Where the Buffalo Roam

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Cult Comedy, 2008-12-09
Bill Murray as Dr. Hunter S. Thompson? Amazingly he's not badly cast at all, and it's his performance that makes this movie work as often as it does. Anyone who's ever seen interview footage of HST will testify that Bill Murray does an excellent portrayal of him in his prime. While supposedly based on HST's writings, much of this movie is a lot closer to the stoner comedy of Cheech and Chong and it lacks the paranoid psychotic intensity that made HST one of the funniest satirists around. It does have some hilarious lines scattered here and there, along with some of the most absurd situations in any film comedy. At times, it almost felt like a Marx Brothers update to me. It also feels - largely due to Peter Boyle's extended supporting performance - as if a better, sharper movie lurked just under the surface waiting for a different director to bring it out. br / br /Naturally, there's plenty of flaws in this film besides the disjointed screenplay. While set in the late 1960s/early 1970s, the film comes across as a relic of the early 1980s. Not only in pacing - although if you've watched B-movie comedies from the era you'll know what I mean. The DVD version of the film has much of the original soundtrack wiped in favor of generic rock which half-heartedly tries to sound 60s but really sounds 80s. Also, Peter Boyle and Bill Murray have surprisingly little chemistry considering their characters are fellow anarchists and supposed friends. br / br /I suspect there are some great outtakes (which this DVD doesn't have). Nor does it have any commentary tracks. Still, this is a budget DVD, so you have to ask yourself some tough questions. If you, like I, am a Bill Murray and HST fan you'll probably want to see this movie at least once. Do what I did and opt for a used copy. br / br /

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Original soundtrack version!!!, 2008-09-21
I've just found that "Where the Buffalo Roam" with the original unedited soundtrack can be found as part of netflix's streaming video selection. It's from the same widescreen master as the DVD, only that horrible 80s temp music is gone. I guess the music rights could be released for instant viewing on the web. Maybe we'll eventually see the right version on DVD one day...

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Bill Murry is Hunter S Thompson, 2008-06-09
I've watched and own both Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Where the Buffalo Roam and both of them are excellent movies about the amazing gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. However, Bill Murry definitely did a better job at portraying a more realistic Hunter S. Thompson, rather than a more entertaining version done by Mr. Depp. Either way both of the movies are a must buy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Soundtrack sucks...movie is good., 2008-05-21
I have both the original VHS version and the DVD version of this film. br /I have to agree with everyone who talks about the DVD soundtrack. br /It truly is a pity, I only bought the DVD so I wouldn't ruin the VHS. br /I got it for ten bucks at an FYE so it wasn't much of a loss. br / br /This cheesy "go america"! 80's music truly insults the film, hearing it in the background actually makes the movie boring to me and takes away from the whole experience. You watch Fear and Loathing or the original WTBR with the proper soundtrack and it helps add to experience, which is why some people like myself find themselves watching FL over an over again because it's just that good. br /I truly believe that Hunter S. Thompson would shoot the idiot who cheaped out on this DVD. I'd like to.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

A good, 2008-05-04
Dumb movie that captures the essence of Hunter S. Thompson but does nothing much else than that. Bill Murray's excelent performance carries the movie through it's episodic and disheveled structure and form. Peter Boyle is excelent in the few scenes he has, but he doesn't trully capture the real, Dr. Gonzo. It is to be watched by fans of Hunter S. Thompson, because only they could probably disseminate the unusual nature and the wild and over the top antics that blanket this film to almost being a feature length Three Stooges.