| The original cowriter and director of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was Alex Cox, whose earlier film Sid and Nancy suggests that Cox could have been a perfect match in filming Hunter S. Thompson's psychotropic masterpiece of "gonzo" journalism. Unfortunately Cox departed due to the usual "creative differences," and this ill-fated adaptation was thrust upon Terry Gilliam, whose formidable gifts as a visionary filmmaker were squandered on the seemingly unfilmable elements of Thompson's ether-fogged narrative. The result is a one-joke movie without the joke--an endless series of repetitive scenes involving rampant substance abuse and the hallucinogenic fallout of a road trip that's run crazily out of control. Johnny Depp plays Thompson's alter ego, "gonzo" journalist Raoul Duke, and Benicio Del Toro is his sidekick and so-called lawyer Dr. Gonzo. During the course of a trip to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race, they ingest a veritable chemistry set of drugs, and Gilliam does his best to show us the hallucinatory state of their zonked-out minds. This allows for some dazzling imagery and the rampant humor of stumbling buffoons, and the mumbling performances of Depp and Del Toro wholeheartedly embrace the tripped-out, paranoid lunacy of Thompson's celebrated book. But over two hours of this insanity tends to grate on the nerves--like being the only sober guest at a party full of drunken idiots. So while Gilliam's film may achieve some modest cult status over the years, it's only because Fear and Loathing is best enjoyed by those who are just as stoned as the characters in the movie. --Jeff Shannon |
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 Great Product... |
| Review Date: March 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Pasta Lover, San Diego, CA |
| This item came exactly as described and shipped super fast. I'd recommend this seller and would do business with them again. |
not so much
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| Review Date: February 11, 2010 |
| Reviewer: J. Bowen, |
Having missed the movie when it was in theaters, I recently watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on DVD with much anticipation. I was sure Johnny Depp would do a knock-out job of impersonating Hunter Thompson, for one thing. For another, I was looking forward to reliving some of the wilder days of my youth.
Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that Gonzo is really the star of the movie, with Hunter Thompson played as an ever cool but oft bamboozled sidekick who goes along with things no one should go along with, things like terrorizing an innocent waitress in a two-bit diner just for fun. Worse, Johnny Depp speaks as if he has marbles in his mouth and an iron ring two sizes too small around his vocal chords. He throws off his lines in a monotonic strangled voice that fails to convey anything but disguised up-tightness. Or perhaps a strangely detached form of insanity.
The depiction of the drug- and alcohol-addled perceptions of these two wild 'n crazy wastrals is masterfully done in many respects. The camera captures Las Vegas as the lurid reality warp it is, even without the help of consciousness-altering substances. However, there's too much of this not-so-good thing. It seems like one endless careen through a house of bent mirrors, without any unbent ones to bounce off of. The viewer needs more touchstones in the non-Gonzo world by which to orient herself in the midst of the madness. A less relentless onslaught of high jinx would also have been narratively more effective. I wanted to cry out, Enough already! Take a break from this mother lode of post-adolescent rebellion and let us catch our breath.
As one who did my share of acid trips back in the day, I also beg to differ from the way that this experience is depicted in the film. As I recall, anyway, there was way more to it than hallucinogenic morphs of party people into their beastly counterparts. The director (and perhaps his subjects as well) have left out the quiet but piercing insights into the nature of the universe, not to mention the molecules dancing in the walls. LSD really did change the consciousness of a whole generation, and for the better too. This film offers no evidence of why.
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A great movie! A must see even if you're not a "stoner"
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| Review Date: November 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: warbox, |
I don't know what prompted Jeff's review? If he knew anything at all about Hunter's book it seems he would have passed this movie over, if what he wrote is really how he feels. In other words if he read even some of the book, he would have had a pretty good idea what he was in for before committing to the movie.
Anyway, this movie is great and a must see if you appreciate, or just wish to look into a small part of Hunter S. Thompson's world.
You must have a sense of humor and be either aware, or wanting to be aware of Hunter's book to "get it" in my opinion. It's definitely a must see. Buy it if you like dark comedy and are not afraid to see some "real" things. A sense of humor and some intelligence of the subject is required. |
Excellent Adaptation - Not for Everyone
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| Review Date: September 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: K. Allen, everywhere |
I'd read the book - not because I'm interested in drug use or Las Vegas or even Hunter Thompson as person, but because I'm interested in experimental writing and experimental it certainly was.
As stories go, this wasn't really my cup of tea, though I liked the fact/fiction, stream-of-consiousness and the blending of literary symbolism with fact-based events. To me, these were really the only redeeming qualities of the book. Naturally I wondered how a book so heavily reliant on literary devices would translate to film - I had some serious doubts....
...and they were proven to be dubious. The movie was just the same as the book, practically word for word except the actor's interpretations of the characters made them more (IMHO)likable. In the movie I was better able to understand their motivations, their fears and why things that for me fell flat in the book were hilarious on film.
The one and only thing I would have done differently would have been to add the scene where they are asking the woman at the taco stand where to find the American Dream. This part of the book had me cracking up and I was surprised to find it absent from the movie.
Final thoughts: If you get this disc be sure to check out the deleted scenes. Some important elements of the overall subtext wound up on the cutting room floor. Also, if you can only see this film as the story of two drug addled psychos and their shennanigans (and that bothers you), then skip it, but if you can bear in mind that this is really a story about the state of American cultural consciousness in the 70s then you'll probably find quite a few things to like about this film. I'd also recommend reading a little about Hunter Thompson to gain a better perspective of why he wrote it and futher appreciation for how spot-freakin-on Depp's performance is. |
2 1/2 Stars: "We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold."
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| Review Date: August 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: The Piper at the Gates, Bakersville, North Carolina |
| Here we have a case where a film's reputation is much bigger than the film itself. I found and bought this version of Fear and Loathing at a local yard sale at a really cheap price. I had heard a lot about this film, and was interested in finding out what all the fuss was about. After watching this film for the very first time, I'm really not sure what I can say about it. Simply put, this film is a crazy, drug induced journey to well...nowhere. Now I realize this was based on a the H.S. Thompson novel, and maybe the book explains things better and goes into greater detail, but as far as this film adaptation, I'm just not understanding why someone would be interested in making a movie like this. For me, there is no real plot..the film really doesn't go anywhere. Apart from the amazing acting performances by Johny Depp and Benicio del Toro, there's not too much to keep me interested. A large majority of the film is simply seeing these two characters take various drugs and watching what happens. And though its entertaining at first, by the end of the film, it gets very old. Maybe I'm missing something, maybe there's some deeper meaning that I'm not seeing here, but for me, this film just isn't that special. Yes, there are some good chuckles here and there (though I don't consider this a comedy), and like I said..the acting performances by Depp and del Toro save the movie from being a total disaster. I guess what I'm trying to say is there just wasn't even depth in the story to make a 2-hour movie. Like I said, overall, not a lot happens in this film. There's no real interesting storyline or plot, no climatic ending..nothing at all that would keep most audiences interested in to what's happening. If you wanna do a drug crazy movie..great, I'm all for it, but you gotta have something more than just the drugs! I just think maybe that this wasn't right novel to use to adapt a movie into. Now as far as the DVD goes, the packaging is awesome, plenty of special features, and a cool booklet to boot..so if you're a fan of the film and don't have this edition..its definitely worth getting..I have no complaints about that at all. But if you haven't seen this film yet, I strongly recommend to rent it first before you invest your money into this one. |
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