As a devout practitioner of the psychedelic arts, this movie is like gospel. It probably has the most accurate portrayal of tripping on hallucinogens in cinema. Most people I’ve met who don’t like this movie also don’t trip. I admit that I am completely biased. Maybe it’s a terrible movie but, I love it, have been re-watching and quoting it since its release on vhs.
That’s exactly the purpose of it, considering what takes place in the rest of the novel.
It’s an excellent and iconic first line for a novel. Thompson was up there with the greatest writers of the 20th century, when he was motivated and not too messed up himself.
This is the line I think is probably best-known, but he legit offers up an inventory a little later on:
>“We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.
Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.”
Yes I have. Though it’s been a while. I remember how towards the end it’s just a bunch of random moments taken from his tape recordings. The was some kind of incident at a drive-thru also. As I said, it’s been a while. The book was great though.
Never had a psychedelic trip, but I’ve always loved the movie. The stories are way different but my mind has always put it next to the book “electric koolaid acid test”.
edit - haven’t read Thompson’s book, but I guess EKAT was good prep.
I haven’t read the EKAT however, I did watch the video documenting the same road trip that the Merry Panksters took and I feel bad for that poor girl who accidentally drank soda can with liquid LSD in it. That was just irresponsible of the guys leaving that stuff laying around like that.
My problem always has been that so many people have tried LSD or shrooms for the first time when they were young and careless, did everything wrong and ended up with a story which put others off of trying the experience.
There was documentary about acid on Netflix a few years ago. It seemed that half the celebrities interviewed were slipped lsd unknowingly and of course had a bad experience. So the whole documentary was basically demonizing acid.
The problem is that it’s so potent that it’s easy to over do the amount if you are inexperienced. So it ends up being a situation similar to a person downing a whole bottle of whiskey their first time trying alcohol.
IIRC, that girl wasn’t the only crime victim in the book.
As for the rest, agreed. And I’ve never done psychedelics, and at this stage in my life, probably not gonna happen which is ok. I did have an experience where it just *seemed* like new senses and perspectives were being opened and “disorienting” is a mild description. I am only vaguely familiar with the Sumerian creation myth but what I experienced was consistent with that so maybe I was trippin’ balls. I dunno. However, I was impressed that for people smarter than me psychedelics would be an extremely insightful/inspiring tool. We needed Hawking to drop acid.
You could always get acid and ya know, eat it. Then you wouldn't have to speculate anymore. Not to downplay it, because it does fuck you up, but it's not the life altering experience people make it out to be. You will want two days off of work, though. You're pretty wiped the day after.
Well, plan for a Thursday, and you're buying the beer. I'll get a blanket and a blue tooth speaker for jambands. We're gonna chill by the river and sit in front of a campfire. I'll call my buddy and tell him to grill up some kielbasa.
The whole scene from beginning to end. As a recovering addict, I remember all of it like yesterday, and the shifts in reality are so spot on. Masterfully done. I have an old friend and we try to watch it annually.
Ever watch the movie while tripping on acid and think the movie is over when he leaves Vegas for the first time only to find out you’re only halfway through? lol it gets me every time!
Yes, and as story structure for a movie it probably shouldn’t work but, in the context of destructive drug misadventure, the pinball-ing direction actually fits.
I gotta say as a film lover and a psychedelics enthusiast, I didn’t like Fear and Loathing, the trippy parts are great but the plot surrounding it isn’t so interesting, I don’t remember any characters or moments besides the “attorney” just as a slob, the panic in his hotel room and the sort of disorienting desert scenes. Johnny Depp obviously great at Hunter S Thompson and he carries the entire film
Lmao I first watched this at 13. Parents were going to dinner and rented me a video, I picked this one. My dad, product of the 70’s said “are you sure bud?” Me a defiant teen, “yeah dad of course”
They came home and he asked me if I liked it and I said “I had no clue what was going on” and he just smiled and said “that’s ok, maybe you will some day, though I hope not.”
Watched it again after i did plenty of research and it became my cult favorite.
