The Criterion Collection has released a rather extensive two-disc special edition for the film, which to me was kind of a surprise. This is very disappointing, especially since the two 5.1 tracks do sound better than the 2.0 track. But on the two 5.1 tracks those sound effects are missing, so the scene presents Duke reacting to something that can’t be heard. On the Dolby Surround track you can hear Gonzo screaming and yelling in the background. It’s most apparent during chapter 10, where Duke throws Gonzo into the bathroom, just before Duke’s flashback. Unfortunately most may want to stick with the Dolby Surround track because of an error that I can only guess occurred during mastering/mixing the two 5.1 tracks: Audio is missing during a couple of sequences. In terms of sound quality the DTS track is the clear winner. The 2.0 track doesn’t really deliver much, the Dolby Digital 5.1 track presenting a louder presentation with more noticeable bass, and then the DTS track presents a very loud, thumping sequence, very suiting for the sequence. For a clear comparison one only needs to go to chapter 17 where Duke starts tripping out on adrenochrome. Bass is much more active on the 5.1 tracks, the DTS track making better use of the woofer. Volume on the Dolby Surround 2.0 track is lower, while the other tracks present louder volume.
There are a lot of creative surround effects, with some decent splits and great subtle effects. The surrounds on the 5.1 tracks have plenty to do, especially during the "trippy" sequences. It’s actually pretty interesting jumping from the 2.0 track, to the Dolby Digital track, and then to the DTS track, because the quality does drastically improve through each. The DTS track is much crisper and clearer, though. They are both improvements over the Dolby Surround track, but they both have one glaring flaw that I will get into.įor the two 5.1 tracks, dialogue remains at the fronts mainly (except during little echoes, where they creep to the rears) and sounds crisp, clean and articulate, but only when the characters aren't slurring what they say (not a point against the track, but subtitles do help when watching this film mainly because of the slurring). The previous Universal DVD only had a 2.0 Dolby Surround track, which I thought was pretty good, though not exceptional (most flaws in the track can be attributed to Gilliam, who admits in the commentary track he’s not very good with sound.) That same track is included here but Criterion has also included new Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 tracks. Overall, though, the image is very suiting and looks quite good. There are some artifacts present, specifically during some longer shots, but it's not distracting. The print has a few flaws, namely specs of debris here and there with a line on occasion, but they're definitely not heavy. Longer shots can come off a little fuzzy at times. Flesh tones accurate and black levels are perfect. They're bright and incredibly bold, reds, pinks and oranges being the transfer's best feature. The film is very bright despite the film's darker tones and the colours look fantastic. I last saw the original Universal disc many, many years ago but recall that I didn’t see too much of a difference between the Criterion release and the Universal release in the picture department. It has also been enhanced for widescreen televisions. The Criterion Collection presents Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in it's original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on the dual-layered disc of this two-disc set.
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