01-21-2008, 07:39 PM
Sundance: Gonzo
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
I’ve long been in love with the work of Hunter S. Thompson, if not necessarily the man himself, so it was with much enthusiasm that I lined up with the press for a documentary about his life. Alex Gibney’s documentary mixes selected re-enactments of Thompson’s work, narrated by Johnny Depp reading directly from the pages of Hunter’s books, with old footage of the man himself.
If as I am, you’re a fan of Thompson, there’s plenty here to grab your attention. But it’s hard not to notice that the best moments in the movie happen when Johnny Depp is simply reading Thompson’s words. We could have gotten that same pleasure by simply picking up “Fear and Loathing” and reading it ourselves.
It’s also somewhat baffling that a movie called “The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson” skips over nearly 30 years of his life. The film’s narrative jumps from the mid-70s to his death in 2005, ignoring middle-aged Hunter and missing out on paying tribute to later released, brilliant Thompson work like “The Rum Diary”. They spend so much time languishing over Hunter in the 70s and drawing obvious parallels between his fight against Nixon and the current state of the world that the film never really lives up to its title.
Original article
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
I’ve long been in love with the work of Hunter S. Thompson, if not necessarily the man himself, so it was with much enthusiasm that I lined up with the press for a documentary about his life. Alex Gibney’s documentary mixes selected re-enactments of Thompson’s work, narrated by Johnny Depp reading directly from the pages of Hunter’s books, with old footage of the man himself.
If as I am, you’re a fan of Thompson, there’s plenty here to grab your attention. But it’s hard not to notice that the best moments in the movie happen when Johnny Depp is simply reading Thompson’s words. We could have gotten that same pleasure by simply picking up “Fear and Loathing” and reading it ourselves.
It’s also somewhat baffling that a movie called “The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson” skips over nearly 30 years of his life. The film’s narrative jumps from the mid-70s to his death in 2005, ignoring middle-aged Hunter and missing out on paying tribute to later released, brilliant Thompson work like “The Rum Diary”. They spend so much time languishing over Hunter in the 70s and drawing obvious parallels between his fight against Nixon and the current state of the world that the film never really lives up to its title.
Original article
) and Buy the Ticket. Was there really a need for another movie if it just hit the same parts? I'm about to attempt to read the book titled the same as as above. It should prove insightful and interesting... perhaps more than the movie, eh?