Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Terry Gilliam's FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS is a peculiarly cinematic retelling of a book by American journalist Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1937), which was published in English under the title Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In his 1971 literary work, subtitled ‘A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream’, the cult author recounts the bizarre experiences he has as a journalist (in the movie going under the name Raoul Duke) with his lawyer (Dr. Gonzo) on their journey from Los Angeles to Las Vegas through various hotels, casinos and streets. Duke is in Vegas to cover the Mint 400 off-road motorcycle and buggy race and then a national conference of district attorneys dedicated to the war on drugs. The two protagonists, however, are in a perpetual drug haze, which they continually feed from their abundant supply of narcotics of all kinds, not to mention alcohol. In their high, they inevitably get into tricky situations and clashes, from which they always miraculously escape. The book, like the film, is prefaced by a quote from Dr. Samuel Johnson (‘He who makes himself an animal will be rid of the pain of humanity’), is in fact a reckoning with the 1960s, with hippie culture, the anti-Vietnam War movement and the wave of psychedelic ‘madness’. Terry Gilliam sticks faithfully to the source material but brings a playful and unconventional narrative structure, with hectic camerawork, sharp editing and a rich soundtrack. And then there's the cast featuring an unrecognisable Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, as well as cameo roles from Harry Dean Stanton, Ellen Barkin, Gary Busey, Christina Ricci and more.