Leaving Las Vegas (1995) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error 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. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 21 titles created 15 Apr 2012 a list of 39 titles created 01 Jul 2012 a list of 44 titles created 06 Aug 2015 a list of 27 titles created 03 Jan 2016 a list of 21 titles created 4 months ago Title: Leaving Las Vegas (1995) 7.6/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 1 Oscar.

Another 30 wins & 27 nominations. See more awards » Photos Edit Storyline 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> Rated R for strong sexuality and language, violence and pervasive alcohol abuse | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 9 February 1996 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Adiós a Las Vegas See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia In one scene, Ben screams "Snake eyes" while throwing dices. Years later, Nicolas Cage would star in a film called Snake Eyes (1998). See more » Goofs When driving through Las Vegas, Ben finishes a bottle of Vodka, two minutes later there is liquid in the bottle again.

Since he is severely alcoholic, it can be expected though that it's not necessarily the same bottle, he may also have opened a second one. See more » Quotes Ben Sanderson : We could get prime rib. They got it on sale for $2.99. I love that dress. The opening credits do not appear until fifteen minutes into the film. See more » Connections (fairview, nj) – See all my reviews 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. 25 of 34 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Leaving Las Vegas Leaving Las Vegas Leaving Las Vegas News Leaving Las Vegas Brief Information Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien.

Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. While there, he forms a relationship with a hardened prostitute, played by Elisabeth Shue , which forms the center of the film. O'Brien committed suicide two weeks after production of the film started. A halt was considered, but work continued as a tribute. Leaving Las Vegas was filmed in super 16mm instead of 35 mm film which is most commonly used for mainstream film, although 16 mm is common for art house films. After limited release in the United States on October 27, 1995, Leaving Las Vegas made its nationwide release on February 9, 1996, receiving strong praise from critics and audiences. Cage received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Shue was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director.

About: Leaving Las Vegas About: Leaving Las Vegas An Entity of Type : movie , from Named Graph : , within Data Space : dbpedia.org Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the semi-autobiographical novel Leaving Las Vegas by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. While there, he develops a relationship with a hardened prostitute played by Elisabeth Shue, which forms the center of the film. O'Brien committed suicide two weeks after principal photography of the film began. Property abstract Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the semi-autobiographical novel Leaving Las Vegas by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. While there, he develops a relationship with a hardened prostitute played by Elisabeth Shue, which forms the center of the film. O'Brien committed suicide two weeks after principal photography of the film began.

Leaving Las Vegas was filmed in super 16mm instead of 35 mm film; while 16 mm is common for art house films, 35 mm is most commonly used for mainstream film. After limited release in the United States on October 27, 1995, Leaving Las Vegas was released nationwide on February 9, 1996, receiving strong praise from both critics and audiences. Cage received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama and the Academy Award for Best Actor, while Shue was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also received nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. (en) مغادرة لاس فيغاس (بالإنجليزية: Leaving Las Vegas) هو فيلم دراما تم إنتاجه في الولايات المتحدة وصدر في سنة 1995. (ar) Leaving Las Vegas (Alternativtitel: Leaving Las Vegas – Liebe bis in den Tod) ist ein mehrfach preisgekröntes US-amerikanisches Filmdrama des Regisseurs Mike Figgis aus dem Jahr 1995.

Das Drehbuch basiert auf dem gleichnamigen Roman von John O’Brien, Hauptdarsteller sind Elisabeth Shue und Nicolas Cage. (de) Leaving Las Vegas est un film franco-américano-britannique réalisé par Mike Figgis, sorti en 1995. Il est adapté du roman du même nom de John O'Brien (fr) Leaving Las Vegas, en español Adiós a Las Vegas, es una película de 1995 dirigida por Mike Figgis, y protagonizada por Nicolas Cage y Elisabeth Shue, por cuyas interpretaciones ambos actores resultaron nominados al Óscar al mejor actor, aunque sólo Nicolas Cage consiguió ganar el premio. La película está basada en la autobiografía del guionista John O'Brien, que se suicidó pocos meses antes del inicio del rodaje de la película. (es) Via da Las Vegas (Leaving Las Vegas) è un film del 1995 diretto da Mike Figgis.

Il film è tratto dall'omonimo romanzo di John O'Brien, che si è suicidato il 10 aprile 1994, all'età di soli 34 anni, senza poter di conseguenza assistere al film. Nicolas Cage si aggiudicò numerosi premi per l'interpretazione del protagonista di questo lungometraggio, la cui visione è stata vietata ai minori di 14 anni.

