Accessible, entertaining and hugely kinetic, packed with memorable songs from Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and many more icons of Thompson's era.
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07/03/08
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Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008)
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Reviews Counted:88
Fresh:76
Rotten:12
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: While not the comprehensive profile of the man that his die-hard fans might have hoped for, Gonzo remains an insightful introduction to the life of rebellious writer Hunter S. Thompson and his influences.
Theatrical Release:Jul 2, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $1,031,095
Synopsis: Few journalists have attained the notoriety of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. His legendary status is due as much to his scintillating writing as his outrageous antics. He became a living legend whose... [More]
Starring: Gary Hart, George McGovern, Jann Wenner, Jimmy Buffett
Director: Alex Gibney
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Reviews for Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a mesmerizing look at the mythic quality and anarchic spirit of the irreverent and rabble-rousing journalist.
07/03/08
Watching Gonzo, it's hard to like Thompson much, but even harder not to be dazzled by his talent.
07/03/08
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, is documentarian Alex Gibney's effort to present that fellow in all his quirks, contradictions and, yes, foibles. If you know nothing about the writer, this can be an absorbing work.
07/03/08
Gonzo, the documentary by Alex Gibney, taps the full fascination of its subject: Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.
07/03/08
Top Critic'Gonzo' banks on an adolescent delight in seeing the debunking of the powers that be, but, like Thompson's run for office, that's of no help in the final tally.
07/03/08
While Gonzo makes a familiar case, that Thompson frequently lost himself in celebrity, it also argues for his legacy, not cynicism but optimism.
07/03/08
... runs two hours, but, thanks to Gibney and his contributors, it never feels overlong.
07/02/08
A dense but enthralling biography that manages to keep its focus on the Rolling Stone journalist while exploring Gibney's political obsession at the same time.
07/02/08
In its fairly straightforward but energetic way it captures a good deal of what made Thompson a unique figure...revealing, honest and--most of all--genuinely engaging.
07/02/08
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson is a valuable reclamation of the political from the personal.
07/02/08
Just enough relevancy to lift the cable-ready doc above the Biography norm, even though the filmmaking could've used a little more of Thompson's renegade spirit.
07/02/08
Multiple phantasmagorical scenes from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas often reduce Gonzo to an over-spiced pudding of pastiche and talking heads. Matters are hardly helped with some cloying musical interludes.
07/02/08
Gonzo is a must-see for everyone.
07/02/08
Top CriticWhile the evidence of his spotty post-1970s work is hard to refute, Gonzo proves what a vapid, overvalued commodity edginess is, championing Thompson's best work for brass-tacks insight more than brass-balled outrage.
07/01/08
Another fine addition to Gibney's filmography that successfully achieves its purposes, despite the extended tangent into the '72 election that almost derails it.
07/01/08
For all of its illumination of one of the most enigmatic figures in American literature, "Gonzo" mistakenly paints Hunter S. Thompson as a writer whose star burned out decades before his long foreshadowed suicide in 2005.
06/29/08
The documentary, narrated by Johnny Depp, keeps the action moving along, even when there are only audio recording or still photos available to illustrate points - it's visually arresting as well as attention-grabbing.
06/28/08
The good doctor is family around these parts, so cheers to Alex Gibney for not screwing up this mesmerizing documentary about the people, places and substances that altered the mind and battered heart of the Kentucky-born inventor of gonzo journalism.
06/25/08
Top Critic...A film that preserves Thompson's words verbatim but only occasionally taps into the restless spirit that fueled them.
06/23/08
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