When a business trip to las vegas becomes more trip than business renegade journalist raoul duke and dr. Gonzo are forced to do the unthinkable be normal. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/27/2009 Starring: Johnny Depp Benicio Del Toro Run time: 119 minutes Rating: R Director: Terry Gilliam
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:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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.
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... more info
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,... more info
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!
Privacy policy: we don't collect information
about visitors except for the standard technical server logs. We don't send unsolicited emails. We don't
sell the information that we don't collect about you to anyone. When you follow
links to other sites, their privacy policies apply. Thanks for visiting!
