Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas Analysis
Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas
“Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Has it been five years? Six? It seems like a lifetime, the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. But no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time in the world. Whatever it meant.” A poignant description of the peace movement of the 1960’s highlights a shining moment in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a film adaptation based on the novel of the same name written by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Though at its surface it seems to simply capture the highs and lows of a drug-fueled weekend in Sin City, Gilliam insists that the film engross you until you question your own lucidity.
Raoul Duke, the semi-autobiographical character based on Thompson, is outstandingly portrayed by Johnny Depp, who spent the months leading up to shooting the film living in Thompson’s basement in order to get a better feel for the character. Dr. Gonzo, played by Benicio Del Toro, is an overweight Samoan who Duke refers to as his …show more content…
Halfway through the film, Duke reflects on the youth movement of the 1960’s in San Francisco that united the country against the war in Vietnam and pushed for a more peaceful world. Though he is very aware that the 60’s are over and whatever momentum the “Make Love Not War” generation had was long since gone, Duke would rather over indulge in drugs and alcohol than face the cruel reality of the
“Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Has it been five years? Six? It seems like a lifetime, the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. But no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time in the world. Whatever it meant.” A poignant description of the peace movement of the 1960’s highlights a shining moment in Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a film adaptation based on the novel of the same name written by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. Though at its surface it seems to simply capture the highs and lows of a drug-fueled weekend in Sin City, Gilliam insists that the film engross you until you question your own lucidity.
Raoul Duke, the semi-autobiographical character based on Thompson, is outstandingly portrayed by Johnny Depp, who spent the months leading up to shooting the film living in Thompson’s basement in order to get a better feel for the character. Dr. Gonzo, played by Benicio Del Toro, is an overweight Samoan who Duke refers to as his …show more content…
Halfway through the film, Duke reflects on the youth movement of the 1960’s in San Francisco that united the country against the war in Vietnam and pushed for a more peaceful world. Though he is very aware that the 60’s are over and whatever momentum the “Make Love Not War” generation had was long since gone, Duke would rather over indulge in drugs and alcohol than face the cruel reality of the