Arrow Video, out now

Raoul Duke and his attorney set off on a drug-fuelled trip to Las Vegas, hitting sin city with their case full of narcotics.

Hunter S Thompson’s trippy semi-autobiographical 1971 novel was, like William S Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, considered for years to be unfilmable, but that didn’t stop Terry Gilliam (Twelve Monkeys) from taking a crack at it in 1998, now released in a special two-disc edition by Arrow.

The movie features Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke, accompanied by Benicio del Toro as Dr. Gonzo, and how much you enjoy their anarchic exploits will really depend on how prepared you are to tolerate their awful behaviour. If you’re watching this stone cold sober (and let’s face it, most of us would) then it’s akin to watching a babbling duo of drug addicts bickering and stumbling around in a state of paranoia.

At times we see the hallucinatory adventure through their eyes, with an orgy of human lizards, a runaway carpet and attacking bats. Technically, it’s beautifully filmed, with Gilliam at home in this crazed environment, but at two hours it drags, and it’s hard to elicit any sympathy for the two losers.

Arrow’s release boasts a new 4K restoration and documentary For No Good Reason about illustrator Ralph Steadman, featuring Terry Gilliam and Johnny Depp. The limited edition packaging featuring iconic original art by Steadman, a hardbound book with new writing, a set of postcards and double-sided fold-out poster of the original theatrical one-sheet.

Disc one includes a fascinating commentary by Gilliam – the making of his films is often as exciting as the finished film – as well as a whole bunch of new features with cast and crew. Disc 2 is exclusive to the limited edition release, cramming in even more deleted scenes, trailers, interviews and images.

Verdict: Arrow have truly pulled out all stops for this release, packing the most impressive selection of extras across two discs. Clearly aimed at the collector, fans of the movie will be off their heads with joy. 8/10

Nick Joy