6. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
Universal PicturesThe Drugs: Deep breath! Alcohol, cocaine, mescaline, LSD, ether, marijuana, amyl nitrate, amphetamines, assorted prescription drugs and adrenochrome (a made up drug) Critics who complained about Terry Gilliam's film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas being "incoherent" clearly have little imagination as to the effects of a weekend-long drug binge on the human mind - coherency is about the last thing you'd expect, and the film's scattershot approach is an entirely appropriate way to handle Hunter S. Thompson's source material. Many a drug-related movie has witnessed a critical panning only to emerge unscathed in the pantheon of cult cinema, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is no exception. Gilliam's wide-angled, brightly coloured visuals brings Thompson's lament to the death of the American Dream in the midst of war and psychedelics to the screen in exceptional style. Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro capture the anarchic antics of Raul Duke and Dr. Gonzo with an unstoppable energy, and the film comes about as close as you can expect to the book's undertone of pessimistic disappointment at the charade that American society had become at the time.