Going Postal (2010)

`Going Postal' is the third live action adaptation of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books and this one is easily the best of the three. The story sees convicted conman Moist von Lipwig put in charge of Ankh-Morpork's Post Office and charged with getting the decrepit and failing organisation up and running again. As well as having to deal with a postal system that hasn't worked in years, Moist must also deal with the devious Reacher Gilt who is in charge of the Post Office's rival, the Clacks. I greatly enjoyed `Going Postal', as I did all the other Discworld adaptations mad by Sky, and I would definitely say that it is the best one yet. While there is quite a bit that was left out or used in a different way to how it was used in the book, most of the changes and omissions aren't that noticeable (although I would say that there are a couple of obvious exceptions). Richard Coyle is very good as Moist von Lipwig, as is Claire Foy as Adora Belle Dearheart, but everyone involved seems to be doing a very good job, even if it is a bit hammy in places. The special effects aren't that good but they are definitely better than some of those seen in the previous two adaptations. The main problem with the adaptation though is that some of the characters suffer somewhat from the translation from book to screen. The two most affected from this are Reacher Gilt and Sergeant Angua both of whom are somewhat different from their characters in the book, Angua especially. Overall though I would say that this is a very good adaptation and I will definitely be looking forward to the next one (rumoured to be `Sourcery')

Good dvd and excellent entertainment. Perfect casting and the actors all bring Terry Pratchet’s book to life really well. All are good and eminently watchable but I particularly liked Richard Coyle in the lead role and Ian Bonar in his role as the most junior of posties! As well as Charles Dance, David Suchet, Andrew Sachs and, of course, Claire Foy!

I have to hold up my hand and admit that I have never read a Discworld novel, but was drawn to this from the adverts on Sky. Once I saw it however, it made me want to read the novel as it was so weird, wonderful and a little mad. The story was compelling, witty and yet not without darkness (in the form of David Suchet properly hamming it up as a baddie) and I was drawn into it without any errors. For an Pratchett innocent, it required no outside knowledge to enjoy it and featured cameos from incredibly well known actors, including one from Terry Pratchett himself! I, as a result of this, have now bought the novel as well as the DVD, and will keep a lookout for any further adaptations!

I DON'T indeed WON'T have Sky TV... I believe that Terry Pratchett's main talent (as with Dickens or Tolkien) is in his consummate use and clear love of the English language, with his superlative descriptive powers creating a credible universe in the readers head. Very little of that comes across in a movie. BUT having bought the 2 disc edition (and the extras, interviews with the cast and director, bloopers, and deleted scenes make the second disc worth while) I would say that the show I watched was entertaining, featured a beautifully realised world and characters, and told a story clearly and well. In short a damned fine movie. I shall reread my book.... but I don't regret watching and I reckon any reasonable person will enjoy the show, too. BUY, YOU FOOLS! - sorry, that's Gandalf.....

"Going Postal" is a British miniseries loosely based on Terry Pratchett's "Going Postal" Discworld novel. It tells the story of Moist von Lipwig, who is happily engaged in a highly successful career of procuring money by delivering goods to varied and sundry people for slightly more than they are actually worth. However, this time his career has taken him into the domain of law enforcement whose tenacity is downright unnatural and into the clutches of a man who believes in angels -- and whose mind is so twisted that you'd call it a corkscrew, except that a corkscrew is far straighter than that. So now that Moist has been given the drop from his chosen line of work of moving around money, he must now learn about moving around messages in a modern world. He must get out the word, deliver the letters, get the girl, stay alive and one step ahead of the game... In short, Moist von Lipwig is Going Postal! The "Going Postal" miniseries touches the bases of the book it is based on by holding on to the main characters and general plot. However, the producers of the series have (refreshingly) recognized that the book is too long to squeeze into a miniseries and instead of clinging desperately to the original plot have made rather large changes to the storyline so that "Going Postal" is a story unto itself rather than a bad retelling of the book. They have also wisely dropped sections of the book that would be impossible to include without either contrived explanations or knowledge of other Discworld novels on the part the viewer. The main characters are quite well developed, although for Disc regulars (like the Patrician) it does help to know who they are in the overarching story. The humor is well developed and generally up to Pratchett standards, and the production quality of the series is high: well-chosen actors for the roles, terrific make-up and special effects where appropriate and the sets and costumes really capture the atmosphere of England just before the Industrial Revolution. All in all, "Going Postal" is quite enjoyable and well-viewable by a general audience. People who have read the book will find some details missing, but if you can get used to the series telling essentially a different story, you'll still find the DVD value for money.

My wife and I are avid fans of Terry Pratchett. We have started reading the Discworld series from the beginning (up to book 15) and we love Pratchett's storytelling abilities. What is particularly good about the Sky 1 adaptation is that Terry Pratchett actually takes an active role in the production. To date, we have seen all of the Sky 1 Pratchett adaptations - Colour of Magic, Hogfather, and this one - and although a film can never beat reading his skilful novels they are all excellent! This is by far the best of the three Sky 1 adaptations - some excellent characters and interpretations of the novel. If this DVD is like the other Sky 1 "Pratchett" DVD's, I will be getting the 2-disk edition because the additional features are great.

