Scene Selections — Geoff Carter: ‘Fear and Loathing’ careens to DVD

Friday, March 28, 2003 | 8:39 a.m.

Geoff Carter is a Seattle based free-lance film critic and entertainment writer. Reach him at carter@pre2k.com.

"Our trip was different. It was to be a classic affirmation of everything right and true in the national character ... a gross physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country. But only for those with true grit."

With these immortal words, the protagonists of Terry Gilliam's twisted film of Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," now available as a feature-packed two-disc DVD set from Criterion ($39.95), begin a Vegas weekend that is unequalled in its epic, paranoid scope.

It's a must-see for any Las Vegan who has enough of that aforementioned true grit to endure a few satirical jabs at our way of life, scattered liberally through a first-class freakout.

The premise is deceptively basic. The year is 1971, and two larger-than-life characters -- Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp), a paranoid journalist, and Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro), a hulking Samoan lawyer -- come to Vegas to cover the Mint 400 road race in a "fire-apple red" convertible with a trunk full of illicit drugs. They destroy hotel rooms, terrify "the help," collect a strange assortment of characters and leave as noisily as they came.

Only when you look beyond the drug use and conspicuous consumption do you find the symbolism that lines "Fear and Loathing's" backbone -- Thompson's wistful eulogy for the idealism of the '60s, now long gone.

"There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing (in the '60s) was right," Thompson wrote. "Five years later, you can climb a steep hill in Vegas ... and see where the wave broke and rolled back."

Gilliam shapes Thompson's highly visual prose into a series of relentless, dizzying set pieces that owe as much to his own "Brazil" as they do the source material. The Criterion Collection DVD includes a Gilliam commentary track in which the director defends his visual and storytelling choices, shares his perspective on our town (like Thompson, he sees it as a metaphor for America) and talks about the challenges of making Vegas look like it did in 1971.

His isn't the only opinion to be had. Stars Depp and Del Toro share a commentary with producer Laila Nabulsi. And in a real coup for Criterion and the "Fear and Loathing" aficionado, Thompson himself contributes a third commentary track.

Producer Nabulsi has to fight to keep Thompson on subject -- he changes topics, makes annoying sounds and stops to make crank calls -- but nevertheless, it's a fun listen, and has a strange resonance in these new, strange days.

If you've seen "Fear and Loathing" and didn't get it, the Criterion Collection DVD will put the film in perspective for you. If you're a fan of the film, it will reinforce your enjoyment of the work. And if you've never see one of the best films ever made about Las Vegas, now's the time to take the trip.

Just be sure, as Thompson would say, that your heart is young and strong before you hop onto this crazy ride.