WTF Happened to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? 

This is my favorite movie of all time. Ever since I discovered it, my friends and I watch it annually. I became so obsessed with it I dressed as Hunter on a Halloween trip to Vegas, and never broke character all night. I was given several different, uh, candies from complete strangers because I was so into it. Still one of the best nights of my life.

A couple of personal experiences. Ok, I am old. I knew Hunter in 70's in Aspen. We would have drinks in the Hotel Jerome. It was convenient as I was the late night disk jockey on the local radio station in the basement where the studio was. That was the time before Aspen became super jet set. In the late 70's, I was living in Las Vegas. A local TV station had a culture critic criticize a proposed film of Hunter's book. I called the station and asked to respond. Unimaginable today, but back then the FCC had a rule to require that. Even so, to my surprise they accepted. So, as a relative amateur, I wrote a 2 minute text as they had asked and went to the studio. Basically I said that the film would be good for LV. They accepted it without change and recorded me saying it. Everyone was very nice. Even the critic I was responding to complemented me, a gracious fellow. Those days are long gone. I could add more humorous details, but that is the essentials.

“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Why do you keep calling him "gillam" it's "gilliam"

Hadn't been a fan of Johnny Depp, but his performance in this movie was incredible. It made me a fan

Who is Gillum ? I know the director and member of Monty Pythons, Terry Gilliam

Funny story…As a rebellious teen, I use to check the “after hours” return slot of my local video rental place for movies that got stuck half-way down…like Fear & Loathing. I had no idea what I was in for. After watching and re-watching it, I read the book, then every other HST book I could get my hands on…I’m just sorry to whoever accumulated all those late fees on the movie that was never returned…

Terry Gilliam, not Gillem. It drove me crazy!

The director's last name is pronounced GI * LEE * UHM, not Gil-Uhm!

Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era-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. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run . . . 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 and the world. Whatever it meant. . . . History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time-and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened. My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights-or very early mornings-when I left the Fillmore half-crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour wearing L. L. Bean shorts and a Butte sheepherder's jacket . . . booming through the Treasure Island tunnel at the lights of Oakland and Berkeley and Richmond, not quite sure which turn-off to take when I got to the other end (always stalling at the toll-gate, too twisted to find neutral while I fumbled for change) . . . but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I was: No doubt at all about that. . . . There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere. 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.

I felt so lucky to experience this in the theater, the whole 5 days it was in there. This enshrined Depp and Del Toro in my heart forever. #GonzoLives

Terry Gilliam is a legend, a creative genius and deserves better.

I was really impressed with Depp's ability to get Thompson's character so accurately. His close study while living with Thompson was demonstrably the right method to use for pinning all the nuances of the author.

Gillium => Gill-i-um and umbrage => um-ber-age

It's gill-ee-um, not gill-um.

It’s pronounced GILLYAM not GILLUM

Gilliam, NOT "Gillam"!

Fear & Loathing is one of my all time favorite films and became a defining movie of my generation in high school. While it wasn't shown at any of my local theaters, I grabbed it the day it was released on VHS and began introducing all of my stoner friends to the weird, wild world of Hunter S Thompson one by one, until all of us were quoting it daily. It is THE definitive drug movie imo, and Johnny Depps portrayal of Thompson is one of the greatest performances of all time. He was spot on after spending so much time living with the enigmatic author and embodied the gonzo persona HST invented through his prose. It affected Depp so deeply that you could see shades of the character in every role he had for years after. Despite Hunter being a unique, memorable and iconic character, Adapting HSTs work is a difficult and daunting task (see also: Where the Buffalo Roam and Rum Diary), but Gilliam and Depp nailed it. I cant imagine a better final product than what we got.

It’s gill-ee-um not gillem lol

I watched the movie 2 times sober and didn't know what I am even looking at, the 3rd time I watched it while doling shrooms, my mind was blown and I understood EVERYTHING. One of my most favorite movies of all time and I rewatch it at least once a year!

It's Terry Gill - ee - um not Terry Gill - um ffs...

This movie is a time gem and cult classic. The movie is designed to really mess with you when you are under the influence. If you ever watch this movie on any hard drugs or hallucinogenics the movie will mess with you if you focus on it. The director intentionally used color, camera angles and obscure scenes to mess with your mind when altered. Its a hidden masterpiece. Hunter Thompson lived a life no one did.

One of my favourite films ever! I honestly have watched it at least 100 times. Incredible performances, hilarious dialogue and very authentic depiction of drug taking. Love it

I read the book a few years before the movie after it being referenced in an episode of Blossom of all things. Later I saw Hunter on Charlie Rose talking about how it was being adapted for film and I waited anxiously. I dragged two curious enough friends out to see it on opening day. We were the only 3 people in the theater.

