Leaving Las Vegas

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The much-celebrated 1995 Oscar winner Leaving Las Vegas is available on DVD through MGM DVD. The film can be viewed either in widescreen or standard format. It is available in the uncut, unrated version that features additional explicit footage not shown in theatres and comes equipped with English, French, and Spanish subtitles and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD comes with the original theatrical trailer and a six-page booklet with trivia, fluffy production notes, and a list of the film's awards and nominations. The main menu screen is set against a backdrop of moving headlights and Vegas neon while jazz music plays in the background. Viewers who click on the playing cards in the upper right hand corner of the screen are led to a hidden page menu feature. This hidden page features "From College to Call Girl," a short list of Ivy League graduates (such as the film's star Elisabeth Shue) who went on to play prostitutes on film. The colors and sound on this DVD appear sharp and bright. Perhaps more detailed production notes or filmographies/biographies would have been appropriate, especially for an Oscar winner such as this one, but in essence, it's a decent package. ~ Jose Promis, All Movie Guide

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen), 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV, Pan and Scan
• Subtitle: English, French, Spanish
• Features:
  • Uncut, unrated version
  • Trivia and production notes
  • Special "hidden page" menu features
  • Original theatrical trailer

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Actor - 1995 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Nominated Best Actress - 1995 (Elisabeth Shue)
•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1995 (Mike Figgis)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1995 (Mike Figgis)

• Chicago Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - 1995 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Won Best Actress - 1995 (Elisabeth Shue)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1995 (Mike Figgis)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1995 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1995 (Mike Figgis)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - 1995 (Elisabeth Shue)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Drama - 1995

• Independent Spirit Awards

•     Won Best Actress - 1995 (Elisabeth Shue)
•     Won Best Cinematography - 1995 (Declan Quinn)
•     Won Best Director - 1995 (Mike Figgis)
•     Won Best Picture - 1995
•     Nominated Best Actor - 1995 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Nominated Best Screenplay - 1995 (Mike Figgis)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - 1994 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Won Best Actress - 1994 (Elisabeth Shue)
•     Won Best Director - 1994 (Mike Figgis)
•     Won Best Picture - 1994

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Actor - 1995 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1995

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Actor - 1995 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Won Best Actress - 1995 (Elisabeth Shue)
•     Won Best Director - 1995 (Mike Figgis)

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Actor - 1995 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Won Best Picture - 1995

• Screen Actors Guild

•     Won Best Actor - 1995 (Nicolas Cage)
•     Nominated Best Actress - 1995 (Elisabeth Shue)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Nicolas Cage - Ben Sanderson
       Elisabeth Shue - Sera
       Julian Sands - Yuri
       Richard Lewis - Peter
       Valeria Golino - Terri

• Director:

  Mike Figgis

• Producer:

  Lila Cazes, Marc S. Fischer, Annie Stewart

• Book Author:

  John O'Brien

• Screenwriter:

  Mike Figgis

• Cinematographer:

  Declan Quinn

• Composer (Music Score):

  Mike Figgis

• Editor:

  John Smith

• Production Designer:

  Waldemar Kalinowski

• Art Director:

  Barry Kingston

REVIEWS:

• Leaving Las Vegas is the rarest of love stories that revolves around acceptance and resignation in the face of defeat, rather than salvation and emotional triumph. Bleak, morose, and doggedly determined to stick to its principles, the film was unique in its resolve to observe, rather than attempt to save, its protagonist. For this reason alone, its enthusiastic reception by critics and audiences alike was not so much surprising as encouraging: in an industry and society where happy endings, no matter how contrived, are thought to be the only way to sell a film, Leaving Las Vegas stood out as a beautiful exception to the rule. There is never any doubt that Nicolas Cage's Ben is going to go through with his plan to kill himself, nor is there any reason to believe that Elisabeth Shue's Sera will be the woman who changes him with her love. Their romance is built on mutual need, but not the need for a happy ending. Aside from the stellar work of Cage and Shue--the latter resurfacing from almost complete obscurity with her Oscar-nominated portrayal--one of the best performances in Leaving Las Vegas comes from its soundtrack. A haunting, moody jazz score composed by writer/director Mike Figgis himself, it perfectly complements the film's narrative, oozing with a graceful, understated foreboding. Rarely has a soundtrack been so intrinsic to a film's subject matter. A beautiful, deceptively reckless meditation on love, death, and the intractability of human will, Leaving Las Vegas has much in common with its central character: darkly charismatic and abiding by its own rules, it charms even as it devastates. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
• {#Leaving Las Vegas} is the rarest of love stories that revolves around acceptance and resignation in the face of defeat, rather than salvation and emotional triumph. Bleak, morose, and doggedly determined to stick to its principles, the film was unique in its resolve to observe, rather than attempt to save, its protagonist. For this reason alone, its enthusiastic reception by critics and audiences alike was not so much surprising as encouraging: in an industry and society where happy endings, no matter how contrived, are thought to be the only way to sell a film, {#Leaving Las Vegas} stood out as a beautiful exception to the rule. There is never any doubt that {$Nicolas Cage}'s Ben is going to go through with his plan to kill himself, nor is there any reason to believe that {$Elisabeth Shue}'s Sera will be the woman who changes him with her love. Their romance is built on mutual need, but not the need for a happy ending. Aside from the stellar work of Cage and Shue--the latter resurfacing from almost complete obscurity with her Oscar-nominated portrayal--one of the best performances in {#Leaving Las Vegas} comes from its soundtrack. A haunting, moody jazz score composed by writer/director {$Mike Figgis} himself, it perfectly complements the film's narrative, oozing with a graceful, understated foreboding. Rarely has a soundtrack been so intrinsic to a film's subject matter. A beautiful, deceptively reckless meditation on love, death, and the intractability of human will, {#Leaving Las Vegas} has much in common with its central character: darkly charismatic and abiding by its own rules, it charms even as it devastates. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

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