Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)
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| Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | |
|---|---|
| File:Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (DVD cover).jpg DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Terry Gilliam |
| Written by | Terry Gilliam Tony Grisoni Hunter S. Thompson |
| Produced by | Patrick Cassavetti Laila Nabulsi Stephen Nemeth Rhino Films |
| Starring | Johnny Depp Benicio del Toro Christina Ricci |
| Music by | Ray Cooper |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures (USA) Summit Entertainment (International) |
Release dates | May 22, 1998 |
Running time | 118 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18,500,000 |
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a film directed by Terry Gilliam based on Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. The film starred Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke and Benicio Del Toro as Dr. Gonzo. Released on May 22, 1998, it only earned about US$10.5 million at U.S. box offices (it was budgeted at approximately US$18.5 million) but has since become a cult classic.
Plot
Template:Spoiler Journalist Raoul Duke and attorney Dr. Gonzo travel from Los Angeles, California to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1971 to cover a motorcycle race for a sports magazine and enjoy a haphazardly planned vacation. The vacation turns highly irresponsible and reckless as the two consume copious amounts of illegal drugs, commit various acts of fraud, and generally wreak havoc upon the citizens of Las Vegas.
Set in Las Vegas (a symbol of both American consumerism and tourism) during the height of the Vietnam War and the closing of the 1960s counter-cultural movement, Duke and Gonzo find themselves as outsiders in a unique position to analyze the present state of America and chase down the “American Dream”.
The plot is largely a fictionalized account of Thompson and attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta's actual trip to Las Vegas around the same time period. See Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (book) Template:Spoilerend
Film notes and history
The lead actors undertook extraordinary preparations for their respective roles. Del Toro gained more than 40 pounds (18 kg) before filming began, and extensively researched Acosta's life. Depp lived with Thompson for months, doing research for the role as well as studying Thompson's habits and mannerisms. Depp even traded his car for Thompson's red Chevrolet Caprice convertible, known to fans as the Great Red Shark, and drove it around California during his preparation for the role. Many of the costumes that Depp wears in the film are actually reproductions of genuine pieces that Depp borrowed from Thompson, and Thompson himself shaved Depp's head to match his own natural male pattern baldness. Thompson also had a brief cameo in the film as his character, portrayed by Depp, has a flashback to a San Francisco music club, The Matrix, where Thompson can be seen sitting at a table as Depp walks by narrating his inner monologue, "There I was ... Mother of God! There I am! Holy Fuck!".
Both actors were cast by the film's original director, Alex Cox, who wrote the original screenplay with his longtime collaborator, Tod Davies. When Gilliam became director of the project, he rejected the Cox/Davies screenplay. Thompson himself disliked it and did not approve of Cox's approach to the movie. Gilliam then decided to attempt his own screenplay with collaborator Tony Grisoni. When the film approached release, Gilliam learned that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) would not allow Alex Cox's and Tod Davies' names to be removed from the credits even though none of their material was used in the production of the film. Angered over having to share credit, Gilliam left the WGA and, on certain early premiere prints of the film, made a short introductory sequence in which an anonymous presenter (played by fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin) assures the audience that no screenwriters were involved in writing the film, despite what it says in the credits.
Thompson's disapproval of the Cox/Davies script treatment is documented in the film Breakfast with Hunter, wherein he rails against the writers for planning an animated portrayal of the "wave speech" in the original book, which he considered "probably the finest thing I've ever written." By the time Fear and Loathing was released as a Criterion Collection DVD in 2003, Thompson showed his approval of the Gilliam version by recording a full-length audio commentary for the movie as well as participating in several DVD special features.
The 1980 film Where the Buffalo Roam was based on several Thompson pieces including Fear and Loathing. The movie, though not a strict adaptation of the book, was directed by Art Linson from a screenplay by John Kaye and starred Bill Murray as Thompson and Peter Boyle as Acosta, renamed "Carl Lazlo" for the screen.
Trivia
- The cigarette filter (a TarGard Permanent Filter System) used in the movie was one of Thompson's own, stolen by Depp shortly before filming.
- Cameo appearances are made in the film by Michael Balzary (Flea) of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gary Busey, Penn Jillette, Verne Troyer, Christopher Meloni, Cameron Diaz, Tobey Maguire, and Christina Ricci.
- During Duke's acid trip (when all the people turn into reptiles) the music in the background changes language, when they are leaving (going to the hotel room) the music is being sung in English again.
- The cover of the DVD release uses artwork from the original Rolling Stone article and book whereas the current edition of the book has a cover similar to a poster for the movie.
- In the last hotel room scene, a TV in the background shows an M1 Abrams tank, which hadn't been yet invented in 1971
External links
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at IMDb
- Criterion Collection essay by J. Hoberman
- Criterion Collection essay by Hunter S. Thompson
- Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas Original Script
- archive of film-related material from Dreams, a Gilliam fanzine
- Comparison of Terry Gilliam/Tony Grisoni and Alex Cox/Tod Davies screenplays for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas