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Bookmark this pageFear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Everyone tries so hard at getting this adaptation of Hunter S Thompson's gonzo classic just right that one would love to like it more. Certainly, Gilliam pulls out the stops with the hallucinatory madness - the film does at least look good - and Depp and Del Toro, as the drug deranged heroes exploring the darkest excesses of the American Dream in 1971 Vegas, give their energetic all. The trouble is, they end up mugging like mad, and it's all too relentlessly weird, wacky and tacky: it takes an hour before the pace calms down sufficiently to let in a few laughs, and only Barkin, in a brief (and superior) scene towards the end anchors the manic antics in some sort of human reality. A film of brilliant moments, but sadly less coherent - and, on senses, rather less personal - than most of Gilliam's work.Author: GA
User reviews of this film
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- Ray said...
- Posted on Jan 26 2009 22:08 Superb adaption of the Hunter S Thompson piece. A visually impressive and remarkably true (all things considered) to the book tale that flows with just the right amount of mostly everything, including clarity. Cast and director excel. Its just great entertainment.
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Cast & crew
Director: Terry Gilliam
Producer: Stephen Nemeth, Leila Nabulsi, Patrick Casavetti
Cast: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Christina Ricci, Ellen Barkin, Cameron Diaz, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton full cast
Duration: 118 mins
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