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As Raoul Duke and his "attorney," Dr. Gonzo, travel across the physically and psychologically arid Nevada desert, we watch the flower-power generation wash away - "White Rabbit" 60s to "White Wedding" 80s. As personified by Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, these two are a tsunami-esque force to be reckoned with: They aren't simple personifications of stereotypes - they are wigged out, completely insane nomads searching for truth in a bleary-eyed land of unclear intentions and menacing societal inevitabilities.

Depp's performance is simply revelatory: His countless hours soaking in the essence of Thompson - staying at his home for months, listening to him speak, watching him move - pays off in a wonderfully zany caricature, a portrait of a man both unencumbered by societal limitations and secretly hopeful for familial solidarity with the friends and foes he encounters along the way. And Del Toro is clinically insane - by the time he hooks up with a seriously deranged Barbra Streisand portrait-painter (Christina Ricci) in a pink pink pink hotel room that eventually gets destroyed in a monsoon of drug-induced excess, he's taken his rich character and turned it into something more than it's ever been: He's no less than an inimitable, terrible, mesmerizing beast.

But the really exceptional thing about Gilliam's Fear and Loathing is that it has aged very well. It has only been a few short years, but what may have looked in 1998 like an overzealous attempt to enthrall today reads as a fervent, effervescent stylistic comment on both 70s-era everything- goes nihilism and today's hollow multiplex cinema. Yet such an esoteric response to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a minority, for it had little impact as a commercial picture. According to, well, pretty much everyone who saw it during its initial release, the film is just about the worst-received of anything Hollywood has dropped in a long time. No one saw it, but most film critics waged war against it, claiming its was aimless, formless and not deserving of the book or Thompson. However, The Rocky Horror Picture Show was a grade-A flop when it was released, and look at the cult following it has gone on to amass. One can only hope this extraordinary new Criterion DVD edition helps fire a similar fervency in a small but devoted cult of people who have discovered this ingenious and hilarious film.

Those who share my affinity for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - there may not be many of us, but we do exist, don't you worry - will explode in ecstasy with this DVD edition, a smooth-packaged double-disc with more goodies and well-transferred elements than you're likely to find anywhere else. If you hated it back in '98, you may still hate it today - but give this DVD a rent and I think you'll find that it isn't quite as bad as you thought. And for those who loved the picture, I can't think of a better addition to your home entertainment shelf.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Superb. In full-tilt 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen glory, Criterion has hit it out of the park: The film's color palette may not be as dynamic as some other of Gilliam's films - most of this picture is light blue sky and desert sand yellow - but the pitch perfect quality of this transfer is absolutely excellent. Blacks are rock solid, with generally superb detail - even the darkest scenes reveal very fine shadow delineation and textures. The only caveat to this presentation is some slight edginess to the image, and perhaps a noticeable compression artifact or two. Top of the line.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Equally splendid. This new. 5.1 Dolby Digital mix is solid and robust, as is the striking DTS track also included. From the rumbling rowdiness of the film's rock n' roll to the subtle, eerie atmospheric effects that linger in the surround channels, both mixes due justice to the picture's exceptional sound design. Dynamic range is expansive, both warm and spacious across both the midrange and the highs. Separation is excellent across the front three channels, with dialogue sharp and crisp and some very nice stereo effects. The DTS track is especially dynamic, with added scope - transparency is a bit improved, and there is additional heft to the low end. A+.

English subtitles and English Closed Captions are also included.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

This two-disc set is huge, and a a cult film lover's wet dream - commentary after commentary and tons of making-of material. Like Criterion's edition of Gilliam's Brazil, this is not just a nice DVD, it is a definitive portrait of a strikingly important film Whether you like it or not....

Let's start with disc one and no less than And there are no less than three screen-specific audio commentaries, all of them topnotch. First there's the Gilliam track, which keeps up his track record for stellar commentaries: His candor and inherent (if dry) wit is matched only by his detailed knowledge of the material and insight into the boundaries and nuances of his vision. A must-listen for Gilliam fans. Then we have one from star Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, and producer Laila Nabuki, and their perspective on the film and it's long road to the screen - Nabuki had been trying to get the movie made for more than ten years, and Depp and Del Toro had obvious inclinations toward the subject matter - as well as sly anecdotes about taboo parts of the making of this rare beast: For once, here's an actors' commentary that isn't one-note and self-serving, but genuinely reverent. Last but by all means not least is the Hunter S. Thompson commentary. This simply must be heard to be believed. He has executives from Criterion and Fear and Loathing producers around him, trying to rope him into making coherent and applicable comments about the film adaptation of his book, but the real magic of this track is the way he flies off the handle. Scripted or not, his appearance here is mighty strange and endlessly entertaining. A classic.

Next up are a handful of energetic deleted scenes, most rather short accounts that may have added a bit of tone and mood to the picture, but were not quite of the same caliber as the rest. They're nice to see, but not imperative to the movie. The real gem is the optional commentary by Gilliam explaining why they were cut, what they were supposed to have meant. Exceptional.

Now, onto disc two. First off, we have a comprehensive collection of storyboards and production designs, some of them Gilliam's, some of them remnants from earlier incarnations of the project. We also have a more traditional still gallery with production photos and behind-the-scenes snapshots of mayhem. Most interesting here is the addition of a selection of Hunter S. Thompson correspondence that Johnny Depp reads aloud on camera for over fifteen minutes. Cigarette in hand, Depp leafs through the most enigmatic and indicative letters Thompson sent him before, during, and after the film's production. Between the hilarious material and Depp's ease in recitation, this extra is a funny, odd, and sometimes strangely emotionally affecting supplement.

Also included is a featurette and a documentary: First is Hunter Goes To Hollywood a short (but sweet) video from Wayne Ewing documenting the trek of Thompson's "unfilmable" book to the silver screen; second is the even better Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood, a very impressive 1978 BBC documentary that follows Ralph Steadman and Hunter S. Thompson (for real) as they drive from Vegas to Hollywood. Fascinating and almost worth the price of admission alone.

But wait, there's more. Next we have a short audio interview about the controversy that greeted the film's screenplay (this DVD is the first time Gilliam and his co-writer, Tony Grisoni, will get the co- writing credit they justly deserved all along). It's a long story, if you haven't heard it already, but Gilliam's frankness and emotional frustration with Hollywood red tape make this a confounding, eventually invigorating testament to sticking to your guns amid all the Hollywood silliness. Next are two unique collections of rare still material: One chronicling Oscar Zora Acosta, the basis for Bencico Del Toro's Dr. Gonzo character, the other showcasing Ralph Steadman's freaky and disorienting artwork. Also, there are excerpts from the 1996 Fear and Loathing audio CD with spoken word from Maury Chaykin, Jim Jarmusch and Harry Dean Stanton.

Rounding out this mega-set is the film's original theatrical trailer (with commentary by Gilliam which is, not surprisingly, marvelous) and multiple TV spots. The studio was so desperate that they tried selling the film to all different demographics, and this assortment is a splendid amalgamation of both advertising ingenuity and Hollywood desperation. Last but not least is a sizable booklet featuring an essay on the importance of the film and the book by critic J. Hoberman, as well as two works by Thompson (one of them being the introduction to his Fear and Loathing). Whew!

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts