Recomended for Aspiring Drug Addicts (Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (DVD))

Member Name: tazzywazzy

Product:	Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (DVD)
Date:	10/04/07 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots

Disadvantages: None

*Both the film in question & this review may contain references to drug uses that some readers may wish to shield their precious eyes from (because they might find them offensive, and not because the bats may hit you in the face!)


"No point in mentioning these bats, I thought. Poor bastard will see them soon enough."

Based on Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 two part series, "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas; A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream", which later, that same year was published as a book - the film is pretty true to the book, so here goes…

Fear & Loathing follows gonzo* journalist Raoul Duke** & his attorney, Dr Gonzo***, on a trip to Las Vegas, the intention - to do a piece on the Mint 400 Desert Motorcycle race, and then later on a Narcotics & Dangerous Drugs convention, so off they set in the famous great red shark (Hunter S. Thompson's red Chevrolet Caprice convertible) - sounds all very simple so far, and a bit dull really, so let's spice it up!

Duke & Gonzo have got a suitcase with them, and not just any suitcase, but a suitcase filled with two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicoloured uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls.

The rest of the film follows Duke & Gonzo on their drug fuelled binge around Las Vegas, and that's about it!

*Gonzo Journalism - a name given to Thompson's unique style of writing, Thompson's writings tend to draw the reader into the situation, so that the reader feels as though they are experiencing the event as it happens. A lot of the time Gonzo journalism has a fantasy element to it, so nestled somewhere in amongst the fiction, some fact does occur.

**Raoul Duke - Thompson's pseudonym or (even) alter ego, a hedonistic, drug crazed individual, normally high on whatever drug is going, be it mariju-wacky or human adrenalin, oh and fuelled by an extremely low tolerance for the all American values.

***Dr Gonzo - based on Oscar Zeta Acosta, an LSD loving friend of Hunter's, he was an Attorney of law, an author & politician, it is said that he spent half is life fighting for the law and the other half running from the law. It is believed that Acosta died in 1974, much speculation surrounds his death, as his body was never found.


"Bazooko Circus is what the whole hep world would be doing Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This was the Sixth Reich."

Ok, so I don't make the plot sound that great, but if you watch the film, or have seen the film, you will understand why it is so hard to describe what actually happens, as the plot is fairly thin. Don't let this put you off the film though, it has an awful lot going for it, the movie is purely and simply a brilliantly made visual version of the book.

Everything about this film is stunning, the acting is brilliant and the directing captures perfectly on film what Thompson had put down in words on paper - Gonzo filmmaking is a phrase that springs to mind!


"Once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can"

The acting is superb, Duke (or Thompson) is played by Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, From Hell, Chocolat, Finding Neverland & many more) who launched his heart and soul into preparing for this film, and eerily became Thompson, I think that there needs to be a distinction between mimicking a person & becoming a person. Depp spent time with Thompson, studying his mannerisms and ploughing through all the paraphernalia that Thompson had collected relating to his road trip in '71. Depp even went to the extreme of wearing the clothes that Thompson wore on his trip (in the film replicas of Thompson's clothing are worn), getting Thompson to shave his head (to imitate Thompson's pattern-baldness) & borrowing Thompson's Chevrolet to drive around California to prepare for his role. Benicio del Toro (Sin City) put just as much of his heart and soul into preparation for his role as Dr Gonzo, he even gained 18kg to become the rotund man that was Acosta.

I don't normally talk about the directors/writers when reviewing films, but in this case I am going to make an exception. The screenplay & direction was from the mind of Terry Gilliam, animator (Monty Python stuff), writer (Tideland, Monty Python stuff), actor (more Monty Python stuff), Director (Brazil, Tideland, Twelve Monkeys, Monty Python) & producer (Monty Python stuff again). Don't let the fact that he has worked on a lot of Monty Python stuff put you off, this piece is nothing like the slapstick comedy that comes from Monty Python, this is gonzo filmmaking to the extreme. Gilliam is incredibly creative & resourceful, expertly using a variety of different film & techniques in the space of seconds. It is Gilliam's direction, along with skilful casting of Depp & Del Toro that make the film come to life and prevent it from being just a random sequence of strange images meshed together into 118 mins. A notable example of how Gilliam managed to create a drug induced scene is close to the beginning, Duke & Gonzo are driving through the desert in the red shark when Duke thinks he is being attached by bats, Gilliam zooms close in, onto his eye, reflected in the eye are a mass of bats flying towards the car, cut to next scene, Duke is wildly waving his arms around at the imaginary bats.

Notable cameo appearances:
Tobey Maguire (The Good German, Spiderman, Cider House Rules, Pleasantville), who plays a hitchhiker, Christina Ricci (Adams Family, 200 cigarettes, Buffalo 66), Cameron Diaz (Shrek, The Holiday, In Her Shoes), Michael Jeter (Green Mile) & Hunter S Thompson himself!


"As your attorney I advise you to rent a very fast car with no top. And you'll need the cocaine."

There are, I think, 3 category's of people out there, there are those that hate this film, there are those out there who will love this film and rave about it, simply because they are a lover of Hunter S Thompson's work, and the man himself & there are those out there that will take this film at face value and appreciate the production, acting & direction. I personally fall between the last two categories, I am intrigued by the man that is Hunter S Thompson and have a huge amount of respect for the strange character, but I only developed my love of the man because I watched this film. I had no idea that there was a real man behind this or what this really stood for, I watched this and enjoyed the way that the director had managed to make me feel as though I was there, watching the swirling lights and strange scenes, really I think I just enjoyed going on a drug crazed trip and tagging along with Duke & Gonzo!

There have been many attempts to actually make Fear & Loathing into a film, many actors had over the years been considered for the roles of Duke & Gonzo - Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, John Malkovich & John Cusack, who eventually went on to direct the theatrical version of the book. Along with many actors being considered, many directors were also considered (including Martin Scorsese & Oliver Stone). There was also an attempt at an animated version of the book by Ralph Bakshi, which was to be done in the style of Ralph Steadman (illustrator for Hunter's books and articles), but it never got off the ground, as one of Hunter's ex-girlfriends held the rights and refused to let him make the animated version.


"You better take care of me, Lord. If you don't you're gonna have me on your hands"

Hunter S. Thompson died in 2005, at the age of 65. He shot himself in the head, his son, daughter-in-law & grandson were in the room next door, they heard the gun shot, but assumed it was a book falling onto the floor - Hunter was on the phone to his wife at the time.

I don't think that anyone believes that his suicide was out of depression, some say it is because Hunter never wanted to get old. His close friend Ralph Steadman wrote "He told me [...] he would feel trapped if he didn't know that he could commit suicide at any moment."

Hunter S. Thomson's funeral service took place in Aspen on August 20, 2005. Hunter's ashes were fired out of a cannon, shaped to look like a double-thumbed fist clutching a peyote button, to the tune of Mr Tambourine Man, whilst red, white & green fireworks were launched. According to Hunters widow, Johnny Depp financed the funeral.

The plans for this cannon were initially drawn by Hunter & Ralph Steadman, these drawings originally featured as part of a BBC programme called Fear & Loathing in Gonzovision (available on the special release DVD 2003).

Summary: Not for the easily offended