This film from director Terry Gilliam and based on the 1971 book by Hunter S. Thompson, follows journalist Raoul Duke (played by Johnny Depp) and his crazed attorney Doctor Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) as they travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to cover a prestigious motorcycle race equipped with an astonishing variety of alcohol and drugs. The duo soon turn a simple sportswriting assignment into an insane, prolonged drug binge.
Long thought to be unfilmable, Terry Gilliam manages to create a striking screen version of Thompson's distinctive prose. The film utilises a variety of visual and audio techniques to recreate the experiences of the druggy duo. The film features superb performances featuring a variety of well-known actors in small roles. Johnny Depp spent a lot of time with Hunter Thompson researching for his role and the two became close friends until Thompson's death in 2005.
In keeping with the book, the film doesn't have much of a storyline and veers wildly between wild comedy and some genuinely disturbing sequences. The film deals with the disillusionment that many in America felt as the sixties gave way to the seventies, and Gilliam, who directs with a strong attention to detail, puts in many references to the Vietnam war, protests and politics of the period.
The book is a modern classic and this is a powerful adaptation. Thompson fans may be interested in "The Rum Diary" (2011) , which also stars Johnny Depp in the lead.
Long thought to be unfilmable, Terry Gilliam manages to create a striking screen version of Thompson's distinctive prose. The film utilises a variety of visual and audio techniques to recreate the experiences of the druggy duo. The film features superb performances featuring a variety of well-known actors in small roles. Johnny Depp spent a lot of time with Hunter Thompson researching for his role and the two became close friends until Thompson's death in 2005.
In keeping with the book, the film doesn't have much of a storyline and veers wildly between wild comedy and some genuinely disturbing sequences. The film deals with the disillusionment that many in America felt as the sixties gave way to the seventies, and Gilliam, who directs with a strong attention to detail, puts in many references to the Vietnam war, protests and politics of the period.
The book is a modern classic and this is a powerful adaptation. Thompson fans may be interested in "The Rum Diary" (2011) , which also stars Johnny Depp in the lead.