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Leaving Las Vegas

  • 19951995
  • RR
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
127K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,453
146
Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
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.
Play trailer2:48
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaRomance
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-... Read allBen 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.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.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
127K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,453
146
    • Mike Figgis
    • John O'Brien(based upon the novel by)
    • Mike Figgis(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Nicolas Cage
    • Elisabeth Shue
    • Julian Sands
    • Mike Figgis
    • John O'Brien(based upon the novel by)
    • Mike Figgis(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Nicolas Cage
    • Elisabeth Shue
    • Julian Sands
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 386User reviews
    • 110Critic reviews
    • 82Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:48
    Watch Trailer

    Photos132

    Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Elisabeth Shue and Mike Figgis in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Elisabeth Shue and Mike Figgis in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Elisabeth Shue and Julian Sands in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
    Mike Figgis in Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nicolas Cage
    Nicolas Cage
    • Ben Sanderson
    Elisabeth Shue
    Elisabeth Shue
    • Sera
    Julian Sands
    Julian Sands
    • Yuri
    Richard Lewis
    Richard Lewis
    • Peter
    Steven Weber
    Steven Weber
    • Marc Nussbaum
    Kim Adams
    • Sheila
    Emily Procter
    Emily Procter
    • Debbie
    Stuart Regen
    • Man at Bar
    Valeria Golino
    Valeria Golino
    • Terri
    Graham Beckel
    Graham Beckel
    • L.A. Bartender
    Albert Henderson
    • Man at Strip Bar
    • (as Al Henderson)
    Shashi Bhatia
    • Hispanic Prostitute
    Carey Lowell
    Carey Lowell
    • Bank Teller
    Anne Lange
    • Business Colleague
    Thomas Kopache
    Thomas Kopache
    • Mr. Simpson
    Vincent Ward
    Vincent Ward
    • Businessman #1
    Lucinda Jenney
    Lucinda Jenney
    • Weird Woman
    French Stewart
    French Stewart
    • Businessman #2
      • Mike Figgis
      • John O'Brien(based upon the novel by)
      • Mike Figgis(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Author John O'Brien, on whose novel this movie is based, committed suicide two weeks after the movie went into production. Director Mike Figgis contemplated abandoning the project, but decided the film would make a good memorial for O'Brien.
    • Goofs
      Yuri is supposed to be swearing in Latvian on the phone. In fact, he speaks gibberish.
    • Quotes

      Ben Sanderson: I don't know if I started drinking 'cause my wife left me or my wife left me 'cause I started drinking, but fuck it anyway.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits do not appear until fifteen minutes into the film.
    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Vampire in Brooklyn/Mighty Aphrodite/Copycat/Leaving Las Vegas/Never Talk to Strangers (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      Angel Eyes
      Written by Matt Dennis and Earl K. Brent

      Performed by Sting

      Courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.

    User reviews386

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Viva Greek Tragedies
    Not unlike John Huston's Under The Volcano, Leaving Las Vegas borrows from Greek mythology, obliquely mirroring the tragedy and pathos of Orpheus' failed attempt to rescue his dead wife, Eurydice, from Hades. Mike Figgis obliges us with a helpful hint in the scene where Nicolas Cage gives Elizabeth Shue a present of earrings: Greek cameos.

    As in the ancient tale, love challenges the inevitability of death, although, in the case of LLV, roles are upended and sometimes blurred, and Orphean references are either thinly disguised, or non-specific to the point of being thoroughly sublimated. Academic, to be sure, but completely acceptable as long as LLV can sustain itself and remain engaging. And it surely does, thanks to Figgis' intelligent script and direction, Cage's role as a down-and-out writer and his protracted self-destruction, and Shue's portrayal of a lonely hooker, lifting that old bromide beyond what could have been routine, to a level not seen since Jane Fonda's character in Klute. Excellent performances all around.

    With all that said, this film is not for everyone (in particular those who only respond to gratuitous sex, car chases, and mindless pyrotechnics). The lurid depictions of despair, self-loathing, and violence could put off even the most hardened social worker. In my mind's eye, I could see psychiatrists amongst the theater audiences, furiously jotting down their observations. Understandable; the two principal characters are, in the common parlance, screwed up. One cannot cope with failure, so decides to opt out, while the other does cope, but only barely, existing along the ragged edges of what passes for society in Nevada Hell. These details, though, tend to outline and, indeed, strengthen the true heart of this film: Sacrifice and Unconditional Love.

    If this film is not for everyone, then who is it for? Those with real life experience and the maturity gained thereby. Those with strong emotional constitutions. Anyone appreciative of impassioned performances. Freudians. Alcoholics, recovering and otherwise. Pimps. Priests. Classicists. Petty whiners in need of perspective. And, more than anyone else, couples who plan on breaking up. In sickness and in health, 'til death do us part. 9.5 out of 10.
    helpful•84
    26
    • hlcepeda
    • Jan 5, 2004

    FAQ4

    • What are the differences between the R-Rated and Unrated Version?

    Details

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    • Release date
      • February 9, 1996 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official Facebook
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Cock & Bull Pub - 2947 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Lumiere Pictures
      • Initial Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 51 minutes
      • Color

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