Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Terry Gilliam Terry Gilliam

Overview

"Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King) directed this colorful, stylized, pseudo-psychedelic $21-million adaptation of the 1971 Hunter S. Thompson classic, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream, about stoned sportswriter Raoul Duke, Thompson's alter ego, on a wild drug-crazed road trip, a paranoid plummet into the belly of the beast, with his pal, lawyer Oscar Zeta Acosta. Originally serialized in Rolling Stone (November 1971), the book catapulted Thompson headfirst toward the Kerouac-Mailer-Capote pantheon and jump-started the entire movement of ""gonzo journalism."" Carrying a suitcase of drugs, Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp with shaved pate) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) drive a red convertible across the Mojave from L.A. to Vegas, where Duke has an assignment to cover the Mint 400 desert motorcycle race. As the drugs kick in, Duke ventures into voiceover, filling in the blank spots and narrative gaps. ""This is not a good town for psychedelic drugs,"" says Duke, but even so, they consume vast quantities, eventually escalating to ether. Duke notes that with ether ""you can actually watch yourself behaving this terrible way, but you can't control it."" The two trash their hotel room, and Gonzo goes back to L.A. Thinking the hotel room holocaust will lead to an arrest, Duke begins a drive back to L.A., but after an odd encounter with a highway patrolman (Gary Busey) and a telephone conversation with Gonzo, he returns to Vegas to cover the District Attorney Convention on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in the glitzy Flamingo Hotel. This time the drugged-out duo trash their Flamingo room. The crazed carnival atmosphere segues into a carney casino, Bazooko's Circus, where a barker (Penn Jillette) spiels amid aerialists, clowns, and a rotating carousel bar. Gonzo worries over runaway teen Lucy (Christina Ricci), who paints portraits of Barbra Streisand. Soon the hallucinations begin: Duke sees Gonzo transmogrify into a demon with breasts on its back, and an acid vision of a Vegas bar features large legit lounge lizards (courtesy of monster makeup man Rob Bottin). Flashbacks depicting Duke's intro to the drug scene jump back to love-Haight relationships in San Francisco's Summer of Love. Cameos and guest stars include Mark Harmon, Cameron Diaz, Flea, Lyle Lovett, Harry Dean Stanton, Ellen Barkin, Tobey Maguire, and Hunter S. Thompson himself. The film features a Geffen Records soundtrack mixing rock of the period with Vegas lounge tunes. Over the years, various script adaptations came and went as did numerous talents; people connected with past efforts to film Thompson's book include Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and writer-director Alex Cox. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival."

Product Details

Release Date:	04/26/2011
UPC:	0715515070218
Original Release:	1998
Rating:	R
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:59:00

