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FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS/ WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM

From page 96 of Classic Rock Magazine October 2005

Cover of October 2005 issue.

Universal

Double-barrelled gonzo movie obnoxiousness.

Hellraising rock stars might aspire to emulate Keith Moon in their wildest dreams of how far is too far, but similarly inclined writers – at least in their more libertine moments – aspire to the excesses of Hunter S Thompson.

The self-styled Doctor of Journalism and undisputed father of gonzo journalism, who took his own life in February, would invariably become so personally involved in any story that he ‘covered’ that he became the story. Fuelled on a mind-bending cocktail of psychoactive substances and hard liquor, Thompson was a law unto himself and, try as they might, both of these films fall short of the evocative prose upon which they’re based. Terry Gilliam’s Fear And Loathing... comes closest to the anarchic spirit of Thompson, with Johnny Depp (as Gonzo) clinging to Gilliam’s intoxicating and frenetic direction for dear life, while Art Linson’s Where The Buffalo Roam (an early cinematic showcase for Bill Murray in the Thompson role) is clumsy. Both films do succeed in getting across Thompson’s undeniable obnoxiousness, but as primers for budding journalists, they’re fatally flawed. Rock magazines simply do not support such outrageous expenses claims. I know, I was that soldier.

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Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

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Where The Buffalo Roam Ian Fortnam