(it) 『リービング・ラスベガス』（Leaving Las Vegas）は、1995年制作のアメリカ映画。ジョン・オブライエンの半自伝小説を原作にマイク・フィギスが映画化した。ラスベガスを舞台に、脚本家であったアルコール依存症の男性と娼婦のラブストーリー。 ニコラス・ケイジがアカデミー主演男優賞、ゴールデングローブ賞男優賞を受賞した。 (ja) Zostawić Las Vegas − filmowy dramat produkcji amerykańskiej z 1995 roku z Nicolasem Cage'em i Elisabeth Shue w rolach głównych, wyreżyserowany przez Mike’a Figgisa na podstawie na wpół autobiograficznej powieści Johna O’Briena o tym samym tytule. Film nakręcony został techniką super 16mm, która nie jest uznawana za najlepszą dla produkcji komercyjnych.

Dwa tygodnie po rozpoczęciu produkcji filmu O'Brien popełnił samobójstwo. Rozważano wówczas przerwanie prac, ale zdecydowano się kontynuować. „Zostawić Las Vegas” przedstawia m.in. późne stadium alkoholizmu. Postać Nicholasa Cage'a w większości scen pije albo doświadcza symptomów odstawienia, np. delirium tremens. (pl) Leaving Las Vegas is een romantische dramafilm uit 1995 onder regie van Mike Figgis. Deze werd genomineerd voor de Oscars voor het beste scenario, de beste regisseur, beste hoofdrolspeelster (Elisabeth Shue) en beste hoofdrolspeler (Nicolas Cage), waarvan laatstgenoemde zijn nominatie daadwerkelijk verzilverde. De film won daarnaast meer dan 25 andere filmprijzen, waaronder een Golden Globe en vier Independent Spirit Awards.

(nl) Leaving Las Vegas (Despedida em Las Vegas (título no Brasil) ou Morrer em Las Vegas (título em Portugal)) é um filme estadunidense do gênero drama, lançado em 1995. Foi dirigido e escrito por Mike Figgis baseado em livro de John O'Brien. (pt) «Покидая Лас-Вегас» — фильм 1995 года. Психологическая драма об отношениях между алкоголиком и проституткой, живущими в Лас-Вегасе.В главных ролях Николас Кейдж и Элизабет Шу. Фильм поставлен режиссёром Майком Фиггисом по сценарию, основанном на автобиографическом романе Джона О’Брайена.«Покидая Лас-Вегас» был снят на 16-миллиметровую плёнку вместо 35-миллиметровой, которая наиболее часто используется в кинематографе.

Выбранный формат характерен для фильмов в стиле арт-хаус.После первых показов в Соединённых Штатах в октябре 1995 года фильм получил высокие оценки критиков. В прокат «Покидая Лас-Вегас» вышел в феврале 1996 года, правда, в небольшом количестве кинозалов. Даже после церемонии награждения премии «Оскар» фильм не был широко известен.Николас Кейдж получил «Оскар» как лучший актер за роль в этом фильме. Элизабет Шу была номинирована как лучшая актриса. Кроме того, «Покидая Лас-Вегас» отметился в номинациях «Лучший адаптированный сценарий» и «Лучший режиссёр».

(ru) 《离开拉斯维加斯》（"Leaving Las Vegas"）是一部1995年的美国独立制作电影，麦克·菲格斯编剧并导演，根据美国作家约翰·奥布莱恩1990年的同名小说改编，尼古拉斯·凯奇和伊莉莎白·苏分别饰演男女主角。由于仅有4百万美元的拍摄预算，《离开拉斯维加斯》是用16毫米胶卷进行拍摄的，麦克·菲格斯还亲自谱写了配乐。影片最终于1995年10月27日进行了小范围试映，获得大量好评并提名金球奖和学院奖后，于1996年2月9日开始进行全国上映发行。最终尼古拉斯·凯奇获得了第53届金球奖最佳电影男主角奖（正剧类）和第68届学院奖男主角奖，另外影片还获得了学院奖导演、女主角、原著改编3项提名。 (zh) مغادرة لاس فيغاس (بالإنجليزية: Leaving Las Vegas) هو فيلم دراما تم إنتاجه في الولايات المتحدة وصدر في سنة 199

5.