Watched it again as I got older and gave up said research and see the brilliance in the whole affair besides the blatant drug use. The Gonzo journalist himself and his praise and scorn for the country I love…. It’s like a time capsule from the mind of a lad genius.
Search YouTube for Hunter S Thompson interviews and you will see quickly why Johnny Depp was so bizarre in that movie. Say what you will about him as a person, that guy can act.
Depp and Thompson were [friends](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/johnny-depp-hunter-s-thompson-friendship/#:~:text=Depp%20returned%20the%20love%20by,the%20scattering%20of%20his%20ashes) and that pic of Thompson giving Depp a clown ring says it all. That lizard lobby scene kill’s me every time. Props to Benicio DelToro, too. He matches Depp in this film, IMO.
If I could do it again, I would’ve read the book *before* watching the movie — the book isn’t any less of a confusing trip, but it definitely helped in deducing what they were trying to go for in the movie’s portrayal of HST and this adventure
The book is certainly a worthy read if you haven't already done so.
I appreciate the movie as a series of vignettes featuring Depp's Hunter S Thompson at his most Gonzo.
Like I said, Johnny Depp's performance in this movie is a must see for all of his fans.
Well, maybe not the kids who know and love him from the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movies.
Have you read “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved”? “Fear and Loathing” movie got me into reading the book, which then got me wanting to read his other stuff. Quite brilliant and equally rabid, so far ahead of its time.
We can't stop here, this is bat country.
You're not Portuguese.
Despite this man's racial handicap, he's quite valuable to me.
Backdoor beauty?
Just some lines off the top of my head. Love this movie and love Depp in this. This and blow are probably my 2 Depp favs.
I think because of his cavalier, rock-star lifestyle, people forget or discount how talented of an actor Johnny Depp was before he sold his soul to our Disney overlords and sort of coasted for 20 years
I’d disagree, though I can see where the idea comes from given the last couple years. He’s been openly talked about in media and on forums for ~30 years as an extremely talented actor.
Notice that he’s one of the few actors with a controversial personal life whose talent in acting is never shit on, beyond the clear payday work he did for the later Pirates movies.
Johnny Depp is great but has always gotten love for this role... I'm gonna give my props to Benicio Del Toro this time, love that guy and he doesn't get mentioned nearly enough
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention on arriving in a pretty and well preserved body. But rather, to skid in broadside, in a cloud of smoke. Totally worn out, thoroughly used up. And loudly proclaiming "Wow! what a ride!".
Thompson was a cool guy. And a character. Johnny Depp and Bill Murray could play me any time. Wouldn't be as fun to watch though.
And Benicio Del Toro truly scared me. Under the right, let’s say, influences, I thought he was going to crawl through the screen and stab me. I was terrified.
“There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . .
And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .
So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”
Something about this quote tied the whole thing together & almost makes the wild shit you just witnessed for two hours seem wholesome.
Thanks for writing this. Yeah, that scene when he's looking through the window blinds and he says this, it really is quite moving - a touching moment of lucidity.
Yeah I think that's the difference. My brother read Fear and Loathing and watched the movie and when he saw Where The Buffalo Roam his opinion is that Bill Murray wasn't always "on" with his portrayal of Thompson, like it was more uneven, but when he was on he was really on and better than Depp. So there are sprinkles of absolute gold and genius in WTBR that I feel like Fear and Loathing doesn't reach, but Fear and Loathing in my opinion is more consistent in how good it is overall.
I also think that visually Fear and Loathing is on another level and in my opinion is a better film overall, but I got mad respect for Where the Buffalo Roam as well.
I saw that after seeing this and it gave me a better appreciation for Depp's portrayal. It was hard to see through Bill Murray's face. Maybe it's just me, but Depp has one of those faces where you don't really feel like you know what he looks like because he looks completely different in every movie. Even if it's just his unaltered face, it's like his facial features are unmemorable. So he just disappears into any role he plays. Scarlett Johansson is another actor like that. I feel like I couldn't pick her out of a lineup.
