Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas [VHS] at Howling Video

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Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas [VHS]

	Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas [VHS]
	by Universal Studios Sales Rank: 5160 Price: $9.98

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 *Viewer Reviews* 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. Back To Top
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