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| Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | 
 enlarge | Director: Terry Gilliam
Actors: Terry Gilliam, Benicio Del Toro, Johnny Depp, Tobey Maguire, Ellen Barkin
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $11.46
You Save: $8.52 (43%)
New (34) Used (20) from $10.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  548 reviews
Sales Rank: 614
Format: Ac-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 119
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: D20339D
ISBN: 0783229526
UPC: 025192033926
EAN: 9780783229522
ASIN: 0783229526
Theatrical Release Date: May 22, 1998
Release Date: November 17, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 543 more reviews...
Good DVD edition of a great film adaptation August 11, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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 track is as vibrant as possible, despite the format's limitations. The visuals have been competently mastered from a pristine print.
The disc's special features are also impressive. The Spotlight on Location "making-of" featurette is much more visitable than most productions of its kind, as it's fairly substantial: excerpts from amusing interviews and production footage are capably implemented in a short running time. The two longest sequences of the film's deleted scenes are also of interest. The first of these is an amusing sequence directly adapted from the book's midsection; the second is weirdly ambiguous and unique to the screenplay, only utilizing a single famous line of dialogue taken from the book's last chapter (which was omitted from the shooting script). Both of these scenes were never processed in post-production, so the film stock is grainy and dark, with blinding high contrast. These cinematographic qualities bear a resemblance to those of '70s features, and the resulting effect seems to perfect the ambiance of this period piece. I almost wish that the entire movie had been produced this way! An unremarkable theatrical trailer is included, as are brief cast and filmmaker biographies that won't provide any information to fans that they don't already know. However, a pair of links in Terry Gilliam's bio access theatrical trailers for "Brazil" and "Twelve Monkeys."
I haven't viewed the Criterion edition of this movie, so I can't compare it to this.
 Awesome July 13, 2008
"Look what God did to us, man!"
"God didn't do that to you... you did!"
ahahaha I love it. This movie is every bit as good as everyone seems to think it is. A true cinematic classic.
This Movie Rox! July 13, 2008
If you haven't seen this yet-You must watch it immediately! As long as you are a fan of Hunter S.'s stuff of course ;)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas June 22, 2008
56 out of 56 found this review helpful
A Review of the DVD: "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"
Starring:
Johnny Depp,
Benicio Del Toro
Director: Terry Gilliam
Writing credits:
Hunter S. Thompson (book)
Terry Gilliam (screenplay)
Tony Grisoni (screenplay)
Tod Davies (screenplay)
Alex Cox (screenplay)
Run Time: 118 Minutes
Released: 1998
Hunter Thompson practiced total immersion journalism. He called this form reporting gonzo journalism.
Hunter Thompson drove to Las Vegas to report on a motorcycle race and ended up writing a story about himself writing a story about a motorcycle race. If he would have written a conventional report on motorcycle racing it would have been interesting to motorcycle enthusiasts for a few days. Since he wrote a gonzo story he had a very wide canvas and he used it well to create a classic.
Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro do justice to the outrageous characters created by Hunter S Thompson. The reader might be turned off by the obstreperous behavior, extreme self indulgence and offensive inconsiderate language. If you can look past this offensive conduct and you will see that Hunter S Thompson gave us an insight into the American character of the 1970's.
See also: Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Modern Library)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
I completely enjoyed this film and recommend it to others.
Who had the trip? June 18, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is not a film I would normally choose. The title did warn me.
In part I watched because Johnny Depp is in it, but I had to keep reminding myself it was him. There are few such actors in the world. Olivier was one.
By the end I was wondering who was having the bad trip - the actors or me!
Brilliant but horribly gruesome.
I'm glad I wasn't in that 60's
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