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List Price: $39.95Amazon.com's Price: $25.99 You Save: $13.96 (35%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: DEPP,JOHNNY
EAN: 9781559409308
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 1559409304
Label: Criterion
Manufacturer: Criterion
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Criterion
Region Code: 1
Release Date: February 18, 2003
Running Time: 119 minutes
Sales Rank: 6068
Studio: Criterion
Theatrical Release Date: May 22, 1998
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
On a business trip to Las Vegas, renegade journalist Raoul Duke and his friend Dr. Gonzo must resort to the unthinkable and try to act normally.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 18-FEB-2003
Media Type: DVD
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:  - "I just wanted to carve a little Z on your forehead"
This is for sure one of my top ten favourite films. I must have watched it 20-30 times since it came out, and I and some friends have a habit of watching it at vorspiel if we're going out on town. It is just so hilariously funny that I don't even know where to begin. Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro both act in what I think are roles they can never top again. Having read the book by Hunter S. Thompson several times, I think this is one of the few films out there that actually manages to capture the ... Read More
Rating: - Gotta love it
Most drug movies are meant to be experienced under the influence, or when I watch this one, to watch late at night when you are very tired and have some feelings like a drug trip. Watching this movie for the first time a couple months ago, it didn't really connect what it was all about and where it came from. So then, I started reading some of Hunter Thompson's books and reading about his life, and then I watched the movie with more knowledge. I can't say how much I love this movie now knowing all ... Read More
Rating:  - funny in small doses: one-joke on a loop in a bad cartoon (But well acted)
Classic American novel about weird America and the harsh come down of the 60s generation receives mediocre film treatment. Criterion Collection must have added this film because it'll bring in funds for the truly good films that deserve to be added. That's what I've assumed when I see films like this or THE ROCK in their catalogue. The history of the making of this film with its long list of who's who in the film industry that tried bringing the cult novel to the screen is fascinating. Martin Scorsese, ... Read More
Rating: - Depp at his best
This is my all time favorite movie. I have seen it probably 40-50 times. Johnny Depp gives an inspiring performance and Bianco Del Toro is solid to say the least. I saw the movie, then read the book, and I must admit the book is much better. But heck, buy both of them! You will not be disappointed.
Rating: - Good DVD edition of a great film adaptation
There's not much that I can type about the content of this disc's feature that hasn't been stated many times over. Gilliam's filmic version of HST's most popular book features enormous visuals and spot-on performances; it conveys the imagery and milieu of its source as capably as one could expect of it.
For an early DVD (this was released a decade ago, only a year into the format's commercial lifespan), this is a pretty decent effort. The audiovisual quality is quite good. The Dolby surround ... Read More
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