Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: A documentary thrill ride into the mind of a mad genius

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Director commentary.
• Promotional info about the film’s accompanying book, box set of Thompson’s personal tapes, and soundtrack (which features Lou Reed, Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, James Brown, Warren Zevon, Brewer & Shipley, and a song by Thompson and Steadman — not too shabby!).
• A collection of Steadman’s illustrations of Thompson, many of which viewers may recognize from the Fear and Loathing book.
• Photo galleries, including many self-portraits and pictures taken during his interviews with Hell’s Angels and his trips to South America and the Big Sur. It also collects photocopies of his letters, journals, certificates, and licenses.
• Sound excerpts from the Gonzo Tapes — recordings taken in Las Vegas from which Thompson pieced together Fear and Loathing. Basically it’s just Thompson (”Raoul Duke” in the book) and his lawyer, Oscar Acosta (”Dr. Gonzo”), rambling about finances, telegrams, booze, drugs, and women.
• Deleted scenes, including home movie footage of Thompson playing football outside his Colorado ranch (in his usual short shorts, despite there being snow on the ground); a candid interview concerning Watergate and the Nixon administration; and a bizarre segment with Steadman in drag — his lips and the surrounding area smothered in lipstick, his head covered in a curly, white wig — in which he explains how his own artistry helped Thompson understand himself and fostered his journalistic creativity.
• A ton of extended interviews with his family, editors, friends, and politicians. My favorites are the ones that shed some light on Thompson’s contradictions: how Thompson loved guns and was a lifelong member of the NRA but utterly detested their Republican affiliation; how he constantly abused drugs and alcohol but liked to smoke with a cigarette holder to filter out a bit of tar; how he ridiculed stumbling drunkards but was notorious for being one himself. Another fun interview was with Tom Wolfe (author of Bonfire of the Vanities (1987) and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968)). Wolfe’s recollection of how Thompson honked a deafening marine horn in the middle of a crowded restaurant shows how the man was always a performer — always trying to live up to his reputation as a troublemaker (which haunted him in his later years).
• A list and description of 18 guns Thompson owned.
• An uninteresting song by Tift Merritt evidently inspired by seeing Gonzo in theater.

HIGHLIGHTS

Pretty much every clip of Thompson working his chaotic magic is a delight to watch. His distinct brand of iconoclasm and proud freakishness demonstrate the by-products of American politics and culture.

I also found Thompson and Pat Buchanon’s takes on each other to be particularly interesting. At times the two recall bickering with each other to no end — Thompson deriding Buchanon as “a half-crazed Davy Crockett running around the parapets of Nixon’s Alamo.” Yet they were occasional drinking buddies and, underneath it all, respected each other’s authenticity in a superficial age.

LOWLIGHTS