Hogfather

HogfatherAnother British miniseries! Yay! I think I'm on a sort of bender with these things.
Terry Pratchett on film always turns into a mix'n'match of imagination and actors. It's a sort of game to see if the actors fit what you think they should have been, from when you read the books (see the discussion on Shelfari).

Hogfather is funny. It's not as funny as the book, obviously, but it has some really funny moments. Michelle Dockery played a beautiful and brilliantly deadpan Susan. There were moments when I wish she had put a little more bitter energy into the lines, but perhaps it would have seemed out of character.

I enjoyed David Warner's brief cameo. Ian Richardson as Death worked well enough. He has a great voice for the purpose.

There were moments when the low budget showed through, but I didn't mind them. Often enough, the set and costume were beautiful and creepy. The bent poker at the beginning seemed stupid. It could just as easily have been bent to be more like the laws of physics instead of the laws of Saturday morning cartoons. Fantasy realism seems ridiculous to those who don't spend much time in those kinds of novels, but to those of us who live there, it's essential.

I may not get very excited about this miniseries, but I'd certainly recommend it. I'm holding all the excitement for Going Postal.

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