Definitely the best Pratchett adaptation to date - I look forward to many more in this vein. Even if I wasn't a huge fan of the series, I would have enjoyed this production - probably because of the sheer enthusiasm and commitment of the cast. Every one of the cast has made this book come to life on the screen and Richard Coyle, as the wonderfully named Moist von Lipwig, is a very charismatic lead actor. Of course as with any adaptation from book to film, there are casualties of plot, character (and often sense!), but these appear to have been kept to a minimum in this adaptation. I must say I missed Tiddles ... the moment where Moist rescues Tiddles from the burning Post Office building is a seminal moment in the book and one that ensures his growing fame and labels him as a 'hero' and traps him indelibly in this new world of respectable work that he's been trying to get out of. I did wonder why Jeremy Irons had morphed into Charles Dance as the Patrician, but my goodness, isn't Charles Dance just wonderful at being Vetinari?! I get the impression that 'The Colour of Magic' and 'Hogfather' were the film industry dipping their toes into Pratchett to see what temperature the water was - now that they know it's HOT, hopefully they will do more adaptations and get better and better each time. A final word of praise to the many fans who donned their Diskworld costumes and populated Anhk Morpork so wonderfully.

Arrived in good condition

I have been wanting this movie for a long time. Now that I made the investment of purchasing a multi-regional DVD player, I am really enjoying the situations and the humor of the movie. The characters are interesting and well rounded and are played by some of the better actors in the field. David Suchet plays SUCH a bad guy. Tony Pratchett is very endearing and very believable in his role as the hero. Overall this is a movie well worth owning. I will definitely be watching it many more times.

Como fan de Mundo-Disco tenía ganas de ver una de sus películas. Seleccioné ésta porque las de animación tienen un tipo de dibujo que personalmente no me agrada (al menos a mí). Ésta quería tenerla tanto en versión original como en alemán (de ahí la edición). Como TV-Movie esperaba algo entretenido pero no sabía si algo más. Tras verla me ha gustado bastante. Los conocedores de Ankh-Morpork quizás echen de menos más troles en locales sórdidos y más magos, pero la película (como el libro) es una crítica al capitalismo (un aliciente hoy en día ¿no? aunque en el libro es más claro). La adaptación del libro es bastante fiel, aunque hay algunas diferencias de trama (en especial la "maldición" y el centrarse en el "malvado" principal). Las imágenes son muy buenas y el escenario Budapest da perfectamente el pego (aunque me imaginaba Ankh-Morpork algo más sórdido y sucio... aquí parece estar evolucionando económicamente). Aunque el actor de Lord Vetinari es un poco diferente al del libro, queda realmente impresionante y es de lo más logrado. También brillante el protagonista y la representación de los Golems me ha gustado bastante. Terry Pratchett hace un cameo, aunque muy cortito. En general la he encontrado una comedia muy divertida y agradable de ver, no una simple adaptación de un best-seller para que sus fieles la compren de esas que tanto abundan. Se tiene la sensación de ver algo que los que lo han hecho se han tomado en serio y le han puesto trabajo, dedicación e incluso ilusión, no un producto meramente comercial. No sé hasta qué punto una persona no familiarizada con Mundo-Disco puede entenderla, pero diría que es bastante accesible aunque no se hayan leído ningún libro.

Nice story and great production by BBC. If you love english humor that's one movie you have to have on your shelf

Ich hatte bisher zwei Pratchett-Verfilmungen gesehen: "The Color of Magic" und noch einen, "Hogfather". Die fand ich ganz nett, aber sie haben mich nicht vom Hocker gerissen. Also habe ich hier erst mal nicht allzu viel erwartet. Außerdem haben in den letzten Jahren Fantasy-Meilensteine wie "Herr der Ringe" und "Game of Thrones" die Messlatte meiner Beurteilung von Fantasy-Filmen sehr hoch gelegt. Keine guten Voraussetzung für "Going Postal", um mich zu begeistern. Und doch hat es der Film geschafft. Ich kann nicht sagen, dass Terry Pratchett's "Going Postal" wie ein typisches Fantasy-Abenteuer von Spannung und Action lebt. Auch die Story ist - typisch für Pratchett - eher außergewöhnlich. Trotzdem entfaltet der Film einen subtilen Zauber und eine starke Faszination. Zentrale Teile der Geschichte könnten auch außerhalb des Fantasy-Genres bestehen, z.B. als Drama. Denn es ist weder das Fantastische, noch das Abenteuerliche, noch das Pratchett'sche Skurrile, was den Film letztlich ausmacht. Es sind vielmehr die grundlegenden Zutaten menschlicher Schicksale und Beziehungen: Tod, Verlust, Einsamkeit, Täuschung, Verbitterung, Wagemut, Freundschaft, Treue, Liebe. Und über allem stehen die Themen Schuld und Erlösung, die letztlich auch für den großen epischen Charakter von "Going Postal" verantwortlich sind und zwischen denen sich eine katharsische Entwicklung abspielt, die manchmal fast spirituell anmutet (z.B. Stichwort "Karma"). Die Ausstattung und die Kulissen sind prächtig und verleihen dem Film eine warme, wohlige, aber natürlich auch ausreichend skurrile Atmosphäre. Spezialeffekte spielen nur eine marginale Rolle und das ist auch passend. Die wichtigsten Rollen sind perfekt besetzt und exzellent gespielt. Richard Coyle spielt die Hauptrolle einfühlsam, ausdrucksstark und differenziert. An manchen Stellen erinnerte er mich an Kenneth Branaghs herrliche verrückt-narzistische Interpretation des "Gilderoy Lockhart" in "Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens", wobei Coyles Repertoire hier noch noch deutlich facettenreicher ist. "Going Postal" hat mich rundum überzeugt und ich werde den Film gern noch öfter ansehen (nicht zuletzt wegen der vielen kleinen Details, die ich beim ersten Ansehen noch gar nicht alle aufnehmen konnte).

I highly enjoy this movie. It is a fun and some what light hearted adventure. If you like Hogfsther and Colour of Magic. Also by the same author. You will enjoy this movie.