Two guys, a trunk full of drugs, and the open road leading to the place of sin itself. Not Hell … but close enough. Las Vegas. Add in some counterculture themes such as the Vietnam War and its relation to the Hippie Movement and you have the tale of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Directed by professional madman Terry Gilliam (Brazil; Monty Python and the Holy Grail), adapted from the famous novel of the same name written by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing follows journalist Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio del Toro) as they take a drug-induced road trip to the magical land of Las Vegas, prepping for a motorcycle race Duke has to cover on assignment while also searching for the American Dream.
L-R: Benicio del Toro as Dr. Gonzo and Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke in FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
As audacious and irreverent as this cult classic is, it’s not too much of a head-scratcher to know why Criterion has re-released this film in 4K. Gnarly special effects and hilarious drug binge interludes (or whole plotlines, for that matter) aside, what Fear and Loathing aims to do, especially in its (better) first half, is answer the question, “Do drugs really help heal the pain of living?” The short, obvious answer is “no,” but the long-winded answer is broken down in this surreal, slightly unsettling journey into madness, permeated by Johnny Depp’s (Dead Man) indistinguishable narration.
Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke in FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
As far as plot goes, the storyline of Fear and Loathing is sparse. In the adventures of Raoul Duke (based off Hunter S. Thompson, himself) and Dr. Gonzo (based off real-life attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta), the misadventures form the whole rather the whole forming the misadventures. The film is a strange, funny, frustrating, feature-length presentation of vignettes. However, the appeal of Fear and Loathing doesn’t stem from the plot, but more so from the undeniable, strange chemistry between Depp and del Toro (Star Wars: The Last Jedi). This is a match in idiosyncratic “character actor” heaven — Depp’s paranoid, bug-eyed state matched with del Toro’s physical, feral performance makes these two the pairing that are built for a zany tale such as this. Speaking back to the earlier point of drugs helping heal the pain, the film does try to approach the harsh realities of its time with poignancy.
A scene in FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Set in the early ‘70s, the tragic Vietnam War is still intertwined with the American zeitgeist and the Hippie Movement is a counterculture movement still in effect. No doubt, Raoul Duke is of this clan and, with all the nightmarish images of TV screens showing warfare and President Nixon addressing the American People with a steely demeanor, there is still time to roll up a fat one and laugh amongst the madness while you still can. However, with all of these interesting ideas, there’s still a repetitive and underperforming second half that underlines how Fear and Loathing ultimately fails to make all of this into a completely cohesive film. While the cult classic does carry some classic one-liners (“Look, there’s two women fucking a polar bear!”) and moments of great physical comedy (a scene that demonstrates how to walk upright while taking ether, a moment that no doubt birthed the hilarious “Quaalude Ferrari” scene in Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street), the whole film feels like Gilliam and company (the script being credited to Gilliam, Tony Grisoni (The Brothers Grimm), Tod Davies (Three Businessmen), and Alex Cox (Repo Man)) just chose to throw everything at the wall and let what stuck just stick, and what didn’t stick, it was all still left in the final cut anyway.
Benicio del Toro as Dr. Gonzo in FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
With its influence and uniqueness (rather than its debated “greatness”), it’s no wonder Criterion has continued to keep Fear and Loathing in its revered collection. This 4K restoration is gorgeous, the color of Raoul Duke’s Chevy Impala pops beautifully on screen paired with the lush desert. The special effects (pretty inventive for their time) also shine pretty well on this updated presentation. As is the bar with most Criterion releases, there is a stacked list of terrific supplemental material. Rivaling another Terry Gilliam Criterion release, 1985’s Brazil, Fear and Loathing has features that go deep into the making of this cult classic. As the Criterion release of Brazil carried three different versions of that film and a documentary about the torrid making of it, Fear and Loathing carries an audible program in which a controversy over screenwriting credit is delved into by different sides — Gilliam, co-writers, and producers, alike. There’s also a short documentary of Hunter S. Thompson visiting Depp and del Toro while filming, an audio excerpt from the Fear and Loathing novel (co-read by actor Maury Chaykin (My Cousin Vinny) and director Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai)!), and a group of trailers and TV spots that illuminate how challenging the strategy was to market a film like this. With many more features at hand, including a booklet with written material by Thompson and an essay by critic J. Hoberman, it’s an understatement to say that the amount of material here is awesome.
Even if the film itself is not to your liking, it’s hard not to appreciate the lore and background of how a polarizing film like this was made in Hollywood. It was almost a miracle.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo Special Features:
- *New* 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terry Gilliam, presented in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Three audio commentaries: one with Gilliam, one with actors Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro and producer Laila Nabulsi, and one with author Hunter S. Thompson
- Deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Gilliam
- Selection of Thompson correspondence, read on camera by Depp
- Hunter Goes to Hollywood, a short documentary
- Program about the controversy over the screenwriting credit
- Profile of Oscar Zeta Acosta, the inspiration for Dr. Gonzo
- Collection of artwork by illustrator Ralph Steadman
- Excerpt from a 1996 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas audio recording featuring filmmaker Jim Jarmusch and actor Maury Chaykin
- Documentary from 1978 featuring Thompson and Steadman
- Storyboards, production designs, stills, and trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman and two pieces by Thompson
- Cover illustration by Ralph Steadman
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray Combo, Blu-Ray, and DVD from The Criterion Collection June 4th, 2024.
For more information or to purchase, head to the official Criterion Collection Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
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