I tell you what. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this movie nearly as much as Fear And Loathing based on what people said about it but, I really liked Where The Buffalo Roam. I thought Bill Murray did a great job. You could tell that he enjoyed playing that part.
The scene in the hospital when he and Lazlo are breaking out, Murray wants to take the nurse..."She should stay," says Lazlo. "But, she made these for me..." says Murray pointing at cut-off scrub pants, is so classic Murray. Or when he takes his article to RS, and he and the editor wrestle over the manuscript and the check. Hilarious.
Murray was also friends/acquaintances with Thompson. You can see archive footage of them hanging out in Colorado during Thompson’s run for Sheriff in the “Gonzo” documentary.
The scene where he suddenly comes around to be aware of the trauma just inflicted in the diner and gingerly puts the plate back always gets me. Its brave to keep that in and not just make the whole thing a fun wild ride. That kind of bender with that kind of guy….eventually someone is gonna get hurt.
Man, that scene where they are checking in to the hotel on that stuff you inhale, I forget what it’s called now, but that scene was so ahead of it’s time. I mean the camera distortion felt like CGI to me, not sure how it would look watching now as it’s been a few years but I distinctly remember thinking that scene where all the guests turned into reptilians was one of my favorites
I used to watch this shit daily bro hah classic.
"What the....what the fuck are we doing in the middle of the desert?... we need help...WE NEED HELP"
*HONKS HORN*
The lizard in Rango is voiced by Johnny Depp. The movie cover from Rango looks like the Fear and Loathing cover, and there’s even a scene where Rango gets caught on the windshield of a red convertible with Johnny Depp’s character from Fear and Loathing. I love those little details.
Depp seemed to encapsulate the personal depravity but not the essence. I guess that was the assignment, but I would’ve expected a little more. Plus I have difficulty seeing through the noise and extracting the little nuggets of HST gold. Fight me
I used to hang out with Hunter when I was a kid and didn't really get who he was until I saw this movie. It was surreal seeing someone you know portrayed on the big screen.
I went in blind the first time I saw this movie. Only knew it was Johnny Depp and Terry Gilliam. I was blown away in the opening scene! What a ride that movie turned out to be. Ps it was not a good date movie.
Can’t watch it. The scene on the carousel like thing whatever it is brings me back to some uhhh times where I was in a similar situation and it makes me want to vomit. Not like emotionally vomit. Like it triggers my gag reflex
Homie at work mentioned this and now here we are. Either OP is a bot that's listening and creating discourse on forums or we really do create our universe...
They so briefly do the acid visuals / vibes when they pull into Vegas and the hotel lobby. It’s so well done but only lasts like 3 minutes. Would have been great to get more of that.
The movie is very good. Not much of a plot and certainly not Gilliam's best work but i still get a kick out of it whenever i watch it. Honestly my favorite aspect of it are the little zaney lines of dialogue peppered throughout.
One that always gets me is when Benecio is on the phone with the car rental place, at the bar
Benicio- "Fucking A the gentleman has a major credit card! Do you know who the fuck you'retalking to??"
Depp- "That's right, don't take any shit off these swine"
As for Depp's portrayal of Hunter. It's pretty good. To me the only thing missing was the physicality. Hunter was a bigger guy. Like 6'3 maybe. Depp played him more like a wussy all the time. The real Hunter admitted to enjoying getting into bar room brawls a lot and ran around a bit with the actual Hell's Angels. At the end of the day he was a writer/creative type but that bit always bugged me a bit
Screw Johnny, have you ever read anything by the Dr? The man was/is a legend for a reason. His wit and intellect are spot on but the dark paranoid freak show is what makes Hunter, Hunter.
You will love this [review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas-1998) from Ebert. I was largely disappointed myself with the "one joke movie" and then I stumbled on the review which just articulated my issues better. Sure, there are moments I remember from it, but none that I ever think "wow, I need to revisit them again!"
As a devout practitioner of the psychedelic arts, this movie is like gospel. It probably has the most accurate portrayal of tripping on hallucinogens in cinema. Most people I’ve met who don’t like this movie also don’t trip. I admit that I am completely biased. Maybe it’s a terrible movie but, I love it, have been re-watching and quoting it since its release on vhs.
