Sunday Night Movie Review: Breakfast with Hunter

To start off the Sunday movie review this week, I review not so much a movie but a documentary about by many accounts one of America’s prolific journalists; Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. It’s been less then a year since Thompson’s death back in February; this film is proof that without a doubt the sprit of Gonzo lives on.

Breakfast with Hunter is a documentary that was filmed over recent years, however it’s much more then a collaborative group a clips. Wayne Ewing a friend of Thompson’s and a director of political and human interest documentaries was able to edit this film in such a way to bring to the screen the strangeness and yet at the same time the real Hunter S. Thompson. As he shows Thompson is much more then an old writer that plays with guns, bombs and experiments with drugs. Although that is also a part of Thompson, there is also the Thompson that is a father and a champion for personal freedoms from government ternary.

As much as Thompson is known for his dislike of the current administration and his general view of the republican party this film portrays the moderate Thompson when it comes to his choice in personal affaires, as he is seen at his home with conservative writer P.J. O'Rourke. You can also see the two in extended material in the DVD bonus selection where there is no shortage of footage. Although some of the extra footage is short, it covers everything thing from the definition on Gonzo, the history of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to the editing of The Rum Dairy.

Also in the main DVD are scenes with Hollywood actors Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro and John Cusack. The film goes into some detail with Depp as he learns how to act like Thompson from the man himself to the set of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

A lot can be said about one of the most famous American counter culture hero’s and by no means does this even begin to peer into the life of Hunter S. Thompson. But if this film shows anything, it’s that we are once again heading for the high watermark that Thompson wrote about not so long ago.

I recommend this DVD as a buy.