Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas [null]

Video:
I was asked by a few people to bring along my Xbox 360 and HD-DVD player to try to persuade them to make the move to the fledgling format. The two films I took to the new tech screening were "Peter Jackson´s King Kong," "The Searchers" and "Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas." My HDTV set is not particularly large, so I was overjoyed at the prospect of watching a couple high definition films on a 60" + television screen. My efforts were successful, as two of the four people have now purchased HD-DVD players. Regardless, I took "King Kong" along to showcase the format, but was surprised at how good of quality "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" was in high definition. One would not expect a film of this variety from 1998 to be as stunning as it is in high definition, but it truly is a good transfer.

Its 2.35:1 VC-1/1080p image is extremely good. Universal has done an admirable job since the format´s launch day in providing stellar transfers. "Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas" is no exception. The film is colorful and its ´drug´ moments are full of scenery and color. There are reds, greens and blues to every degree. Some scenes are light and others are very dark. The film truly does feature a rainbow of color and the transfer holds up perfectly. Shadow detail is superb, as is picture detail. The only complaint was during the sandstorm that took place during the Mint 400. But what do you expect for a sandstorm? It´s dusty after all. I truly was blown away by the quality of the film and after seeing the glory of HD-DVD on a massive television – I wish I could fit one into my screening room.

Sound:
Picture quality was not the only surprise delivered by "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." The soundtrack was another pleasant surprise. Dolby TrueHD 5.1 is featured on the disc and where other more deserving titles from Universal such as "King Kong" and "The Hulk" have not been graced with the format, this little film is. And it sounds superb! Again, the ´drug´ sequences are good displays of what HD-DVD can do and the TrueHD audio delivers in spades. In addition to the TrueHD track, Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 in provided for English and a Dolby Digital Plus 2.0 mix is included for Spanish and French speaking folk. The film is dialogue heavy and even during the most intense audio moments, the film holds up nicely. All six channels burst with sound throughout the film. The surrounds have a lot to say and the bass thumps heavily. The soundtrack helps Terry Gilliam achieve the success he had in bringing this material to life and the sound design department deserves kudos and should be thanking HD-DVD for doing such a wonderful job with their work.

Extras:
The DVD of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" that is part of my collection is the Criterion release, which is one of the most successful releases for that DVD dignitary. The Criterion release features a number of commentary tracks and hours of bonus materials that are sorely missed on this Universal HD-DVD release. The Deleted Scenes from the Criterion and Universal DVD release are included here. These three scenes run for a few minutes, but doesn´t necessarily add anything to the picture but has a few unique moments that top anything kept in the theatrical release. A very brief Spotlight on Location featurettes is tossed in and takes a look at Hunter S. Thompson. This is a weak supplement that glosses over the complex subject matter all too briefly. Finally, a theatrical trailer completes the short list of features. One wishes for more, but this reviewer is content that the film has been released already on a next generation format.

Closing Comments:
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" could be considered a cult classic. It is certainly unique. I have been following Terry Gilliam and his films ever since I was first introduced to the classic "Brazil" on Criterion LaserDisc. The American member of Monty Python has an different take on life and it shows in his films. If it is a Terry Gilliam Film, it is a unique film. Hunter S. Thompson´s book may very well be the most demanding and interesting source material tackled by the director. I have heard of those that do not like the film and I know of at least one person that absolutely worships the movie. In three words – it´s worth seeing. The HD-DVD release is surprisingly top-notch in both sound and video and I loved seeing the film on a very large television and enjoyed the sound when I witnessed the TrueHD soundtrack in my own screening room. The supplements are lackluster and I hope that either Universal will work out a deal with Criterion and revisit the film down the line.

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