A Scanner Darkly could use more attention these days, it's definitely not as fun as Fear and loathing but it's a classic in its own right. Fantastic cast and performances as well, written by a great author

I am surprised to hear that it was a failure at the box office, I remember it being a much buzzed about film when it came out, and I loved it! The opening scene is just like how I visualized it when I read the book years earlier!

Man, an animated fear and loathing would have been awesome. You can exaggerate a lot through cartoons.

To accurately mimic the effects of the drugs cinematically; that's dedication.. adds to the trippy experience. Love the movie. Also love how much Hunter S Thompson appreciated Depp's narration, I've always felt the narration added the glue that kept this fever dream together. Great directing job by Terry GILLIAM..

Roger Ebert: "Seal Beach" Benedict Cumberbatch: "Pen-goo-in" Joblo: "Gillem"

This was one of my favorite movies! Brilliant! Johnny was the best Hunter S Thompson! ❤😊

I couldn't see anyone other than Depp and Del Toro playing the leads. I remember going to an art house theater in 98 to watch this with my GF. I was memorized with the movie. My GF hated it only went cause Depp was in it. I hadn't read the book and bought it that day in the Barnes and Noble that was next door. I went down the rabbit hole with Thompson. That Halloween i dressed as Gonzo and my buddy dressed as Thomson and went to all the college parties at our school

You never actually called out the cameo with Hunter S. Thompson and the brilliant line: "Mother of god! There I am"

who's Terry Gillum? i mean, how could they get his name wrong SO many times? sheesh

I don't know how script writing was so difficult for this film, the finished product is almost entirely word for word with the book

I never got a chance to see this in theaters because it just slipped under my radar. I discovered it on vhs. It was such a weird mind trip of a film. It really felt like a flow of thought, each scene just flowing to the next with no rhyme or reason. It’s a disorienting flick that mimics the disorientation of Thompson. It was funny, insane, troubling… I have never used hard drugs but watching it made me feel like I was. To that end I think the movie delivers on what the director wanted. I swear I watched that vhs enough times it wore out the tape.

Once the cops busted in they found captains of football, baseball and basketball. All setting on my couches, with heads full of mushrooms and acid and weed that we converted into pudding .We were all watching Fear and Lothing.Then we all went to jail. This movie is one of the best ever made.

What is there to say about this movie that hasn't already been said?. It was and is one of my favorite off-the-wall movies of all time. " Buy the ticket take the ride."

It didn't do well simply because of timing. If it had been released in late 60s or early 70s, people would have reacted like I did with,"Oh,crap,I've felt exactly like that!". I can even remember a late night decision to drive to the beach in the middle of the night while doing acid. Picked up a hitchhiking preachers kid and gave him a hit before dropping him off in the middle of nowhere! When the film came out it wasn't "hip" anymore. Like doing a film about roller blades 10 years after everyone forgets what it was.

I loved hearing that Hunter S Thompson was mortified by Gary Buseys' portrayal of the sheriff. A magical collision.

The Busey improvisation is most certainly part-and-parcel with his absolutey insane reputation both back in the day, and nowadays.

Imagine your job is talking about movies and not being able to pronounce people's names correctly.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was the first Thompson book I read and the first book that made me laugh so hard I was crying. I fully knew what those situations were like being an acid head myself. I actually screened the movie in the theater the day it opened. That said, the movie absolutely blows "where the buffalo roam" out of the water. And Dr. Thompson was involved with both. But Depp is hands down a better Dr. Gonzo than Murray. And the story is true to the book, not a conglomeration of stories like WTBR.

It sounds good to say that Thompson made up "Adrenochrome", but it existed in writings from a much earlier time.

its gilliam, not gillum

In the early 2000s you'd constantly see some tripped out dudes referring to each other as "my attorney". At least here.

I remember thinking about going to see Fear and Loathing with my friends. We started talking about the high cost of tickets and snacks, then the conversation turned to the added cost of party favors we'd want to consume prior to heading into the theater. Then somebody suggested that going to see it could be "a set up" and people might have too much fun in the theater and police would be called and search and siezure activity might follow and everyone would ultimately get arrested. The conversation kind of turned into a Fear and Loathing scene after that. So, we didn't go. We had a watch party at home when it came out on dvd instead. No high ticket and snack prices, no arrests, and no paranoia involved. I suspect many people had similar discussions. 😂

Please say Terry Gilliam's surname correctly. There is a second I in it. Driving me mad!

..."petered out a the end"...Kind of like the hopeful aspirations of the sixties

Somebody order some golf shoes. Can’t walk in this filth… No footing at all.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies, it’s just so bizarre and unique in a way, I’ve never seen since, it really is a one of a kind movie

I feel like you're not pronouncing "Gilliam" correctly.

I love when he says" im getting the fear"my buddies and i would always say this"dude, im getting the fear"

19:50 A picture of Ralph Steadman? That' not a self portrait.

When I was in college and took a film class, this was 1 of the required film to watch

Rarely is an adaptation to film of a novel done so well and so accurately. Not that I KNEW THAT when I kinda-sorta watched it for the first three HUNDRED times, as I - like 90% of everyone else kinda-sorta watching it - was high as a space tickling kite at the time.

i saw this movie twice in theater back in the day . if you're not into that lifestyle it would be hard to relate . I've watched it with straight people they don't get it .first time seeing it i realized I've been that kid they pick up hitchhiking . [" just admiring the sharp of your skull "- things dangerous people you just meet might say ]. seeing it again years later i realized i've been every one in that car (i've been the car , i might i have been the road. my brother said i'm the scenery )

best author, best director, best actors, best movie.

A masterpiece in every respect of film making!

That is why we ❤that ingenious Monty Python cartoonist Terry Gilliam - Because he doesn't back down on details. In fact, what I just wrote is almost an understatement. He fights for them with claws, teeth, piss and vinegar, often driving everybody else up the walls in the process. BTW... "Where The Buffalo Roam" - not WTF happened to that, but rather... WT-flying-F WAS that?!? - I still haven't been able to watch it in its entirety, or at least not without falling asleep... and I mean, it's Bill freakin' Murray... How is that even possible?!?

God, I’ve loved this movie since it came out, one of my favorites

Adrenachrome is not fictional.

A lot of people find the movie to intense, and if they have never taken any drugs, they kind of don't 'get it' I love this movie, one of the greats.

Adrenachrome is in a clockwork orange

Gill-I(E)-AM

Fear and Loathing is my all-time favourite film... Withnail and I my 2nd. "So there I was... sweet Jesus, there I am.".

Such a great movie. You’re missing out if you haven’t seen it.

And the Drug Film disappeared like all films of any genre.. Anything with Something to Say is SMASHED.. There's like a Handful of Directors There is No Modern Film PTAnderson Cohen Brothers Martin Herzog Jarmusch NWReffin Wes Anderson Eggers Quinton the Safdie brothers.. Not Really a modern Spielberg or just big time films that appeal to a wide base or crossection eh.. just CGI marvel butchered nightmares who owe Nolan for there time in the sun.. lol it's to the point where I gotta drive to the next state to see the French dispatch or the master lol America is fucked

GILLIAM did such a brilliant job. He created the best depiction of the sensation and visuals of Tripping in a place like LV! I wouldn't recommend do it there for anything

I remember taking shrooms at a homies house and his mom had the dvd of this, the box art and Depp sold me. Been one of my favorite films ever since

The acid scene is totally accurate for a good strong hallucination in an uncertain setting. There were places in my wild youth I would not venture while visually impaired and it was usually down to someone's choice of decor. Depp's portrayal of Thompson is so accurate and he looks 100% the part.

Adrenochrome, is very real.

The first time I saw this also happened to be the first time I tripped on acid. The colors seemed to bleed out into my reality and I had to take a couple breaks. Watching it again sober was a completely different experience

The best drug movie that only makes sense if youve done psychedelics before. Must watch. Repeatedly.

I recently rewatched this move, after seeing clips of it on RU-vid for years. It's a pure fever dream. Definitely a unique movie, but I dare anyone try to watch this while high. Mind would not only be blow, but would fly away entirely.

Definitely my favorite movie. I also liked rum diary and where the buffalo roam. I have all Thompsons books….

This is probably the most underrated movie ever. Its in my top 5 movies of all time. Its so freaking smart and well acted. Its funny and profound. Its amazing.

Most folks in the theater didn't get what was going on because they didn't read the book or any of HST's other works. Me and my buddy laughed our asses off. Depp and Del toro were a tour de force in this movie.