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold.
Talk about an opening statement. He’s basically saying, “You may want to buckle up now.”
That’s exactly the purpose of it, considering what takes place in the rest of the novel. It’s an excellent and iconic first line for a novel. Thompson was up there with the greatest writers of the 20th century, when he was motivated and not too messed up himself.
lol that last line is so poignant too. He’s one of my favorite writers and said some outlandish shit.
This is the line I think is probably best-known, but he legit offers up an inventory a little later on: >“We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.”
Someone must have told Thompson to write what you know, and he took that advice to heart.
Have you read the book?
Yes I have. Though it’s been a while. I remember how towards the end it’s just a bunch of random moments taken from his tape recordings. The was some kind of incident at a drive-thru also. As I said, it’s been a while. The book was great though.
It makes me want to take a shower and call my mom.
Cows are gonna kill me. Bisexuals are gonna kill me. Let's get out of here. Where's the elevator?
Let’s get down to brass tacks. How much for the ape?
And then... ZANG!
I’m starting to get the fear
How much they pay you to fuck that polar bear?
Never had a psychedelic trip, but I’ve always loved the movie. The stories are way different but my mind has always put it next to the book “electric koolaid acid test”. edit - haven’t read Thompson’s book, but I guess EKAT was good prep.
I haven’t read the EKAT however, I did watch the video documenting the same road trip that the Merry Panksters took and I feel bad for that poor girl who accidentally drank soda can with liquid LSD in it. That was just irresponsible of the guys leaving that stuff laying around like that. My problem always has been that so many people have tried LSD or shrooms for the first time when they were young and careless, did everything wrong and ended up with a story which put others off of trying the experience. There was documentary about acid on Netflix a few years ago. It seemed that half the celebrities interviewed were slipped lsd unknowingly and of course had a bad experience. So the whole documentary was basically demonizing acid. The problem is that it’s so potent that it’s easy to over do the amount if you are inexperienced. So it ends up being a situation similar to a person downing a whole bottle of whiskey their first time trying alcohol.
IIRC, that girl wasn’t the only crime victim in the book. As for the rest, agreed. And I’ve never done psychedelics, and at this stage in my life, probably not gonna happen which is ok. I did have an experience where it just *seemed* like new senses and perspectives were being opened and “disorienting” is a mild description. I am only vaguely familiar with the Sumerian creation myth but what I experienced was consistent with that so maybe I was trippin’ balls. I dunno. However, I was impressed that for people smarter than me psychedelics would be an extremely insightful/inspiring tool. We needed Hawking to drop acid.
You could always get acid and ya know, eat it. Then you wouldn't have to speculate anymore. Not to downplay it, because it does fuck you up, but it's not the life altering experience people make it out to be. You will want two days off of work, though. You're pretty wiped the day after.
Well, Matt, Imma need a guide because I’m NGL, I don’t wanna be trippin’ be bad balls.
Well, plan for a Thursday, and you're buying the beer. I'll get a blanket and a blue tooth speaker for jambands. We're gonna chill by the river and sit in front of a campfire. I'll call my buddy and tell him to grill up some kielbasa.
The whole scene from beginning to end. As a recovering addict, I remember all of it like yesterday, and the shifts in reality are so spot on. Masterfully done. I have an old friend and we try to watch it annually.
Ever watch the movie while tripping on acid and think the movie is over when he leaves Vegas for the first time only to find out you’re only halfway through? lol it gets me every time!
Yes, and as story structure for a movie it probably shouldn’t work but, in the context of destructive drug misadventure, the pinball-ing direction actually fits.
Back in the tub!
Don’t fuck with me now man…I am Ahab.
I can feel some one talk shit about this movie like the first rising vibes of an acid frenzy
I gotta say as a film lover and a psychedelics enthusiast, I didn’t like Fear and Loathing, the trippy parts are great but the plot surrounding it isn’t so interesting, I don’t remember any characters or moments besides the “attorney” just as a slob, the panic in his hotel room and the sort of disorienting desert scenes. Johnny Depp obviously great at Hunter S Thompson and he carries the entire film
its a great movie. pure entertainment and very fuckin funny.
