'' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas '' underwent preview test screenings – a process that Gilliam does not enjoy . " I always get very tense in those ( test screenings ) , because I 'm ready to fight . I know the pressure from the studio is , ' somebody did n't like that , change it ! The filmmaker said that it was important to him that Thompson like the film and recalls the writer 's reaction at a screening , " Hunter watched it for the first time at the premiere and he was making all this fucking noise ! Apparently it all came flooding back to him , he was reliving the whole trip ! He was yelling out and jumping on his seat like it was a roller coaster , ducking and diving , shouting ' SHIT ! LOOK OUT ! GODDAMN BATS ! ' That was fantastic – if he thought we 'd captured it , then we must have done it ! " Thompson himself stated , " Yeah , I liked it . It 's not my show , but I appreciated it . Depp did a hell of a job . His narration is what really held the film together , I think . If you had n't had that , it would have just been a series of wild scenes . " '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas '' debuted at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and Gilliam said , " I 'm curious about the reaction ... If I 'm going to be disappointed , it 's because it does n't make any waves , that people are not outraged . " By the time '' Fear and Loathing '' was released as a Criterion Collection DVD in 2003 , Thompson showed his approval of the Gilliam version by recording a full-length audio commentary for the film and participating in several DVD special features
1998 Cannes Film Festival
1998 Cannes Film Festival
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)