Special Features

Digital transfer, approved by director Terry Gilliam, with dts-hd master audio soundtrack and an optional 5.1 mix; Three audio commentaries: one with Gilliam, one with stars Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro and producer Laila Nabulsi, and one with author Hunter S. Thompson ; Deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Gilliam ; Selection of Thompson correspondence, read on camera by Depp ; Hunter Goes to Hollywood, a short documentary ; A look at the controversy over the screenwriting credit ; Profile of Oscar Zeta Acosta, the inspiration for Dr. Gonzo ; Collection of artwork by illustrator Ralph Steadman; Excerpt from a 1996 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas recording featuring Jim Jarmusch and Maury Chaykin ; BBC documentary from 1978 with Thompson and Steadman ; Stroyboards, production designs, stills, and trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Johnny Depp	Raoul Duke
Benicio Del Toro	Dr. Gonzo
Gary Busey	Highway Patrolman
Ellen Barkin	Waitress
Christina Ricci	Lucy
Cameron Diaz	TV Reporter
Tobey Maguire	Hitchhiker
Craig Bierko	Lacerta
Mark Harmon	Magazine Reporter
Katherine Helmond	Reservation Clerk
Michael Jeter	Bumquist
Flea	Musician
Chris Meloni	Clerk
Penn Jillette	Carnie Talker
Lyle Lovett	Road Person
Laraine Newman	Frog-Eyed Woman
Harry Dean Stanton	Judge
Tim Thomerson	Hoodlum
Michael Lee Gogin	Uniformed Dwarf
Larry Cedar	Car Rental Agent, Los Angeles
Brian Lebaron	Parking Attendant
Michael Warwick	Bell Boy
Tyde Kierney	Reporter
Richard Riehle	Dune Buggy Driver
Ransom Gates	Dune Buggy Passenger
Frank Romano	Dune Buggy Passenger
Gil Boccaccio	Desert Room Doorman
Gary Bruno	Desert Room Doorman
Richard Portnow	Wine Coloured Tuxedo
Steve Schirripa	Goon
Will Blount	The Black Guy
Ben Yeager	Barker, the Clown
Christopher Callen	Bazooka Circus Waitress
Ben Van Der Veen	TV Crew Man
Alex Craig Mann	Stockbroker
Gregory Itzin	Clerk at Mint Hotel
Troy Evans	Police Chief
Gale Baker	Police Chief's Wife
Chris Hendrie	Executive Director
Larry Brandenburg	Cop in Black
Jenette Goldstein	Maid
Stephen Bridgewater	Human Cannonball
Buck Holland	Shopper
Mary Gillis	Shopper
Jennifer Elise Cox	Shopper
Robert Allen	Car Rental Agent, Las Vegas
David Brisbin	Man in Car
James O'Sullivan	TV Newsman
Milt Tarver	TV Newsman
Kathryn Alexander	Lizard Performer
Mia Babalis	Lizard Performer
Kristin Draudt	Lizard Performer
Kim Flowers	Lizard Performer
Nan Friedman	Lizard Performer
Judith Lieff	Lizard Performer
Tane McClure	Lizard Performer
Diana Mehoudar	Lizard Performer
Geoffrey B. Nimmer	Lizard Performer
Marlene Bologna	Trapeze Artist
Chobi Gyorgy	Trapeze Artist
Karen E. Castoldi	Trapeze Artist
Lisa S. Hoyle	Trapeze Artist
Joseph S. Griffo	Trapeze Artist
Verne Troyer	Kellner
Debbie Reynolds	Debbie Reynolds
Ray Cooper	Composer
Michael Kamen	Composer

Technical Credits

Terry Gilliam

Tony Grisoni

Tod Davies

Alex Cox

Hunter S. Thompson

Terry Gilliam	Director,Screenwriter
Tony Grisoni	Screenwriter
Tod Davies	Screenwriter
Alex Cox	Screenwriter
Harold Bronson	Executive Producer,Producer
Richard Foos	Executive Producer,Producer
Patrick Cassavetti	Producer
Stephen Nemeth	Producer
Laila Nablusi	Producer
Steve Galich	Special Effects
Margery Simkin	Casting
Hunter S. Thompson	Screenwriter
Laila Nabulsi	Producer
Elliot Lewis Rosenblatt	Producer
Andrea Adams	Special Effects
David Acord	Sound Effects
Mick Boggis	Sound Effects
Stephen Bridgewater	Sound Effects
Martin Cantwell	Sound Effects
Paul Carr	Sound Effects
Ditch Doy	Special Effects
John Swinnerton	Special Effects
Rob Bottin	Special Effects
Jay Meagher	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Just as it seemed impossible to make a cinematic adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's words from the classic 1971 account of post-1960s America, it's quite a task describing such a visual film in text. It simply has to be seen to be believed and understood. And that is one of the film's biggest successes, turning the words into images -- original, vivid, unforgettable images that pull the viewer into the movie whether they get it or not, whether it's a dream, a drug trip, or a warped recollection of the past. But Terry Gilliam's brilliant visual style would be wasted if not for the incredible performances of Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro. Both play their characters with the eyes of strangers in a strange land, despite the fact that they are in their home country. Judged by many to be pointless and even boring, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is, as the original book was, a reflection of an unsettling, unpredictable time. It's lack of a concrete traditional story arc may turn some off, but for those who can look beyond that, it is hilarious, scary, manic, and poignant, a film that is pure anarchic entertainment as much as it is compelling insight.