Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #685 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-05
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 humour 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

Synopsis
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a whirlwind of a movie, a wacky, drug-laden story backed by a fist-pumping rock & roll soundtrack featuring everything from Wayne Newton and Tom Jones to Combustible Edison and Dead Kennedys. Journalist Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) heads to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race, bringing along his Samoan lawyer, Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro), in this furious adaptation of the book by Hunter S. Thompson. It is 1971, and Duke and Gonzo are on their way to Sin City with a frightened hitchhiker (a nearly unrecognizable Tobey Maguire) and a trunkful of drugs, which they ingest nonstop. Depp is terrific as Duke, Thompson's alter ego, and Del Toro is a riot as the crazy lawyer. To perfect his Thompsonian performance, Depp spent a lot of time with the good doctor, and it paid off in a film that captures the frenetic pace of the counterculture novel. Director Terry Gilliam, a master of complex, bizarre visual imagery, has a field day interpreting the drug-hazed world in which Duke and Gonzo reside. An all-star cast chimes in with wonderfully offbeat bit parts, including Harry Dean Stanton, Gilliam regular Katherine Helmond, Flea, Cameron Diaz, Ellen Barkin, Christina Ricci, Gary Busey, Lyle Lovett, and others.

Customer Reviews

Just like the book
Before you watch this movie (and then dismiss it, as others have done, as incomprehensible and bizarre) you MUST either read or listen to the book or audio book.
Having done both, I can happily report that Terry Gilliam has done a first class job (with Hunter S Thompson's blessing) of creating this overlooked masterpiece. The lead roles of Duke (Johnny Depp) and Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro) are expertly and accurately portrayed, much as I imagined they would be when reading the book.
Furthermore, the support characters and Vegas ambience adds to the mix.

In short, read the book, then watch the movie ...... and don't stop in bat country.

Easy Rider on acid....
Many people misunderstand this movie. They don't see the hidden messages, they don't appreciate the camerawork or the script, and simply see it as a couple of drug laden journalists making fools out of themselves in casinos and hotel rooms. watch it, you wont be dissapointed.

less fear more laoathing
This was utter crap. Apart from the " did I say that out loud " bit near the begining it was totally devoid of merit. Don't watch it you will thank me .