Customer Reviews

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas [HD DVD]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It was upsetting to see the only review of this title was not a review at all but a complaint against amazon so I had to put in my two cents. This movie has some of the best performances from Jonny Depp and Benicio Del Toro and Terry Gilliam directs one of his finest films ever. Too bad this one was missed by audiences in 1998 when it quickly came and went from theatres after the first week. If you like Hunter S. Thompson and movies like The Big Lebowski, you'll want to make sure to add this item to your movie collection. The HD transfer alone is worth purchasing this version, but make sure to check out the Criterion DVD which contains interviews from Hunter S. Thompson as well as a full movie commentary that's as entertaining as the movie itself.

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.

...older, meaning more than 4-5 years old (or earlier generation dvd's). I read the great reviews of the transfer and have seen my share of disappointing high-def discs already. So I was skeptical when I bought it. This is one of the best (funniest) movies ever.

Well, I first watched the opening scene and some parts of my Criterion version (which had been a better standard transfer) on my 56 HD-RPTV. It used to look great on my 32" tube TV. It looked terrible on the bigger screen of course, making me scared of another cruddy HD transfer like my Sleepy Hollow or the Game (worst ever so far).



After the first few seconds of the opening scene, let alone the rest of the movie, I loved this transfer (HD-DVD). Now this is how "somewhat older" films should look like on HD-DVD! Absolutely amazing colors, contrast and sharpness. The vegas lights look fantastic as do the rest of the colors in this "trip". No annoying digital noise, a few specs of dust on the film which I never mind, and the dust/smoke is rendered beautifully. The DD+ soundtrack is great and it has a DD True soundtrack even though most of us at this point can't take full advantage of it. What a fantastic job this is- I'm loving it.

We all know about fear and loathing's story line (which is superb and incredibly funny), however my review is of the quality of the content (compared to the standard DVD which I also own).

Nothing is simple in the world of technology - and simply buying an HD-DVD does not mean that the sound & picture is going to be the best money can buy, I purchased full metal jacket on HD-DVD and was dissapointed by the quality of it. Fear & Loathign is quite the opposite....

I was blown away by the picture and sound quality - compared to other HD-DVD's I own this one is by far the best, the picture is so clear you can see the pores on johhny depps face.

I would seriously reccomend this product over the standard DVD.

Jeff Shannon is clearly misinformed. The "usual creative differences" mentioned resulted from Cox's refusal to abide by Hunter S. Thompson's specific instructions NOT to use an animated sequence during the period of the film where Depp is sitting at a type-writer reminiscing about the San Fransico Bay Area during the mid-60's. Beyond that, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a story about a man trying to find the American dream. Oh, and another thing, the "so-called lawyer" is based entirely on Hunter's real life attorney and friend Oscar Zeta Acosta, who was an important activist and civil rights attorney. Perhaps Mr. Shannon should actually read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and some more of H.S. Thompson's work. In fact, I think it would serve him well to read more and write less in general. I can't believe Amazon pays him for this sequacious drivel.

I only own a hand full of HD DVD's. But this one is by far the best looking of the lot. Great picture. Very clear. Amazing colours. Fantasic film.

One of the themes of this film is the sad end of the summer of love culture of the 1960's. Dr. Gonzo's polydrug-induced debauchery, symbolic of this, is fully detailed in this good transfer, to the point that viewers may have to look away from time to time. Del Torro deserved some kind of award for what he went through.

I didn't notice when i purchased it, but for the blu-ray version, all German cover and German dub seems to be the default sound and subtitle, though it does come with English DTS HighRes 5.1 sound and English subtitles, but the title menu will not change to English. None the less a GREAT movie!

This is a really good movie, Johnny Depp at his best. This is definitely not for everyone, if you find drugs or drug culture offensive, this is not for you.

5 stars
Great movie, great transer, great PQ, great AQ.
A++ HD-DVD title to own