Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Introduction

Hunter Stockton Thompson was a journalist, reporter, author, (counter) cultural icon and the creator of Gonzo journalism. Always searching for the American Dream, he followed Presidential hopefuls, joined the Hell's Angels and trawled around Las Vegas, finding fear and loathing everywhere. Through his articles in Rolling Stone, he just about made deadlines but pushed boundaries, writing about all aspects of American Life, becoming part of it before his suicide in 2005. 

My favourite description of Thompson is from Norman Mailer's book The Fight. He was, like Thompson, in Zaire to cover the George Foreman-Muhammad Ali fight but Thompson hated the place and famously spent the duration of the 'Rumble in the Jungle' in his hotel pool drinking whiskey. Of Thompson, Mailer wrote:
"He perspired. That was the sole price he seemed to pay for swallowing more chemicals to bring him up and take him down than any good living writer. He could probably drink more beer than all but a hundred men alive. He obviously possessed a memorable constitution. By now, however, he was so strung out that he squeaked if you poked a finger near his belly. He was a set of nerves balanced on another set of nerves travelling on squeaky roller skates. Here to cover the fight for Rolling Stone, he hated the heavenly raptures of all who were here to be happy for the fight. He hated the assignment. Hunter took one look at Kinshasa and tried to charter a plane to Brazzaville."

Alex Gibney, award-winning director of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Taxi to the Darkside, went through the extensive archives of Thompson's writings, audio recordings, TV appearances and other documentary and film pieces to compile this feature with myriad interviewees and material to make, as best he could, something that comprehensively covers the good doctor's life and work.

Video

An extremely clear widescreen picture with terrific use of montage, recreation and green screen - Thompson's first wife is one of the most prominent speakers and she was filmed against green screen so events unfold behind her as she talks about her ex-husband and what he did through the decades.

Audio

The soundtrack is superb with great thought going into the source music - songs from such artists as Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane and The Rolling Stones feature throughout alongside all the interviews and archive footage. Gibney and his crew tracked down some rare recordings, including Thompson and Oscar Acosta at a taco stand and these are either played with shots of the speakers or used as part of a recreation. Johnny Depp acts as narrator with his uncanny ability to inhabit Thompson's words and he is either seen reading directly from the book or not at all, with his words appearing over the film.

Extra Features

The commentary by Alex Gibney (to be found in the Set Up section) is interesting, though much of what he says is covered in the film. He does talk about how the film was made and where the material was sourced from, which is of interest.

There is an interview with him where the questions appear as intertitles and this is revealing and worth a watch.

Illustrating how much material he had to choose from is the extended/deleted scenes and extra interview footage, together clocking in at nearly an hour. The volume varies throughout the interviews, as does the clarity.

There is also a song inspired by the film, the trailer, a raft of images and photographs plus a selection of Ralph Steadman's work.

Conclusion

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson was an incredible writer, an amazing person and, given the amount of drink, drugs and cigarettes he went through, it's amazing that he lived long enough to kill himself. I thought I was familiar with his work but this is a real eye-opener, showing how much he wrote and for how long.

That the project started when Thompson was still alive says something about the lengths Gibney went to and it must've been a monumental task to edit it down to the two hour running time. The editing is terrific and Alison Ellwood did a tremendous job with all the different material and music, keeping the pace and energy high throughout the film. It could have been more thorough about certain periods in his life, going into more detail, but then it would have been twice the length!

This a must watch for any fan of Thompson's work, even if you just like the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now, where did I put his books - they need re-reading.