Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Buy This Item Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Universal Studios  Available from Amazon  $19.98  on 8-29-2008     The original cowriter and director of <i>Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas</i> was Alex Cox, whose earlier film <i>Sid and Nancy</i> 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 <i>Fear and Loathing</i> is best enjoyed by those who are just as stoned as the characters in the movie. <i>--Jeff Shannon</i> Reader Reviews On both 5.1 mixes on the DVD, the dolby digital and DTS, there are sound effects that are entirely missing from the movie. Look at points such as 5 minutes 20 seconds into the movie when Duke hits Dr. Gonzo with a beer can, and at 59 minutes 34 seconds when Duke throws coins at the valet, both the sound of the can hitting Dr. Gonzo, and the sound of the coins hitting the ground are entirely missing. It's like this throughout the movie. The dolby digital 2.0 mix is unaffected. I've contacted criterion about this, and they have not responded. More people should write in about this, to have our discs replaced with those with correct mixes!

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Available from Amazon Price: $19.98 Updated on 8-29-2008.

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