Ben Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind, who murdered his only son. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.
A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
Jack loses $65,000 in poker in Las Vegas, where he's marrying Betsy. The wedding will have to wait as the poker winner wants the weekend with Betsy to cancel the debt. She accepts. Whom will she marry?
Director:
Andrew Bergman
Stars:
James Caan,
Nicolas Cage,
Sarah Jessica Parker
Because his wife left him and took his son with her, screenwriter Ben Sanderson has started drinking, a lot. He's getting more and more isolated and he troubles women in bars because he wants to have sex with them. When he gets fired, he decides to leave everything behind and move to Las Vegas and drink himself to death. In Las Vegas he meets Sera, a prostitute with some problems as well who he moves in with.Written by
Marco van Hoof <k_luifje7@hotmail.com>
During Cage's Oscar acceptance speech for Best Leading Actor role in the film, he thanked his "gorgeous wife" Patricia Arquette whom he married just a year prior to the ceremony. The two finalized their divorce in 2001. See more »
Goofs
When supposed to be playing blackjack, Ben and Sera are sitting at a Caribbean Stud Poker table. See more »
The opening credits do not appear until fifteen minutes into the film. See more »
Alternate Versions
LaserDisc version is unrated and contains more sexually explicit footage. First pressings of the VHS versions also contained this footage but later pressings did not. The Unrated Edition has also been released on DVD and runs 112 min. See more »
LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995) **** Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands. (Cameos: Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, Carey Lowell, French Stewart, Julian Lennon, Mariska Hargitay, R. Lee Ermey, Ed Lauter, Danny Huston, Lucinda Jenney, Lou Rawls, Laurie Metcalf, Shawnee Smith, Bob Rafelson,Xander Berkley). Uncompromisingly bleak and powerful portrayal of unconditional love between two tragic misfits. Cage in a bravura performance, that justifiably garnered him a Best Actor Oscar, vows to give up on life and heads to Vegas to drink himself to death where he meets and falls for pretty victimized hooker Shue (the performance of her career, and Best Actress nominee) who decides to love him for what he is. Excellent rapport and believably realistic performances and excellent adaptation of John O' Brien's semi-autobiographical novel of total despair. O' Brien committed suicide shortly after his novel was being produced into a film. Filmed in grainy 16MM and blown up to 35MM gives it an all too natural look. Look sharply for the film's director Mike Figgis as a goateed thug after pimp Sands.
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LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995) **** Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands. (Cameos: Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, Carey Lowell, French Stewart, Julian Lennon, Mariska Hargitay, R. Lee Ermey, Ed Lauter, Danny Huston, Lucinda Jenney, Lou Rawls, Laurie Metcalf, Shawnee Smith, Bob Rafelson,Xander Berkley). Uncompromisingly bleak and powerful portrayal of unconditional love between two tragic misfits. Cage in a bravura performance, that justifiably garnered him a Best Actor Oscar, vows to give up on life and heads to Vegas to drink himself to death where he meets and falls for pretty victimized hooker Shue (the performance of her career, and Best Actress nominee) who decides to love him for what he is. Excellent rapport and believably realistic performances and excellent adaptation of John O' Brien's semi-autobiographical novel of total despair. O' Brien committed suicide shortly after his novel was being produced into a film. Filmed in grainy 16MM and blown up to 35MM gives it an all too natural look. Look sharply for the film's director Mike Figgis as a goateed thug after pimp Sands.