Compare And Contrast Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Book Vs Movie

As humans, we make up stories to entertain ourselves. For hundreds of years these stories were written down in books, but with the advent of new technologies, these stories can now be expressed with film. Books and films both tell a story, but a movie can express the story in a very different way. With camera movements, lighting, and score, filmmakers have a wider range of tools to use than authors. When a book is made into a film, it keeps some elements from the original and undergoes changes, in addition to being expressed further with film techniques.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the book) and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the movie), since one is based on the other, The movie is bound to keep some elements from the original. For example, there are excerpts from

fictional book called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy throughout the book and the movie. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy comes to explain some of the alien species, concepts, and objects. These excerpts maintain their wit and humor in the book as well as the movie. Another example of their similarities is the fact that they were both written by Douglas Adams. Even though he died before the film’s completion, Adams still played a role in writing the film’s screenplay, as he is listed in the film’s credits as one of the two writers. Having the same writer ensures that their creative vision is carried out through both the book and the film. A film based on a book will undoubtedly have similarities to the book.
Even though they have mostly the same story, the book and the movie still differ.

In the movie, the second act was completely different than the book’s. In the book, the main characters arrive directly at the planet of Magrathea. In the movie, however, they accidentally arrive on the planet Viltvodle VI, and come to face Zaphod’s defeated adversary in the Galactic Election. Trillian is mistaken for having kidnapped the president, is captured, and is taken to Vogshpere, where she is then rescued by the rest of the main characters. Another difference is that in the movie, the romantic relationship between Arthur and Trillian is much more explored than in the book. In the book, Arthur and Trillian meet at a party but Zaphod takes her away, causing Arthur to have some slightly harsh feelings towards Zaphod at the beginning but doesn’t show an interest in Trillian anymore after that. In the movie, Arthur and Trillian have the same backstory, but their feelings towards each other grow over the course of the film and climax at the end when they admit their love for each other and kiss. While a film based off a book usually maintains most of the key components, other details can vary

wildly.
In filmmaking, filmmakers have tools at their disposal that authors do not. A way that the movie takes advantage of this is the long shot. In the film, this specific camera angle showcases the extreme scale of the environments and spaceships that are shown in the film. Some examples include the factory floor on Magrathea, Earth Two, and the conversations with the supercomputer Deep Thought. The film also often uses lighting to set the tone of a place and influence the audience’s perception of the characters they meet in it. Dim, red lights are used on the Vogon ships because they are the main antagonists of the film. White light and bright colors are used on the spaceship “Heart of Gold” because it belongs to the protagonists. Film techniques are one of the reasons why movies can be more expressive than books, as books are confined to linguistic descriptions while films can visually represent the events taking place.
Even though books and films are different in how they deliver the story to the reader/viewer, at their core lies the same element of storytelling unique to the human imagination. Books use detailed descriptions of the scenery and events and leave the rest up to the reader’s visualizations. Movies do the visualizing for the viewer, and also use a variety of camera angles, score, and lighting to enhance the experience. Movies and books are almost the same, the only difference is how we experience them.