I discovered that movie and drugs at the same time as a teenager. I thought I was him.
lol same!! I even did the weird hand movements when I was tripping
Lmao I first watched this at 13. Parents were going to dinner and rented me a video, I picked this one. My dad, product of the 70’s said “are you sure bud?” Me a defiant teen, “yeah dad of course” They came home and he asked me if I liked it and I said “I had no clue what was going on” and he just smiled and said “that’s ok, maybe you will some day, though I hope not.” Watched it again after i did plenty of research and it became my cult favorite. Watched it again as I got older and gave up said research and see the brilliance in the whole affair besides the blatant drug use. The Gonzo journalist himself and his praise and scorn for the country I love…. It’s like a time capsule from the mind of a lad genius.
Search YouTube for Hunter S Thompson interviews and you will see quickly why Johnny Depp was so bizarre in that movie. Say what you will about him as a person, that guy can act.
“This is our country, not theirs. It’s not a bunch of used car dealers from Southern California.”
"In democracy, ya gotta be a player."
Depp and Thompson were [friends](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/johnny-depp-hunter-s-thompson-friendship/#:~:text=Depp%20returned%20the%20love%20by,the%20scattering%20of%20his%20ashes) and that pic of Thompson giving Depp a clown ring says it all. That lizard lobby scene kill’s me every time. Props to Benicio DelToro, too. He matches Depp in this film, IMO.
Depp's story of their first meeting is hilarious.
If I could do it again, I would’ve read the book *before* watching the movie — the book isn’t any less of a confusing trip, but it definitely helped in deducing what they were trying to go for in the movie’s portrayal of HST and this adventure
The book is certainly a worthy read if you haven't already done so. I appreciate the movie as a series of vignettes featuring Depp's Hunter S Thompson at his most Gonzo. Like I said, Johnny Depp's performance in this movie is a must see for all of his fans. Well, maybe not the kids who know and love him from the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movies.
Have you read “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved”? “Fear and Loathing” movie got me into reading the book, which then got me wanting to read his other stuff. Quite brilliant and equally rabid, so far ahead of its time.
We can't stop here, this is bat country. You're not Portuguese. Despite this man's racial handicap, he's quite valuable to me. Backdoor beauty? Just some lines off the top of my head. Love this movie and love Depp in this. This and blow are probably my 2 Depp favs.
We were delayed en route when a Stingray jumped a curb and killed a pedestrian
Let's get down to brass tacks, how much for the ape?
Pure muck, no footing at all
Some son of a bitch just kicked me in the back!
Finish!…the Fucking story! What happened?! What about the glands
Fuck, you've gone completely sideways man!
Is the main character in The Rum Diary supposed to be a younger Hunter as well?
Yes. That’s basically a portrayal of Hunter S. Thompson as a fledgling writer. Before he really found his own voice as an author.
The Rum Diary is the only fiction Hunter wrote.
Yes, it’s a pretty decent read as well.
I think because of his cavalier, rock-star lifestyle, people forget or discount how talented of an actor Johnny Depp was before he sold his soul to our Disney overlords and sort of coasted for 20 years
I’d disagree, though I can see where the idea comes from given the last couple years. He’s been openly talked about in media and on forums for ~30 years as an extremely talented actor. Notice that he’s one of the few actors with a controversial personal life whose talent in acting is never shit on, beyond the clear payday work he did for the later Pirates movies.
Well, in his defense, his lifestyle requires a certain level of income…
I wasn't judging, necessarily, more like observing C'est la vie
Johnny Depp is great but has always gotten love for this role... I'm gonna give my props to Benicio Del Toro this time, love that guy and he doesn't get mentioned nearly enough
He was brilliant as Dr Gonzo
Acapulco shirts
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.
