speaks volumes about Pratchett's writing ability. The movie is incredibly true to the book. Unfortunately, very, very few movies can compete with the literary medium. This one did its best, but fell just a hair short.

Still, kudos!

Now, when is someone going to make a story about the Watch? I've got the space waiting on my DVR.

I have been reading science fiction for over 4 decades. Normally, the books I like that are made into movies fall far short of the mark. For example, "I Robot" was a great guy-flick, but failed the book miserably. "2001" is my high water mark on book/movies.

I really liked "Hogfather". They got it right. I was very impressed on the way they stuck to the story. We have seen it twice so far.

I will not repeat the fine comments on the plot from the other reviews, because they do a good job.

You need to look carefully for what happens in the background. These folks put their hearts and souls into this fine movie. It is obvious they are fans. For those who are familiar with the Disc World, you will find references scattered about. If you have never read any of the stories, you will not have a problem following the story. (You should know that Death ONLY SPEAKS IN CAPITAL LETTERS.)

I loved the Pratchett cameo.

This should encourage folks to read other Disc World stories. I recommend "Moving Pictures", "Going Postal", "Soul Music", anything about the Witches (Granny Weatherwax ROCKS!!), and anything about the Watch. Of course, Cohen the Barbarian and the Grey Horde for those who like Conan.