fear and loathing in las vegas

[jmc]

WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM isn't nearly as good...though Bill Murray is perfect and carries the film into watchability.

[Mr_Vindictive]

I picked up Fear And Loathing on VHS about two years ago because a good friend of mine kept saying how fantastic it was.  I was still living at home at the time, and my parents decided to sit down and watch the flick as well.  They unfortunatly are not as "artistically open-minded" as myself and kind of ruined the whole experience for me.  

"What's happening?"
"Why is there water in their hotel room?"
"Why is he dressed up like a lizard?"

Yeah, you get the idea.  It was non stop question after question after question.  This kind of discouraged me about watching the film again.  It sat up on my video shelf for a few weeks begging me to watch it again.  I of course did, without anyone else around, and found that this film is truly amazing.  Johnny Depp and Bencio Del Toro (2 of the best actors today, IMO) are both fantastic in their roles!  Depp plays Thompson perfectly.


Fear And Loathing is definently a modern masterpiece.  The film is stylish, gritty, and completely entertaining.  I recommend it to ANYONE with an open mind about film.  Just let yourself get sucked into the film and you will enjoy it!

"Can't stop here!  It's bat country!!!!"

[mike bennett]

all you little f**ker who don't like this movie sound like a bunch of close minded, still sucking on your moms ttitys, p***ys ....  this movie was great and to the little b***h who couldn't handel pulp fiction... your just a piece of s**t... so go watch my little pony .. but thats probubly to crazy for you to..

[peter johnson]

Back in 1989, I was driving cab in Boulder, Colorado.
One day, 'round noonish, I get a call to pick up the Thompson party at a hotel.  I drive up to the sliding glass door at the back of the room & look inside.  Nobody home.  I park outside & call in -- are you sure I'm in the right place, etc.  As I'm calling on the radio, I see this balding figure popping up and down between the parked cars in the lot.  He walks over to the car, rubbing the top of his head like Curley Howard:  "You here for Thompson?  You here for Thompson?"  I said yes, I was, but I was asked to pick the party up at the doors here.  "No, never said that, hmmblrmmbr, no never said that.  I have to get some things".  I went with him into the hotel room & we proceeded to take out to the cab a podium with a reading lamp still attached, several dozen artificial roses, six or so exactly(!) half-empty bottles of Chivas Regal, and six to-go boxes of cold hamburgers and fries.
He had his girlfriend with him too.  
So used was I to mad behaviour on the part of my fares, that it didn't occur to me until the second or so trip back for Chivas Regal bottles who it was I was picking up.  Now, I had at this point had any number of celebs in my cab, and one thing I learned was that these people don't want a fanboy driving them.  You do your job & shut up.  So I held back re. the literary questions, etc.
We took off for the old Stapleton Airport, about a 45 min. drive.  He asked me my name & even though his blather took a rather odd turn, he never forgot it for the whole ride.
I'm reminded of an observation Bob Greene once made that Thompson couldn't be as messed up as he presents & still be capable of writing and analysis.  I think I beg to differ.  The guy was balls-to-the-wall whacko:  "Peter, it's a stupid, dangerous, HELLISH world . . . but don't let it FRIGHTEN you!!  We are not children!  What is history?  WE NEED TO BE TOLD!!" and so on . . .At one point his girlfriend said, very Valley-Girl, "Peter I think you can ignore anything Mr. Thompson has to say at this point".
He asked to go to a bar.  I said, if we go to the bar you'll miss your flight.  He then proceeded to open the back door of the cab, and brace it open with his feet, and start throwing the cardboard boxes of old burgers & fries out the door at other vehicles.  There was a lot of blowback.   I had old cold fries still embedded in various sections of the cab interior months later.
When we got to the airport, he bolted from the cab, by now dressed in his now familiar garb of pork-pie hat, aviator specs, trench coat, and cigarette in holder. Off he went, leaving his girlfriend to pay & carry what she could of the podium, plastic roses, and Chivas Regal.
It was about this time that he got in trouble for shooting a golfball with a shotgun while golfing with Ed Bradley in Aspen.  I was able to do a dead-on impression of him for a skit we did that week on HOMEMOVIES called "Dr. Thompson Presents Golfing With Machineguns", which is still being rerun here on Ch. 54.
I've also been up to his place in Woody Creek & driven past the gates:  Cast-iron welded sculptures of 2 African vultures are on either side of the gateposts, like a Charles Addams illustration.
And that is my story of my life with Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.
peter johnson/denny crane

[Kory]

I tried to watch this once- I found it visually interesting with good acting... but I didn't get it.  My husband used to do drugs, so he got it.  Hey, at least I tried.