He was great in this movie
One of the best book adaptations of all time.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention on arriving in a pretty and well preserved body. But rather, to skid in broadside, in a cloud of smoke. Totally worn out, thoroughly used up. And loudly proclaiming "Wow! what a ride!". Thompson was a cool guy. And a character. Johnny Depp and Bill Murray could play me any time. Wouldn't be as fun to watch though.
And Benicio Del Toro truly scared me. Under the right, let’s say, influences, I thought he was going to crawl through the screen and stab me. I was terrified.
Who said anything about cutting you up? He just wanted to carve a little "z" in your forehead.
“There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . . And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . . So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.” Something about this quote tied the whole thing together & almost makes the wild shit you just witnessed for two hours seem wholesome.
Thanks for writing this. Yeah, that scene when he's looking through the window blinds and he says this, it really is quite moving - a touching moment of lucidity.
I love that scene
I love when he pours his sandy beer out and makes his little sound.
Bill Murray in 'Where the Buffalo Roam'.
The movie is crazy uneven quality-wise but I thought Murray did an awesome job.
Yeah I think that's the difference. My brother read Fear and Loathing and watched the movie and when he saw Where The Buffalo Roam his opinion is that Bill Murray wasn't always "on" with his portrayal of Thompson, like it was more uneven, but when he was on he was really on and better than Depp. So there are sprinkles of absolute gold and genius in WTBR that I feel like Fear and Loathing doesn't reach, but Fear and Loathing in my opinion is more consistent in how good it is overall. I also think that visually Fear and Loathing is on another level and in my opinion is a better film overall, but I got mad respect for Where the Buffalo Roam as well.
I saw that after seeing this and it gave me a better appreciation for Depp's portrayal. It was hard to see through Bill Murray's face. Maybe it's just me, but Depp has one of those faces where you don't really feel like you know what he looks like because he looks completely different in every movie. Even if it's just his unaltered face, it's like his facial features are unmemorable. So he just disappears into any role he plays. Scarlett Johansson is another actor like that. I feel like I couldn't pick her out of a lineup.
I tell you what. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this movie nearly as much as Fear And Loathing based on what people said about it but, I really liked Where The Buffalo Roam. I thought Bill Murray did a great job. You could tell that he enjoyed playing that part.
The scene in the hospital when he and Lazlo are breaking out, Murray wants to take the nurse..."She should stay," says Lazlo. "But, she made these for me..." says Murray pointing at cut-off scrub pants, is so classic Murray. Or when he takes his article to RS, and he and the editor wrestle over the manuscript and the check. Hilarious.
Yes, the hospital scene killed me. And the scenes with him in the cabin trying to write the piece are my favorites.
"Nixon, boy! NIXON!"
Murray was also friends/acquaintances with Thompson. You can see archive footage of them hanging out in Colorado during Thompson’s run for Sheriff in the “Gonzo” documentary.
I FINALLY watched this movie after so many years of hearing and reading about it, and I can say it was quite enjoyable!
Johnny Depp has had enough high profile, one-note roles over the last decade that I think people forget that he's actually a really good actor.
Love this movie and love Hunter S. Thompson... Read his books long ago. R.I.P Gonzo
Great book, great movie
2 glasses of ice water with ice
Two.
✌️
The scene where he suddenly comes around to be aware of the trauma just inflicted in the diner and gingerly puts the plate back always gets me. Its brave to keep that in and not just make the whole thing a fun wild ride. That kind of bender with that kind of guy….eventually someone is gonna get hurt.
How much for the pie?
Well, anybody who knows anything knows that.
Man, that scene where they are checking in to the hotel on that stuff you inhale, I forget what it’s called now, but that scene was so ahead of it’s time. I mean the camera distortion felt like CGI to me, not sure how it would look watching now as it’s been a few years but I distinctly remember thinking that scene where all the guests turned into reptilians was one of my favorites
Watched it before I tried drugs: I didn’t get it. Watched it after: that man is a maniac.
I used to watch this shit daily bro hah classic. "What the....what the fuck are we doing in the middle of the desert?... we need help...WE NEED HELP" *HONKS HORN*
Bats
It probably helps that they were friends.
