Fear and loathing in Las Vegas
- Thread starter Projekt
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It's a pretty accurate re-telling of the book. I didn't like the movie at all when I first saw it, but now it's a favorite. The book is a must read.
CrashBomb
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It's Hunter...you can't expect it to be sane or well balanced, even when he's dealing with one of his favorite subjects, the death of the "American dream."
Ideally, you should probably have a few of his books under your belt and digested before you dive into the movie, if for no other reason than to have a better grasp of his psychotic sense of humor and fractured literary style.
You have to put aside all your preconceptions about what a movie is and should be; that you are supposed to care about the characters, that their needs drive the dramatic conflicts and resolutions that move the plot forward, that anything (including the story and the characters) matter, that the 60s changed anything.
It's a scathing look at the disgusting excess of a consumption based culture that reached a previously unheard of peak in the early 70s, who's greed and debauchery are apparent nowhere on earth like they are in fabulous Las Vegas. And it stands as the starkest testimony to the horrors of excessive drug use, the unmitigated ugliness of the tackiest place in the country, and the last ragged gasp of the American century before the lights went out forever.
Ideally, you should probably have a few of his books under your belt and digested before you dive into the movie, if for no other reason than to have a better grasp of his psychotic sense of humor and fractured literary style.
You have to put aside all your preconceptions about what a movie is and should be; that you are supposed to care about the characters, that their needs drive the dramatic conflicts and resolutions that move the plot forward, that anything (including the story and the characters) matter, that the 60s changed anything.
It's a scathing look at the disgusting excess of a consumption based culture that reached a previously unheard of peak in the early 70s, who's greed and debauchery are apparent nowhere on earth like they are in fabulous Las Vegas. And it stands as the starkest testimony to the horrors of excessive drug use, the unmitigated ugliness of the tackiest place in the country, and the last ragged gasp of the American century before the lights went out forever.
Thompson was pretty "enhanced" when he wrote the book
Thompson wrote what is probably the greatest essay you'll ever read on motorcycling. Check it out. There's not a wasted word in the whole piece.
Thompson wrote what is probably the greatest essay you'll ever read on motorcycling. Check it out. There's not a wasted word in the whole piece.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S_Thompson
Read up on him - he did some incredible stuff and lived thru an age in American history that many succumbed to. Strange how he survived all that then took his own life...
Read up on him - he did some incredible stuff and lived thru an age in American history that many succumbed to. Strange how he survived all that then took his own life...
What? Really?
Yeah you're doing it wrong. You really need to read more from Dr. Thompson, it'll put it right for you.
Johny Dep did a great job...
Also don't miss "Where the Buffalo Roam" where Bill Murray plays the role of the good Doctor.
Projekt
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My attorney has advised me to neither confirm nor deny that..Ummm, You obviously watched it sober
CrashBomb
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Part of me actually prefers Buffalo to Fear and Loathing. I realize that Depp was a close personal friend of Hunter's and I know that he portrayed the Doctor's mannerisms and idiosyncrasies perfectly, but Bill Murray's character was equally fascinating, even if not totally true to life. Depp captured the brooding paranoid reclusive Thompson, Murray's Thompson was the fun loving lunatic who maced waiters for fun and pushed mailboxes in front of city buses when he was a kid.
The acting (in both films) was beyond superb. Every actor just disappeared into their roles. At times it was hard to tell where Benicio Del Toro (or Peter Boyle in Buffalo) stopped and "Dr. Gonzo," started.
Thompson himself had very brief cameos in both movies. In Fear and Loathing he can be seen in one of the San Fransisco flashbacks, "Mother of god, there I was...OH MY GOD, there I AM." His cameo in Buffalo ended up on the cutting room floor, but he was listed as an "executive consultant" in the final credits.
BlkDrgnZ28
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umm take acid it will make more sense but
Agreed, Used to ride by the Good Doctors place once or twice a year on the way to Aspen... Nice roads, good riding.
Absolutely. End of story.
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