Per nessuna buona ragione

Ralph Steadman is a very interesting and different type of person to listen to talk. His story is very interesting and I always enjoy listening to his collaborations with Hunter S Thompson. The reason for the 5/10 is simply because of the music. The soundtrack to this isn't just bad but I feel is a giant slap to the face of Ralph and his generation. You don't sum up a counter culture Icon like Thompson or Steadman by playing pop music to a collage of their work. It just doesn't sit right for me.

I just watched an early screening and this film really works as the story of a visionary artist of his time, using animation and interviews the film zips along his timeline with humour and insight.Johnny Depp plays it straight brilliantly and some of the music really works with the pace of the film. i really recommend this film for anyone who is interested in the whole Gonzo idea. Richard E Grant-add words of insight Terry Gilliam and Jan Wenner add their bit but the real star of the film is Ralph himself. Telling stories and memories the great artist guides us through sometimes difficult observations of the way we have been conducting our lives, his savage pen perfectly accompanies these raw words of truth about poverty, America and his friends, a really entertaining watch.

Documentaries about Artist are Not that Common, and they Should be. Most Artist Linger in Semi-Obscurity even if They have Attained a Modicum of Money, Fame, or Admiration and Recognition. A Good Bit of the Time there are Splashes in the Public Eye, but Unless the Work is in a Sort of Popular Culture Saturation, it is Unlikely that Any given Artist, Outside the Bubble of a Particular Field, Comic Books, for Example, a Particular Artist Remains Relatively Unknown.

Documentaries can Flesh Out the Person Behind the Art, at Least a Little bit, and can Shed Some Insight and Light while giving a Platform for the Art to be Exposed in Heaps for Ninety Minutes or so. Aside, from a Coffee Table Book that Includes Pages and Pages of Artwork, a Docu-Film will most Likely be Seen by More People than Buy the Book.

So here is Ralph Steadman. Who, You Say? Exactly. Unless You were a Reader of Rolling Stone Magazine in the Seventies, or a Fan of Gonzo Journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Steadman has Remained in the Aforementioned Obscurity. But that's About the Extent of His Explosion of Exposure.

Not that it is Insignificant, much to the Contrary, He and the Good Doctor, Thompson, Defined Gonzo Journalism, and Tried to "Change the world!", a Phrase that Steadman Utters at Least Three Times in the Documentary and in the End, at Age 76, Seems Disappointed that Most of what He Tried to Change, Remains Unchanged.

The Fancy Film from Director Charlie Paul is Filled with enough Interesting Anecdotes and Surprisingly Rare and Old Archival Footage, a lot with Hunter. It also Includes Interviews with Other Folks who have Worked with Steadman and it is all Anchored with Johnny Depp, Long Time Friend and Fan. Terry Gilliam's Movie, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998) is Based on the Book by Thompson that Included Illustrations by Steadman and may be the Artist Link to Moderns with the Most Resonance.

Overall, a Must See Movie for Lovers of Art, the Sixties Counter Culture, Hunter S. Thompson, and to Get an Introduction to One of the Most Bizarre and Powerful Political Artists of Our Time. His Work and Some of His Unique Mystique and Technique, Much on Display Here, can be Admired and Studied.

Johnny Depp, who is intriguing himself, seems to collect other intriguing people as friends. This documentary is about his friend Ralph Steadman, the artist who collaborated with Hunter S. Thompson and did a range of other fascinating work including illustrations for children's' books.

Steadman demonstrates his creative process, discusses his love/hate relationship with Hunter S. Thompson, and talks about what he was and still is trying to achieve with his art.

If you enjoy explorations into the intimate, fascinating details about artists and their work, you will love this film. If you've read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, it will be all the more interesting.

I appreciated that Johnny Depp remained as invisible as possible, making sure Ralph Steadman took center stage. By the end of this movie, I was fascinated by the artist, and I am planning to view some of the books he has illustrated.

Detailed documentaries about artists and their thought processes are not for everyone, but if you are fascinated by this type of film, you will not be disappointed in this one.

Great visuals and coverage on such a wonderful and unique artist but it's spoilt with such terrible choice of music, very disappointing.