Dramas, Prostitution, Substance Abuse, Love Story, Tragedy, Road To Ruin, Recommended, Disturbing, Lowlife, Theatrical Release, Essential Cinema, Based On A Novel
Description
With LEAVING LAS VEGAS, director Mike Figgis spun critical gold out of what would appear to be a maudlin and hackneyed premise--a down-and-out drunk meets a hooker with a heart of gold. The reason for the film's success lies partly in its refusal to moralize, but mostly it is the strong performances of Nicholas Cage and Elisabeth Shue that make the story believable and poignant. Ben Sanderson (Cage) is a Hollywood screenwriter who has become an alcoholic. After being fired, he takes his severance pay to Las Vegas, where he plans to drink himself to death. There he meets Sera (Shue), a streetwise prostitute who responds both to Ben's wild antics and to his absolute gentleness. What Sera needs most is to be needed, and Ben needs her a lot. Figgis uses his whole bag of tricks--Sera talks to the camera, the exteriors are shot in grainy 16mm--but finally it is the perfectly-conceived relationship between these two wounded people that drew the rave reviews. The film was based on a novel by John O'Brien.
DVD Features
Region 1 Encoding
Special Features: Uncut, Unrated Version Featuring Explicit Footage Not Seen In Theatres, Trivia And Production Notes, Special 'Hidden Page' Menu Feature, Original Theatrical Trailer.
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This is one of the greatest films I have ever seen with my two eyes. It's a beautiful movie even though it may sound like a sex fest. The sexual content in this film is not meant to be exploitative,... Read the whole review at MatchFlick
Posted on December 31, 2006
Reviewed by: Valerie
Depressing, dark, moody...these are all good qualities to describe Leaving Las Vegas. The film creates an atmosphere full of darkness and two great characters inhabit it. Nicolas Cage stars as an... Read the whole review at MatchFlick
Leaving Las Vegas Director's Cut; Contemporary Classics DVD
