Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
Universal Home Video
2.35:1/16x9/2 Channel DD
Either you're going to love it or really, really, really hate it. Either way, you've got to admit, Johnny Depp has quite an outstanding performance as Raoul K. Duke, the alter ego of writer Hunter S. Thompson. Along for the ride is Benico Del Toro as Duke's sidekick, with cameos by Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire and Cameron Diaz.
The result is a wild and messy but extremely fascinating journey by Depp and Del Toro through a stream-of-unconsiousness trip through a legion of drug taking and watching the passersby in Las Vegas. Duke has been sent to cover the Motorbike races in Las Vegas, and he hardly thinks about it, it's just something in the outer layers of the haze that the movie focuses on; namely, Duke and Gonzo(Del Toro) sitting in the hotel room or walking across the landscape, meeting various other weird people on their journey across the desert. It goes on and on. The two go out into the world, mess it up and come back to their home base, which is their hotel room. It's hilarious and sad and wild, Depp's outstanding performance is always watchable, scurrying about like a psychotic fly around the picture frame. The picture veers through tons of different moods. Sad, hilarious, silly, angry, etc. Ok, so no one liked it, but there's something in this film that just catches me as funny and edgy and sad and wonderful. Depp's performance is flawless as Duke, the alter ego of Thompson.
The DVD:
Picture: The picture is good since it could have had a lot of problems with the smoke and oversaturated neon lighting(like in the clubs). Day scenes are clear and crisp and the colors are perfect. There's just a couple of scenes in the depths of the Vegas clubs where it seems, in my eyes, to not have as much in the way of clarity going for it. Generally, though, it looks really good with nice sharpness and detail. The picture is letterboxed at 2.35:1 and anamorphic enhanced.
Audio: Well, this is kinda weird since there's some confusion on the subject. The disc is Dolby Digital 2.0. Was it 5.1 in the theater? I'm not sure, although I think it was. Either way, the sound in 2.0 is just okay, with the great rock songs sounding fair, but otherwise the movie is a lot of dialogue with the occasional car zooming across the desert.
Extras: A very cool 10 minute documentary on the film, a reel of deleted scenes, the trailer, production notes and cast/crew bios.
Film:B
Picture:B
Audio:C+
Extras:C+
Menus:C-
Grade:B
