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

The critics were wrong again
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...

Madness, Politics, Drug Use and Mean-Tempered Cops
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...

Excellent performances by Depp and Del Toro!
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.

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