Product Details

• Actors: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Ellen Barkin, Gary Busey
• Directors: Terry Gilliam
• Writers: Terry Gilliam, Alex Cox, Hunter S. Thompson, Tod Davies, Tony Grisoni
• Producers: Elliot Lewis Rosenblatt, Harold Bronson
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: June 15, 1999
• Run Time: 118 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (583 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783228600
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #685,531 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The critics were wrong again, January 23, 2001

By 

"dporgie" (Flemington, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (DVD)

I find it sad that much of the country bases it's movie selections on the opinions of hacks like Leonard Maltin. I can see why this wasn't a mainstream success due to it's waaaaaay out in left field mentality, but because of all the negativity this great film remains unseen by many. As people come around to the acting genius of both Johnny Depp and Benecio Del Toro (and they will), they will inevitably want to see their earlier works and then, finally, they will see what all the hype wasn't about.

Terry Gilliam absolutely NAILED Hunter's book. The visuals are incredible and alarming. The angles, strange and enticing. I heard that they filmed this movie without a script, just the book in hand. After reading the book, I believe trying to write a script for it could have severly dampened the impact.

Now for the drug use... If you are the type of person who realized that Fight Club wasn't really about the fighting, then you will also realize that Fear & Loathing isn't really about the drug use. According to the big dog movie critics only a stoner will appreciate this movie, which leads me to believe that only idiots become professional movie reviewers.

If you appreciate ground-breaking cinema, truly innovative directing, first-rate acting and are looking for something different... the ramblings of a gonzo journalist could be just the thing.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, June 21, 2008

By 

Stephen Williams "Stephen Williams" (Hawthorne, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (DVD)

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.

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Madness, Politics, Drug Use and Mean-Tempered Cops, January 31, 2003

By 

Citizenrobot (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

This DVD finally gives one of Terry Gilliam's lesser-loved (but brilliant!) films the red carpet treatment. The commentary from Gilliam is crazed and passionate; Depp and Del Toro really show off their wit, charm, and intelligence along with producer Laila Nabulsi's back-stage insight, and the last commentary is a rather odd and screwball one from Thompson himself. I won't tell you a thing about the last commentary. You've got to buy this and check it out on your own. (Here's a hint: 'Screeee-ahhhh! Raaaaaaaagh!' *other assorted sounds*)

The second disc is crammed with some great goodies as well - Depp reads letters written to/from Thompson. There's a great BBC documentary showing HST and Ralph Steadman undertaking a trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Another gem is a snippet from an audio-book recording of Fear & Loathing with Jim Jarmusch as Raoul Duke! All definitely worth it.

Fear and Loathing isn't just a drug movie (as all the extras on the DVD will reiterate over and over again) - it's a truthful, imaginative, twisted, and subversive take on the death of the most idealistic decade and generation. We get to see it all through the eyes of two renegade professionals, one a journalist and the other a lawyer, both fighting the good fight against scum and villainy.

We can't stop here! THIS IS BAT COUNTRY.