Search - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Profanity, Substance Abuse Movie Release: 1998 DVD Release: 11/17/1998 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 59 mins Studio: Universal Studios Members Wishing: 55 Genres: Comedy, Avant-garde / Experimental, Road Movie, Black Comedy, Absurd Comedy, Buddy Film See Also: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection], Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas [HD DVD]

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. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Johnny Depp - Raoul Duke
Benicio Del Toro - Dr. Gonzo
Craig Bierko - Lacerda
Ellen Barkin - North Star Waitress
Gary Busey - Highway Patrolman

This widescreen DVD offers digital soundtracks and Surround soundtracks with four channels of encoded audio. It features a special interview segment with director Terry Gilliam and stars Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro. The segment explores the drug-induced settings used in the film and the stars' takes on Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson wrote the book on which the film is based and Depp describes getting the writer's mannerisms down for the part. There are also deleted scenes and production notes describing the process of developing the novel into a film. Also available on the DVD are biographies of the two stars and the director, as well as the theatrical trailer. Aside from the scene index, there are optional captions in English, as well as French and Spanish subtitles. ~ Anna Lazowski, All Movie Guide