IMDb > Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)

Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
6.4/10   4,110 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Art Linson
Writers:
Hunter S. Thompson (stories)
John Kaye (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Where the Buffalo Roam on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
25 April 1980 (USA) more
Genre:
Biography | Comedy more
Tagline:
I hate to advocate weird chemicals, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone... but they've always worked for me. more
Plot:
Semi-biographical film based on the experiences of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
‘Agents of Cracked’, Cracked.com’s First Original Series Stays Familiar
 (From Tubefilter News. 18 November 2009, 1:58 PM, PST)
Hunter S. Thompson Takes His Life
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 21 February 2005)
User Comments:
Problems, but not all bad. more (51 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Peter Boyle ... Lazlo

Bill Murray ... Hunter S. Thompson

Bruno Kirby ... Marty Lewis

Rene Auberjonois ... Harris
R.G. Armstrong ... Judge Simpson
Danny Goldman ... Porter
Rafael Campos ... Rojas
Leonard Frey ... Desk Clerk
Leonard Gaines ... Super Fan
Otis Day ... Man #1 (as De Wayne Jessie)
Mark Metcalf ... Dooley
Jon Matthews ... Billy Kramer
Joe Ragno ... Willins (as Joseph Ragno)
Quinn K. Redeker ... Pilot (as Quinn Redeker)
Lisa Taylor ... Ruthie
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
96 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Stereo
Certification:
Australia:M | Finland:K-18 (2004) | UK:18 (1984) | USA:R | West Germany:16
Company:
Universal Pictures more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ralph Steadman, who did illustrations for Thompson's books, drew the title cards for this movie. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the courtroom scene, 21 minutes and 5 seconds into the film, Thompson sets down his glass which is almost full. A second later, a close-up on the glass shows it sitting on the floor, empty. All further scenes in the courtroom show the glass once again almost full. more
Quotes:
Dr. Hunter S. Thompson: You couldn't invent someone like Carl Lazlo. He was a... he was one of a kind. He was a mutant. A real heavyweight water buffalo type... who could chew his way through a concrete wall and spit out the other side covered with lime and chalk and look good in doing it. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
Problems, but not all bad., 9 January 2007
7/10
Author: Quag7 from Tucson, AZ

Both of the HST films have problems. This film's problem is that it is too "screenwritten" (Lazlo replacing The Brown Buffalo, "Blast" Magazine replacing Rolling Stone, etc.) and lacks the weird surrealism that a drug-fueled observation of American culture at the end of the 1960s deserves, if not requires.

It does play a bit like Caddyshack, as someone else pointed out, and it's hard to get really invested in the characters. And if you love HST as much as I do, you really do want to get into the characters and in to the story, because it's as important as it is funny. Where the Buffalo Roam is, for the most part, silly. It comes off as more a bunch of sketches than anything else. I did like Bill Murray in the part. The problem is the script, more than anything else.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by contrast, does well with the surrealism and depravity but fails to make the full point I think Thompson was trying to get across - the decadence and over-the-top performances (especially of del Toro) are distracting, and really all of this is supposed to be about the death of the American dream, and the end of what was (to some) the best decade on record, or at least the one where people thought, for a time, they could make something of American life. Both movies hint at this but don't go into it enough, in my opinion.

Where the Buffalo Roam captures a little of the sadness and the creeping hopelessness of the early 70s (along with an indication of the hangover awaiting that generation in the 70s), but both movies fall far short of Thompson's books and writing in my opinion.

I was particularly saddened that both movies left out the "We're looking for the American dream" bit at the taco stand, because I think that was important, and the F&L Vegas story seems decontextualized without it (in terms of having a fairly serious (and sad) point under all of the humor and excess).

In any case, both movies are worth a watch but ultimately unsatisfying. Thompson is still best read. I think a good film about HST can be made, but the right person needs to be at the helm.

Richard Linklater or John Sayles, perhaps...someone who isn't going to miss the deeper substance underlying and buttressing the humor. That being said, there are far worse movies you could be watching than either.

And like Thompson, it still hasn't gotten weird enough for me.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Thompson in the 70s : Murray had it Down ! thewood
Doctors Bag thewood
Does Anyone Understand? Heckyesyoudo
Is this the right VHS? maximus92389
Who was the reporter with the glasses on the plane that HST.Bill sits b Anchorman88
sexuality or nudity? mutedempathy
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