Scott- there's nothing wrong with knowing what you like and dont like in a movie.  Dont listen to those other guys.

[Scott H]

Wow. I would like to meet some person similar to this guy.

Johnny Depp in preparation for his role in Fear and Loathing stayed in Hunter Thompson's basement at his home. He calle it "In the dungeon," Depp says. "It's a little room with makeshift bookshelves and a lot of spiders, and a small, little sofa thing that folds out into a bed, and this enormous keg of gunpowder, which they let me know about when I'd probably been there, smoking in bed, about five days."

Thompson is crazier than I could have ever imagined. Get this.

They both sit smoking Dunhills through the plastic filters Thompson is known for. Later, Thompson kicks the chair in front of him hard, straight into Depp's CD player. "Don't do that," Deborah says. Depp just laughs. "I'm edgy today," says Thompson.
"I was in San Francisco with you," Depp laughs. "This is not edgy."
A few minutes later. . . "OoooOOOOWARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!" Hunter S. Thompson lets out a scream that is truly primal. He must, I assume, be undergoing some unimaginable torment. Whatever it is that could quell such anguish, I'm sure it is beyond the knowledge of ordinary humans.
Fortunately, I am with experts. Deborah looks around, spots and hands to Thompson his missing packet of cigarettes.
"Thank you," he says matter-of-factly. Perfectly calm. He smiles naughtily. "Oh," he says, "the Alzheimer's will get you every time."
"Inexpensive, too," says Depp.
Thompson is encouraged to visit the wardrobe department. "What do you mean, `Try some things on'?" he roars. He points to the residue of the limo drink accident on his trousers: "Do you think these semen stains on my pants are wrong?"
He hits the chair again. "There used to be arms on chairs," he fumes. "The old days. Instead of . . . crap like that!"

I really had to no clue that Thompson was as crazy as he is. I mean, out of his mind crazy.

Quotes from http://www.angelfire.com/film/depfn/rs98.htm

[nobody]

I actually had the experience of watching this movie on two different levels- once as a "sober" minded individual (never having tried any drugs in my life except alcohol and pot)... and a second time, years later, after having tried shrooms and acid.

The first time I saw this movie I hated it. The second time I absolutely loved it. (Who didn't see that review coming?)

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is definitely on my top 5 favorites list now. Gilliam's direction is as close as you'll ever get to tripping without ever taking drugs. I really appreciate his vision- after seeing them first hand myself. But I can totally understand why others (who haven't taken psychedelic drugs) could hate this movie.

[mr. henry]

thanks for the story..i'm a big thompson fan...he's the kind of person that whether or not you like his writing...most of which i do...you can't deny that he is a larger than life character that has done a lot earth shaking in his time...i started dressing as thompson for halloween parties and in bars and always get offered free shots of Wild Turkey...

btw...i got the criterion special edition of the FandL dvd and it is great...the commentary alone with thompson drinking and calling depp's answering machine is hilarious...

mr. henry
www.310am.com

[Sugar_Nads]

The very first time I saw the movie I was drunk and really didn't like the whole experience. It wasn't until I saw the film sober that I truly appreciated it. My grade: B+ ; )

[twsmith]

Meh. The movie bored me half to death when I saw it on IFC and I'm the kind of guy who loves weird, strange, f**ked up movies. All seemed entirely too artificial for my liking, nothing to draw me in.

If that is the typical experience of a person on acid, I'll pass. My real life has been more f**ked up than anything in that movie could *ever* be.

[stokkie]

this is the best movie ever made to watch high

..LOVE it

[DaiseeLove]

"this is the best movie ever made to watch high..LOVE it"


I 100% agree!! :-)

[HUELVA]

viva huelvaaaaa

[weirdo freak]

I dont think its possible to get the full-impact of this movie unless you're on some kind of mind-altering substance. (in the case of any Gilliam flick, a few bong hits will usually do it for me)

oh yeah, dont do drugs

[Master Blaster]

Great movie based on a great book. If you ever get the chance read it. This is probably one of the few "drug movies" that's worth watching. Johnny Depp deffinately gave an excelent performance but I think Benicio Deltoro (not sure if I spelled that right) stole the show as the samoan.

Otherwise drugs are for hippies and hippies suck.