Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0743218785795
Format: PAL
Label: RCV
Manufacturer: RCV
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: RCV
Region Code: 2
Running Time: 120 minutes
Sales Rank: 116115
Studio: RCV
Theatrical Release Date: May 22, 1998
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Amazon.com: 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
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas Review
It's good. I enjoy it. A lot. That is, I enjoy it more than a little. It's good. Funny. Rather humorous. I recommend it.
Rating: - An exposé for Rolling Stone magazine about the killing of Ruben Salazar
The reviewer is right who stated the mainstream doesn't get Gilliam. Bottom line is people will still be talking about this movie 100 years from now when most of the Academy pop favs will be forgotten. I thought I had to clarify what is actually happening and why Depp is in LV to begin with.
"The novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas accounts for two trips to Las Vegas, Nevada, that Hunter S. Thompson and attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta took in March and April of 1971. He was writing an exposé for Rolling Stone magazine about the killing of Ruben Salazar, the Mexican-American television journalist whom officers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shot in the head, at close range, with a tear gas grenade during the National Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War in 1970.
A source for the story was the attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta, Esq., a prominent Mexican-American political activist. Thompson told Acosta that Sports Illustrated magazine had offered him a job writing photograph captions for the annual Mint 400 desert race in Las Vegas. Finding it difficult for a brown-skinned Mexican to openly talk with a white reporter in the racially tense atmosphere of Los Angeles, Calif., they decided Las Vegas would be the more comfortable place to discuss the story."
Rating: - Clever and Hilarious
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a Terry Gilliam film, is an adaptation of Hunter Thompson's classic autobiographical account about his experience covering a motorcycle race in Nevada in the early 1970's. The late Thompson's book has become one of the most widely read cult classics in literature and Gilliam stays true to form with his contribution to it, creating a near literal, cinematic translation. Gilliam lent his adept directorial skills to other memorable films such as The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, and Brazil. Johnny Depp, in one of his most humorous performances, depicts Thompson's alter ego, journalist Raoul Duke. Duke is dispatched to southern Nevada to cover a motorcycle race in the desert, taking with him an unbalanced lawyer named Dr. Gonzo, who's portrayed by Benicio Del Toro. The two amble in and around Las Vegas for a couple of days, while consuming massive quantities of drugs and alcohol. The film encompasses a number of interesting distinctions between the ideologies of the 1960's and the excesses of the 1970's. Finally, Fear and Loathing stands as a testament to the eccentric, yet brilliant writing of Hunter Thompson, the crafty directing style of Terry Gilliam, and the comedic, yet persuasive acting of Johnny Depp.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Criterion CollectionFear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
Rating: - own this!
This is the most hilarious and scary drug movie that you will ever see! Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro are fantastic in this as a writer and his agent! Christina Ricci and Tobey MacGuire make appearances in this! You wouldnt believe everything these guys did and they lived for many many years after this happened! Very adventurous and fun! Own this!
Rating: - Breathtakingly Honest
To the typical viewer, this movie is just a wacky comedy with drugs, foul language, and Johnny Depp.
However, to the serious movie connoisseur, this is an amazing exploration of an era almost forgotten by society and time. The way it portrays two typical 70's hippies is perfect, right down to the copious amounts of drugs they use.
Johnny Depp also does a breathtaking performance as American journalist Hunter S. Thompson, perfecting the man's mannerisms and odd sense of style.
This is definitely one of the best adaptations of a novel to ever be made, and is worth watching if you want a hilarious and heartwarming story filled with great acting and stunning visual effects.
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