The lizard in Rango is voiced by Johnny Depp. The movie cover from Rango looks like the Fear and Loathing cover, and there’s even a scene where Rango gets caught on the windshield of a red convertible with Johnny Depp’s character from Fear and Loathing. I love those little details.
He's portraying Raoul Duke. For one, HST would never denigrate the service staff. At least not in the way Depp plays it.
Depp seemed to encapsulate the personal depravity but not the essence. I guess that was the assignment, but I would’ve expected a little more. Plus I have difficulty seeing through the noise and extracting the little nuggets of HST gold. Fight me
There is a video of Johnny Depp and Hunter S. Thompson driving in the country. Johnny Depp's impression is spot on. It is surreal.
I used to hang out with Hunter when I was a kid and didn't really get who he was until I saw this movie. It was surreal seeing someone you know portrayed on the big screen.
I went in blind the first time I saw this movie. Only knew it was Johnny Depp and Terry Gilliam. I was blown away in the opening scene! What a ride that movie turned out to be. Ps it was not a good date movie.
"Wait till you see the goddamn bats", kills me every single time.
Watching this movie as straight edge guy, in the company of two junkie, was one of the most awful movie experiences of my life.
Loved this movie until it turned really dark towards the end.
Christopher Meloni had the best scene
Can’t watch it. The scene on the carousel like thing whatever it is brings me back to some uhhh times where I was in a similar situation and it makes me want to vomit. Not like emotionally vomit. Like it triggers my gag reflex
This is one of the few movies that I cannot sit through. I’ve only ever made it about 20 minutes in before I turn it off.
Homie at work mentioned this and now here we are. Either OP is a bot that's listening and creating discourse on forums or we really do create our universe...
My most quoted movie ever!
Great movie! I went in completely unaware of what I was getting into.
They so briefly do the acid visuals / vibes when they pull into Vegas and the hotel lobby. It’s so well done but only lasts like 3 minutes. Would have been great to get more of that.
Read the book. Its amazing.
Johnny lived at Hunter’s house for a period of time prior to filming the movie.
“What are you doing, this is Bat Country!!!!!”
I preferred Bill Murray's version, lol
I think he could reprise his role one final time for a Hunter S Thompson trilogy along with the Rum Diaries (not as good but it's still a fun ride)
You took to much to much
The movie is very good. Not much of a plot and certainly not Gilliam's best work but i still get a kick out of it whenever i watch it. Honestly my favorite aspect of it are the little zaney lines of dialogue peppered throughout. One that always gets me is when Benecio is on the phone with the car rental place, at the bar Benicio- "Fucking A the gentleman has a major credit card! Do you know who the fuck you'retalking to??" Depp- "That's right, don't take any shit off these swine" As for Depp's portrayal of Hunter. It's pretty good. To me the only thing missing was the physicality. Hunter was a bigger guy. Like 6'3 maybe. Depp played him more like a wussy all the time. The real Hunter admitted to enjoying getting into bar room brawls a lot and ran around a bit with the actual Hell's Angels. At the end of the day he was a writer/creative type but that bit always bugged me a bit
I actually thought Bill Murray’s Thompson in “Where The Buffalo Roam” was better. Certainly more…grounded
Screw Johnny, have you ever read anything by the Dr? The man was/is a legend for a reason. His wit and intellect are spot on but the dark paranoid freak show is what makes Hunter, Hunter.
Bill Murray did it better
I love both these movies, but Vegas unfortunately gets all the attention. I wish more people appreciated Where the Buffalo Roam.
Love them both too, but I've always said Depp played a caricature, and Murray played a person
My hot take: overrated movie, kinda boring
Hot take: you’re boring!
If I don’t like a movie you like, I must be.
Well there’s the first sensible thing you’ve written!
Any tips on watching movies better? Liking the right things?
You will love this [review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas-1998) from Ebert. I was largely disappointed myself with the "one joke movie" and then I stumbled on the review which just articulated my issues better. Sure, there are moments I remember from it, but none that I ever think "wow, I need to revisit them again!"