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| The Hogfather | 
| Director: Vadim Jean
Actors: Neil Pearson, Tony Robinson, David Jason, Stephen Marcus, Joss Ackland
Studio: Genius Products (TVN)
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $7.70
You Save: $7.25 (48%)
Buy New/Used from $7.70
Avg. Customer Rating:  (98 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1185
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 189 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: GEPD80604D
UPC: 796019806046
EAN: 0796019806046
ASIN: B0010X741Y
Release Date: March 4, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 03/04/2008 Run time: 189 minutes
Amazon.com
Based on a fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, The Hogfather is an extraordinary satire-adventure set in the mythical realm of Discworld, a kind of parallel-universe version of Earth. Discworld's alternative to Santa Claus is the Hogfather, who also chases around in a sled delivering gifts to children (on a Christmas-like night known as Hogwatch), but who looks like, well, a wild hog and is pulled through the skies not by reindeer but a bunch of grunting porkers with long, dangerous teeth. Just as the Hogfather is about to complete his annual mission to leave toys for kids under their Hogwatch trees, a specter makes a deal with a professional assassin to kill the jolly old fellow. The job is farmed out to a psychotic monster named Teatime (Marc Warren), who sets about trying to get to the Hogfather through, of all things, the Tooth Fairy. While danger stalks these immortal characters, Death (Ian Richardson) himself takes the Hogfather's place on his magical rounds, with comic consequences. Meanwhile, a governess named Susan (Michelle Dockery), possessor of a strange secret and awesome powers, determines that the Hogfather is in danger. She sets about trying to find him and discovers Teatime's plot, while a cluster of clumsy wizards (led by Joss Ackland) try to make sense of what has happened and what they can do about it. It's hard to explain the charm and wit of The Hogfather, which is full of quirky, ironic humor, except to say that it's easy to fall in love with this British television special and its dark delights. (Some a bit too dark for younger viewers.) The cast includes a very funny Tony Robinson of Black Adder. --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 93 more reviews...
 True to the book and fun! January 8, 2009
My fiance, who'd never read Discworld, has no trouble following this and loved it! It's been a few years since I read the book, but what I saw made me very happy and made me want to read the book again. It was a great way to spend three hours on Christmas Day!
 On a scale of 1 to 10, this film is a 12! January 6, 2009
As someone who thinks Terry Pratchett is one of the best writers around, I had mixed feelings about a film of one of his books, especially since The Hogfather is one of my favorites. How could a film possibly show all the bizarre inventions and characters? I was absolutely delighted with the Hogfather!!! I saw it on TV, and immediately looked for a way to purchase it; and BTW, I purchase about 1 movie every few years; I'm not a collector of movies. But I found The Hogfather to be extremely true to the book (a rare occurance!); and since there was no way to condense it down to 2 hours, the movie is about 4 hours long. Plan to be entertained, enlightened, delighted, and regaled for a nice long evening.
For those who have not read the book, Pratchett weaves a multi-layered tale with many characters doing seemingly separate things, in a fantasy world, which is remarkably like ours, under the veneer of fantasy. His stories are a tongue in cheek commentary on us, presented in a way that we can see oursleves and laugh.
On a scale of 1 to 10, this film is a 12!
all you could ask for January 1, 2009
Who would have thought that the Halmis (the dudes that brought us the priceless 10th Kingdom) and Terry Pratchett would fit each other like a skeletal hand in a red-velvet glove? Oh, but they do. Captures all the great wit and weirdness of the book (with so much of the dialogue in tact), while faithfully filling out the world and the characters of Discworld and this fantastic tale. I watched it all in one sitting. To become a holiday tradition.
 Great book, lousy movie December 24, 2008
First, let me say I have read and love all the Terry Pratchett books in the Discworld series. They all have a certain `British innocent cadence' to them.
The reviewers who wowed this pig evidently never read the books.
This film does NO justice. The lines are so poorly timed, and so poorly, well, delivered, they absolutely suck. Second graders could have done better. I blame the director for ruining them. The film portrays the story as a serious fantasy. The book is a COMEDIC fantasy, so full of puns and inept characters you wonder how they survive. It has undertones satirizing the British social structure. None of this is in the movie. Hilarious lines from the book are delivered seriously instead of off-handed. Lines that should have been said with humor, are spoken flat and without any sense of TIMING.
The only character that fit was Nigel Planer (watch `The Young Ones DVDs. They are astoundingly hilarious).
Instead of the character `Death' being confused and mystified by the idiosyncrasies of humans (in the books), he is filmed as a serious character with few foibles. In the book, his granddaughter, is constantly flustered by humans, but does her best to fit in. In the film, she is serious, and played without a bit of character. And again, her `comedic' remarks made in the book, are delivered as serious. So her satirical lines are totally lost. This was a worse translation to film than `A Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy' (which actually had a better script).
One of the problems is the book is one of the later in the series. So there were no prior films setting up the viewer for the totally absurd world Pratchett created. And the world he created was hilarious.
The whole point of this book was to satirize Santa Claus and our commercially instilled beliefs in fictional deities. Instead, they are all made out to be a serious characters (a la `Legend' and all the `Frosty The Snowman' tv shows). Hollywood making another Christmas story for the masses...
Jason Warren portrays Mr Teatime (pronounced Tee-a-tim-ee). He is an aspiring Assassins Guild member. In the book, his chosen profession is treated with cynicism. The film makes him a serious villain.
The ONLY redeeming factor in this fiasco, are the Wizards. They are properly shown as inept, and without courage. Their various wacky inventions and spells (which never work), are ALMOST brought out. Unfortunately, their roles were minimized, and acted woodenly, with no inspiration. If they were the best part, imagine how bad the rest is....
Pass on this dog. Read the books PLEASE! Terry Pratchett is a gifted writer. The film needed to be presented in a Monty Pythonesque fashion. `Death' should have been acted like the `Death' in the last scene of Meaning of Life. After all, if you read the books, you would know HE was written that way.
If you are a Pratchett fan, avoid this like the plague.
Our new holiday tradition ! December 22, 2008
I watched Hogfather over the holidays last year, and it prompted me to start reading the Terry Pratchett Discworld series. This year, we put together a Hogswatch potluck meal for our friends, and we all sat and watched the Hogfather movie together. It made for a great gathering, and I do believe we'll be hosting a Hogswatch afternoon each year from now on.
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