Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Great Gonzo

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on DVD.

The Criterion Collection has come up with the strongest early contender for 2003's best DVD. Terry Gilliam's great drug-road movie, adapted from Hunter S. Thompson's book, was badly mismarketed by Universal and almost completely misunderstood when it was released as a summer movie in 1998 (the same weekend as Godzilla). But it's a bizarre masterpiece that invents a brilliantly skewed perspective and sustains it for a nearly impossible 117 minutes.

Johnny Depp stars as Hunter's alter ego Raoul Duke, and Benicio Del Toro as Duke's attorney, the crazed Samoan Dr. Gonzo. Both performances are played full-force with no room for timidity or second thought. Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire, Cameron Diaz, Harry Dean Stanton, Ellen Barkin, Gary Busey and Flea all turn up in funny little cameos.

This new two-disc set finally raises the movie to its proper perspective. Get a load of this list: three commentary tracks, one from director Gilliam, one from Depp and Del Toro and one from Thompson himself; deleted scenes, a photo gallery, storyboards, brand-new footage of Depp reading correspondence from Thompson, an excerpt from a 1996 CD of the book, read by Jim Jarmusch, Maury Chaykin and Harry Dean Stanton, two short documentaries about Thompson in Hollywood, original artwork from Ralph Steadman and more. The booklet contains writings by Thompson and by Village Voice film critic J. Hoberman, who had enough foresight to appreciate the film when it was released.

One section explores the controversy over the screenwriting credit. Cult director Alex Cox (Repo Man, Sid and Nancy) still retains his writing credit on the film, even though none of his script made it to this film.

Like all good cult movies, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas calls to you. It demands that you watch it again and again, memorizing dialogue, laughing at the imaginatively ludicrous scenes, and just generally loving it, warts and all.

Starring: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Ellen Barkin, Gary Busey, Christina Ricci, Mark Harmon, Cameron Diaz, Michael Jeter, Penn Jillette, Craig Bierko, Lyle Lovett, Flea, Laraine Newman, Harry Dean Stanton, Tim Thomerson, Katherine Helmond, Verne Troyer
Written by: Terry Gilliam, Tony Grisoni, Tod Davies, Alex Cox, based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive extreme drug use and related bizarre behavior, strong language, and brief nudity
Running Time: 119 minutes
Date: February 18, 2003