Terry Gilliam

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

It is 1971, and journalist Raoul Duke barrels toward Las Vegas—accompanied by a trunkful of contraband and his slightly unhinged Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo—to cover a motorcycle race. What should be a cut-and-dried journalistic assignment quickly descends into a feverish psychedelic odyssey. Director Terry Gilliam and an all-star cast, headlined by Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, show no mercy in bringing Hunter S. Thompson’s excoriating dissection of the American way of life to the screen, creating a film both hilarious and savage.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1998
  • 118 minutes
  • Color
  • 2.39:1 (4K UHD); 2.35:1 (Blu-ray and DVD)
  • English
  • Spine #175

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terry Gilliam, 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

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terry Gilliam, 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
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Cast
Johnny Depp
Raoul Duke
Benicio Del Toro
Dr. Gonzo
Ellen Barkin
The North Star waitress
Craig Bierko
Lacerda
Gary Busey
Highway patrolman
Cameron Diaz
Blonde TV reporter
Flea
Musician
Mark Harmon
Magazine reporter
Katherine Helmond
Reservations clerk
Michael Jeter
L. Ron Bumquist
Lyle Lovett
Road person
Tobey Maguire
Hitchhiker
Chris Meloni
Clerk at Flamingo Hotel
Christina Ricci
Lucy
Harry Dean Stanton
Judge
Tim Thomerson
Hoodlum
Credits
Director
Terry Gilliam
Screenplay by
Terry Gilliam
Screenplay by
Tony Grisoni
Screenplay by
Tod Davies
Screenplay by
Alex Cox
Based on the book by
Hunter S. Thompson
Produced by
Laila Nabulsi
Produced by
Patrick Cassavetti
Produced by
Stephen Nemeth
Executive producer
Harold Bronson
Executive producer
Richard Foos
Director of photography
Nicola Pecorini
Production designer
Alex McDowell
Film editor
Lesley Walker
Costume designer
Julie Weiss
Coproducer
Elliot Lewis Rosenblatt
Lounge lizards designed by
Rob Bottin
Casting
Margery Simkin

Current

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Pint of Raw Ether and Three Reels of Film
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Pint of Raw Ether and Three Reels of Film

At once prestigious literary adaptation and slap­stick buddy flick, this is something like a lowbrow art film, an egghead monster movie, a hilarious paean to reckless indulgence, and perhaps the most widely released midnight movie ever made.

By J. Hoberman

Janicza Bravo’s Top 10
Janicza Bravo’s Top 10

Janicza Bravo is a writer and director based in Los Angeles. Her feature film Lemon is now playing in theaters.

Flying Lotus’s Top 10
Flying Lotus’s Top 10

The Los Angeles–based music producer Flying Lotus (born Steve Ellison) has been working in the electronic music field since the early 2000s.

A Pig in the Wilderness: My Night with Hunter S. Thompson
A Pig in the Wilderness: My Night with Hunter S. Thompson

The following transmission is an e-mail from September 2002, which I sent back to Criterion headquarters after spending a night at Hunter S. Thompson’s cabin in Woody Creek, Colorado, recording commentary tracks for the DVD release of Fear and Loat

David Markey’s Top 10
David Markey’s Top 10

Independent filmmaker and underground music aficionado David Markey’s films include 1991: The Year Punk Broke (1992) and the Super 8 cult classics The Slog Movie (1982), Desperate Teenage Lovedolls (1984), and its sequel Lovedolls Superstar (1986),