How do you comunicate so much beauty? It's Incredible. I just look at it and it brings me to tears. Because I'm looking at it and I'm looking at myself. Yeah you've never really seen porn until you've seen it on WTF happened to fear and loathing in Las Vegas. Until you recognize that it's you and that's basically what Infinity is. Sort of like I love you, no I love you, no I love you, no I love you, no I love you more, I love you more, I love you more. Who can love who more? And whoever can love who more is God. You see that long laundry list of stuff about you that you don't love. God loves all of it. I'm sorry for not loving more, that's the only thing you have to be sorry about. Thank you. Thank You For Love! And at this point you realize that that's it, that's the point. That's the only lesson in life. That's my only job. Is to love. Everything else is idiocy and then what you do is you say I love you. For the first time in your life you say I love you because you really understand what that phrase means and you fall in love with God. But as it throws it out there, it's gentle so he throws it out there but then you say oh I can't love it and then what God will say in return is, it's okay. I love that you are not capable of love. I love that. And when that hits you. That's what fills you with enough love to overcome your resistance to love even that next level thing that you could do. No it can't be love. Of course it's love! what else could it be! It's love! No oh my God this is impossible! Of course it's love how could it be anything else!? How could I be so stupid as to think it's anything else. And God is like of course it's love.

I saw the Las Vegas film adaptation in the theater when it came out. Tripping on ‘shrooms with my friend Alex. Sophomore year of college. It was a really weird trip. My friend Alex somehow, fell asleep!

It's ironic that Jack Nicholson nearly portrayed Thompson, as the two were briefly neighbors in Woody Creek, Colorado and strongly disliked each other. Especially following a series of crazy pranks Thompson played on Nicholson, including leaving a bloody elk heart on his doorstep.

I loved this movie, saw it in theaters and bought in on VHS and then on DVD. It was a crazy ride and did the book justice. I knew the first time I saw it that it wouldn't do well, it was just too intense for a time when people were watching crap like American Pie.

Kind of interesting to see how the role of Raul Duke never left Depp. It really shows it's influence in Pirates of the Caribbean.

One of my all time favourites, watched it in Uni which was the perfect time to see it. I love the Withnail and I connection as that is also up there. If it had have had a Cohen brothers/Big Lebowski connection that may have blown my mind and turned my top 3 favourite (Non horror) movies into a trilogy.

Loved this movie from first viewing. And while this video was well researched with lots of new tid bits to learn, I only wish the narrator could learn how to pronounce Terry Gilliam's name properly. It's Gilliam, not Gilham.

This movie is a masterclass. Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro are brilliant here.

I dunno man, I would have called this a cult classic 20 years ago. We all loved it when it came out and my first housemate used to watch it every day and read all Hunter's books and shit. It was quite a surprise to learn from the internet that it supposedly wasn't popular. Of course, I don't know anyone that saw it at the movies so..

Definitely one of my all time favorites. It's great while stoned, but somehow it's even better when sober.

Criterion Collection knew what was up. Still got my og Criterion dvd version as well as the Criterion Blu-ray. The box art is one of my favorite from them!

I didn't know this movie was considered a flop, OMG its a masterpiece of film making in my opinion this goes beyond being a great film and is truly art in film I love it one of the all-time greats if you like "Fear and Loathing" look for a Bill Murrey movie called "where the buffalo roam" its also about Hunter another great movie not as good as F&L IMHO but still very good. done more in a slapstick style for the time of production

Adrenochrome is NOT a fictional substance and HST didn't "make it up". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenochrome

Saw it in theatre with buddy we were both on 3 hits of LSD talk about crazy experience. Luckily, we were only 2 in show

Adrenachrome is not made up, my man

Apart from some funny dialogue, this is nothing more than a pointless drug flick with no redeeming qualities. Even while high I found it pretty impotent.

what the fuck would ralph bakshi do with the material BUT turn it in to a cartoon (a realm he is god of)? i never even thought of the film as a failure since it was more of an art project anyways (i mean look at the talent), and as such it exposed TONS of people to thompson and his work that never would have given it half a thought. it seems to me it was a movie aimed at a generation and as such that alone alienates other generations to a degree, so i dont think getting rich was EVER the goal here.

Adrenochrome isn't "fictional" and Thompson didn't "make it up" it does yourself a big miss service to not do the research

Because that movie was VERY hot or miss with the general population, leaning far into the miss side. That movie was aimed at a highly esoteric audience. And those within the circle, like myself, thought it was an awesome movie

I haven't seen Fear & Loathing for some years. But it's definitely a trippy classic. Puts me in mind of "Naked Lunch". Another masterpiece of psychedelic weirdness.

Watch where the Buffalo Roam, with Bill Murray playing Hunter.

This movie didn't become a cult classic in this generation. It was already a cult classic 20 years ago in the 2000s.

I saw that movie late 90ties nearly every day none stop except for some Portishead Roseland NYC live 😄