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sf film fest: gonzo: the life and work of dr. hunter s. thompson

Category:

Film

When:

Thursday, May 8 2008, 7:00pm

Where:

Castro Theatre

based on 236 reviews

429 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 621-6120

How:

Official Website
Tickets

Cost:

$7.00-9.50

Submitted by:

Lauren S.  

What/Why:

51ST SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (http://www.sffs.org) presents:

GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON

THU MAY 8 = CLOSING NIGHT!  VANITY FAIR REEL RELIEF SCREENING
7p: Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
dir. Alex Gibney, USA, 2007, 118 min.

The legendary hard-drinking journalist receives the royal treatment in this superb documentary by Oscar-winner Gibney (ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM and TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE).

http://www.castrotheat...

Nixon was a werewolf. Las Vegas is filled with reptiles. We are all doomed. After several documentaries and biographies, and two book-to-film adaptations, you almost pity anyone who attempts another take on gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson. Yet Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Side and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room(SFIFF 2005), dives in and gives us the most unflinching and complete version to date of a man who at one time was the most popular writer in America. Armed with support from producers Graydon Carter and Mark Cuban, Gibney's team clearly sought all available source material to get this story right. He focuses on the years of Thompson's rock-star zenith, roughly 1965 to 1975, and reintroduces us to an incredible era of social history, from hippies and bikers to Vegas excess and the '72 presidential campaign, supported by rare clips and Thompson's own words, narrated by Johnny Depp. Jimmy Carter and George McGovern give context alongside Pat Buchanan, Jimmy Buffet, Tim Crouse, Sonny Barger, Ralph Steadman and Jann Wenner, who at one point (thanks to Thompson) even catches a fire extinguisher blast to the face. While Gibney doesn't spare details of Thompson's eventual decline, ending up hostage to his own persona, he also explains how this unorthodox patriot and rowdy from Kentucky ended up such an enduring icon of maverick journalism and pop culture. Much like Thompson at his best, this film will make you want to yell in frustration at America's continuing parade of liars, pimps and thieves.

--Jack Boulware

West Coast Premiere. Sponsored by Vanity Fair.

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22

04/27/2008 Adam M. says:

Loved the book, hope the movie does him as much justice.

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05/06/2008 billy m. says:

The price is def not 7-9 bucks or whatever is listed, that's actually wildly inaccurate. Tickets are $125, so best check yo self. Don't believe me??

http://fest08.sffs.org...

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05/06/2008 Randy "Taxi Driver" O. says:

$125??  I hope Hunter is there, taxidermied and propped up in the lobby for that price... oh, he was cremated?  Ha, that's what he wants you to think..

Elite '08

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05/06/2008 Paul B. says:

Billy, that's for the after-party. The actual flick was normally priced, but sold out REALLY quick.

Elite '08

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05/08/2008 Nish N. says:

This is going to be super, anyone else going to the party after?

Elite '08

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05/08/2008 angela "who yelped ya" n. says:

i am planning to go to after-party...trying to make it in time....

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05/11/2008 Courtney "Sometimes Salty" C. says:

Went, saw, afterpartied.  The film was awesome, but I didn't love the way they tried to make it "now" by comparing the Vietnam war to the Iraq war in the beginning.  Otherwise, a super fun ride back in time and fascinating look at a larger than life/take no prisoners/nothing is taboo writer.

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