Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Director:

Terry Gilliam

Writers (WGA):

Hunter S. Thompson (book)
Terry Gilliam (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 toukokuu 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

Give us your brain for two hours and you will never be the same again.....(Icelandic)

Plot:

An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychadelic escapades.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | American Dream | Lawyer | Convertible | Journalist

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Johnny Depp	...	Raoul Duke
Benicio Del Toro	...	Dr Gonzo
Tobey Maguire	...	Hitchhiker
Ellen Barkin	...	Waitress at North Star Cafe
Gary Busey	...	Highway Patrolman
Christina Ricci	...	Lucy
Mark Harmon	...	Magazine Reporter at Mint 400
Cameron Diaz	...	Blonde TV Reporter
Katherine Helmond	...	Desk Clerk at Mint Hotel
Michael Jeter	...	L. Ron Bumquist
Penn Jillette	...	Carnie Talker
Craig Bierko	...	Lacerda
Lyle Lovett	...	Road Person
Flea	...	Musician
Laraine Newman	...	Frog-Eyed Woman

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive extreme drug use and related bizarre behavior, strong language, and brief nudity.

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (re-rating) (DVD) | Canada:18A (original rating) (VHS) | Denmark:15 | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hungary:14 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | UK:18 | USA:R | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Fear and Loathing LLC

Trivia:

Laraine Newman (the Frog-Eyed Woman) and Harry Dean Stanton (the Judge) both appeared on the 1996 Spoken Word Adaptation CD of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Stanton was the narrator while Newman played several small roles.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Duke spots the patrolman behind him, the pattern on the center line on the road in front of the car is different from that behind.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Raoul Duke: [narrating] We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like:
Raoul Duke: I feel a bit lightheaded. Maybe you should drive.
Raoul Duke: [narrating] Suddenly, there was a terrible roar all around us, and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, and a voice was screaming:
Raoul Duke: Holy Jesus. What are these goddamn animals?
[swatting the air]
Raoul Duke: Huh! Huh! Huh! Fucking pigs.
Dr. Gonzo: Did you say something?
Raoul Duke: Hm? Never mind. It's your turn to drive.
Raoul Duke: [narrating] No point in mentioning these bats, I thought. Poor bastard will see them soon enough.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Weeds: Last Tango in Agrestic (#2.3)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Mama Told Me Not To Come

Don't do drugs, just see this movie- Gilliam's masterpiece, perhaps

Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a psychedelic comedy, but also an astute piece of literature-cum-political science on a period in American history that was just really strange, thus reflected by its creator. It was the pioneer in 'Gonzo journalism' and sent Thompson's star even higher than it had with Hell's Angels. Although it's one of my personal favorite books, it could have been tricky to adapt it- Alex Cox tried and failed- but somehow Terry Gilliam digs into the Thompson psychology, dementia, and off-the-wall humor, while also putting his unmistakable mark on the material. Two sensibilities thus merge, alongside the tremendous performances (underrated, despite the praise from fans) from Depp and Del-Toro. It asks an essential question- how does society end up crossing paths with the outlaws? But there's more than that- much more in fact- but it takes more than one viewing. I remember writing the first time I saw it: "This film is so bizarre you might just want to put down the bong and get high from this movie (after all, the movie contains every single known drug known to man since 1544)."

Granted, it's immediate appeal is that of a midnight movie, the ultimate midnight movie, as a work where the visual style is cranked up to a queue that goes even further than past Gilliam ventures. Distorted, sometimes tilted, widescreen angles, very bright, strange colors via Nicola Pecorini, and a beating soundtrack loaded with everything from Jefferson Airplane to Tom Jones to Bob Dylan to Debbie Reynolds (what kind of rat bastard psychotic would put that on right now, at this moment)! And aside from Depp and Del-Toro, who immerse themselves to the hilt (Depp especially is in a form here comparable to his Pirates movies- you can't see anyone else play the character, and at the same time you almost can't recognize him, a credit to Depp's 'method' style), there's hilarious supporting work from Craig Bierko, Tobey Maguire, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton (Castration!), and Christina Ricci, and even an extremely moving and dangerous scene with Ellen Barkin.

It's not an easy film, to be certain, and it will likely appeal to those who may think 'ah, drugs, I like drugs, must be my kind of movie'. But it's not that simple; it's actually fairly critical of drug use, in an overblown, Fellini-esquire satirical manner (eg Adrenochrome, which is a tiny landmark of gonzo film-making to complement the author), and there really is no point where Gilliam, Thompson or the characters say 'take drugs'. On the other hand, there is also a critical attitude, a refreshing and brilliant one, on authority, like at the DEA convention at the hotel- again, strange times in society. At the same time the film is superb as escapist fun, in the darkest and craziest ways that only a maverick like Gilliam and his people can pull off, it's also got some layers in the substance, of Duke and Gonzo almost as relics from a former era already in 1971. With consistently quotable dialog, excruciating moments of depravity, and some of the most outrageous production design in any film, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an unlikely cult classic, and in its own delirious fashion a possible definitive work from the director alongside Brazil.