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

Requiem For a Brilliant Man

I've only read one work by Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. If you've ever seen the film, it's the closest you'll ever get to reading a book by watching a movie based on that book. In that book is one of the greatest, most powerful passages I believe that has ever been written. It brings tears to my eyes, or gets damn close, every time I read it or hear it. I won't quote it all here, but it begins with, "San Francisco in the middle '60's was a very special time and place to be a part of. But no explanation, no mix of words of music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world, whatever it meant..."

With this passage, Hunter Thompson elicits nostalgia and jealousy in one movement. When I heard this portion of that book read aloud in Gonzo, I felt vindicated in being so affected by the passage. The only other extended quotation from Thompson's writings in film was a part from Hell's Angels, I believe, about taking his motorcycle out for "an honest ride up the coast." Thompson's way with words is almost unrivaled, and even as a member of a far later generation, his words still hit me in the gut and speak to me on a deeply humanistic level.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a powerful documentary because it conveys in a universally understandable manner the power and pertinence Dr. Thompson had in his time on his generation. After watching the film, I feel I have a better understanding of the man who is arguably the most famous and important printed-word journalist of the last fifty years.

The film chronicles Thompson's rise, his run for Sheriff in Aspen, as well as his decline and suicide, all while conveying his wild and unique character through firsthand interviews with his close family, friends, and co-workers. Even Pat Buchanan and Jimmy Carter get in the mix of interviews, offering extensive and interesting insight into Thompson's influence and impact, expecially Buchanan.

The film ends with Thompson's funeral, which, in my opinion, is quite possibly the most badass funerals of all time. Thompson was a brilliant and slightly insane character all his life, from his prolific drug use at seemingly any occasion (even covering the campaign trail of presidential hopefuls, to his violent suicide that took place with his family at home and his wife on the phone with him at the time. It seems cruel, but even his son said it was strange, but somehow "a happy family moment." Thompson's funeral was no exception to his antics. He had a tower with a cannon on top of it more than a hundred feet tall built with a red, two-thumbed hand clutching a peyote button (you have to see the Gonzo symbol to get it, I think), and then he had his ashes launched out of the cannon. This was all stipulated in his will. This is quite possibly the most awesome funeral ever.

Following the funeral, some of the interviewees talk about how Thompson is needed now more than ever to write and comment on the political and social times of today. However, with the election of Barack Obama, it is possible that the times where we need a Hunter S. Thompson around may have actually passed. Hopefully, another genius can rise to the challenge should another time like Dr. Gonzo's era ever return. We can only hope, but until then, we can only partake of the finite words that Dr. Thompson has left us during his time spent on this earth hacking away at that typewriter producing some of the greatest writings we may ever read.

Rest in Peace, Dr. Gonzo.

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Special Features:

• Director Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Extended Interviews
• The Gonzo Tapes - Audio Excerpts
• Wayward And Weary: A Tribute To Hunter S. Thompson
• Live Acoustic Performance by Tift Merritt
• Drawings By Ralph Steadman
• Hunter’s Guns