(ar) Leaving Las Vegas (Alternativtitel: Leaving Las Vegas – Liebe bis in den Tod) ist ein mehrfach preisgekröntes US-amerikanisches Filmdrama des Regisseurs Mike Figgis aus dem Jahr 1995. Das Drehbuch basiert auf dem gleichnamigen Roman von John O’Brien, Hauptdarsteller sind Elisabeth Shue und Nicolas Cage. (de) Leaving Las Vegas est un film franco-américano-britannique réalisé par Mike Figgis, sorti en 1995. Il est adapté du roman du même nom de John O'Brien (fr) Leaving Las Vegas is een romantische dramafilm uit 1995 onder regie van Mike Figgis. Deze werd genomineerd voor de Oscars voor het beste scenario, de beste regisseur, beste hoofdrolspeelster (Elisabeth Shue) en beste hoofdrolspeler (Nicolas Cage), waarvan laatstgenoemde zijn nominatie daadwerkelijk verzilverde. De film won daarnaast meer dan 25 andere filmprijzen, waaronder een Golden Globe en vier Independent Spirit Awards.

(nl) Leaving Las Vegas (Despedida em Las Vegas (título no Brasil) ou Morrer em Las Vegas (título em Portugal)) é um filme estadunidense do gênero drama, lançado em 1995. Foi dirigido e escrito por Mike Figgis baseado em livro de John O'Brien.

(pt) 《离开拉斯维加斯》（"Leaving Las Vegas"）是一部1995年的美国独立制作电影，麦克·菲格斯编剧并导演，根据美国作家约翰·奥布莱恩1990年的同名小说改编，尼古拉斯·凯奇和伊莉莎白·苏分别饰演男女主角。由于仅有4百万美元的拍摄预算，《离开拉斯维加斯》是用16毫米胶卷进行拍摄的，麦克·菲格斯还亲自谱写了配乐。影片最终于1995年10月27日进行了小范围试映，获得大量好评并提名金球奖和学院奖后，于1996年2月9日开始进行全国上映发行。最终尼古拉斯·凯奇获得了第53届金球奖最佳电影男主角奖（正剧类）和第68届学院奖男主角奖，另外影片还获得了学院奖导演、女主角、原著改编3项提名。 (zh) Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on the semi-autobiographical novel Leaving Las Vegas by John O'Brien.

Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. While there, he develops a relationship with a hardened prostitute played by Elisabeth Shue, which forms the center of the film. O'Brien committed suicide two weeks after principal photography of the film began. (en) Leaving Las Vegas, en español Adiós a Las Vegas, es una película de 1995 dirigida por Mike Figgis, y protagonizada por Nicolas Cage y Elisabeth Shue, por cuyas interpretaciones ambos actores resultaron nominados al Óscar al mejor actor, aunque sólo Nicolas Cage consiguió ganar el premio.La película está basada en la autobiografía del guionista John O'Brien, que se suicidó pocos meses antes del inicio del rodaje de la película.

(es) Via da Las Vegas (Leaving Las Vegas) è un film del 1995 diretto da Mike Figgis.Il film è tratto dall'omonimo romanzo di John O'Brien, che si è suicidato il 10 aprile 1994, all'età di soli 34 anni, senza poter di conseguenza assistere al film.Nicolas Cage si aggiudicò numerosi premi per l'interpretazione del protagonista di questo lungometraggio, la cui visione è stata vietata ai minori di 14 anni.

(it) 『リービング・ラスベガス』（Leaving Las Vegas）は、1995年制作のアメリカ映画。ジョン・オブライエンの半自伝小説を原作にマイク・フィギスが映画化した。ラスベガスを舞台に、脚本家であったアルコール依存症の男性と娼婦のラブストーリー。ニコラス・ケイジがアカデミー主演男優賞、ゴールデングローブ賞男優賞を受賞した。 (ja) Zostawić Las Vegas − filmowy dramat produkcji amerykańskiej z 1995 roku z Nicolasem Cage'em i Elisabeth Shue w rolach głównych, wyreżyserowany przez Mike’a Figgisa na podstawie na wpół autobiograficznej powieści Johna O’Briena o tym samym tytule.

Film nakręcony został techniką super 16mm, która nie jest uznawana za najlepszą dla produkcji komercyjnych.Dwa tygodnie po rozpoczęciu produkcji filmu O'Brien popełnił samobójstwo. Rozważano wówczas przerwanie prac, ale zdecydowano się kontynuować. (pl) «Покидая Лас-Вегас» — фильм 1995 года. Психологическая драма об отношениях между алкоголиком и проституткой, живущими в Лас-Вегасе.В главных ролях Николас Кейдж и Элизабет Шу.

Фильм поставлен режиссёром Майком Фиггисом по сценарию, основанном на автобиографическом романе Джона О’Брайена.«Покидая Лас-Вегас» был снят на 16-миллиметровую плёнку вместо 35-миллиметровой, которая наиболее часто используется в кинематографе. (ru) Leaving Las Vegas (1995) / AvaxHome BDRip | AVI | XviD | 720x448, 23.976 fps, 1677 kbps | 01:51:25 | 1,59 GB English: AC3, 2ch, 256 kbps | Subs: English (srt) Genre: Drama | Romance Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien.

Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. While there, he forms a relationship with a hardened prostitute, played by Elisabeth Shue, which forms the center of the film. Leaving Las Vegas was filmed in super 16mm instead of 35 mm film which is most commonly used for mainstream film, although 16 mm is common for art house films. The movie also starring Julian Sands, Richard Lewis and Valeria Golino. 1995 Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nicolas Cage × Leaving Las Vegas (1995) Wow! What a picture! Plot: Ben Sanderson (Cage) is a Hollywood screenwriter whose alcoholism costs him his job, family and friends. With nothing left, he goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. As he drives drunkenly down the Las Vegas Strip, he almost hits a woman in the crosswalk (Shue), who chastises him. Ben checks into a sleazy motel called The Whole Year Inn.

As he looks at this the wording changes to "The Hole You're In." Meanwhile, Sera is a prostitute for an abusive pimp, Yuri Butso (Julian Sands), a Russian immigrant. Polish mobsters are after Yuri, so he breaks his relationship with Sera in fear that the Poles may hurt her. On his second day in Las Vegas, Ben meets Sera, on the street where he first met her, introduces himself and offers $500 to go to his room for an hour. Sera agrees to go to his room, but Ben does not want sex. Instead, they talk and create an odd relationship. Their relationship is doomed; Sera has to promise Ben she will never ask him to stop drinking, and Ben is not allowed to criticize Sera's occupation. At first the two are stable. Ben is "totally at ease with this (Sera's prostitution)." However, each becomes frustrated with the other's behavior. Sera attempts to get Ben to eat but Ben stumbles for more alcohol. Sera begs him to see a doctor. Ben, furious but intoxicated, brings another prostitute (Mariska Hargitay) to Sera's house. Sera returns home and throws Ben out.

Shortly afterward, she is raped and beaten by three teenagers, and the injuries make her occupation obvious. After being evicted, Sera receives a call from Ben, who is on his deathbed. What are some good movies featuring an alcoholic main character? - Quora Quora Answer Wiki 30 Answers Jens Wuerfel , film semiotician | lived and slept inside a video store for two years | studied film and drama at university | workin... Leaving Las Vegas (1995) - another Mike Figgis masterpiece. Academy Award for … Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. While there, he forms a relationship with a hardened prostitute, played by Elisabeth Shue, which forms the center of the film. (WikiPedia) A few of my favorites. John Wayne won an Oscar for playing Rooster Cogburn, the tough, alcoholic, one-eyed sheriff in True Grit. Walter Matthau played an alcoholic Little League baseball coach in Bad News Bears. My favorite scenes were seeing him sitting in the dugout with the kids while drinking a beer.

Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick both earned Oscar nominations for their lead roles in Days of Wine and Roses, in which they played an alcoholic couple. Jack Lemmon revealed decades later that he was, in fact, an alcoholic at the time of filming the movie. Sandra Bullock plays an alcoholic who goes to rehab in 28 Days. At the start of the movie, she is the drunk girl who ruins her own sister's wedding. In The Secret in Their Eyes, Esposito's partner, Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella) plays an alcoholic federal agent. He has a great speech about how he has a passion for alcohol, and his passion is why he will never give it up. Written Aug 17, 2015 Some films that were overlooked: Under the Volcano (1984) starring Albert Finney , The film takes you through one day in the life of Geoffrey Firmin, a British consul living in alcoholic disrepair and obscurity in a small southern Mexican town in 1939. The Morning After (1986) starring Jane Fonda who wakes up with a hangover and no memory of how she ended up in bed with a dead man.

She flees, convinced that she has had another blackout and stabbed someone. Bad Lieutenant (1992) starring Harvey Keitel plays a NYC detective with alcohol, drug and gambling addictions. Written Dec 29, 2011 Wow, so many great answers with most all of the films that come to my mind for this topic (my all time favorite is The Verdict, which Dan Munro named and thus gets +1000). I'd add The Good Thief, one of Nick Nolte's best performances in a fantastic film that's also one of the greatest heist movies you will EVER see. It's seriously great. The remake of Arthur is a highly underrated film, and in fact addresses the alcoholism aspect of the character in a way the original never did, and I dare say that in many ways (particularly the examination of the main character's personal problems as something he must struggle to overcome, which the original never actually depicted) the new film is superior to the original. Lastly, although it's a flawed film, I want to recommend one particular film you might not have even heard of.

Will Ferrell is excellent in a mostly serious dramatic performance as an alcoholic whose life spirals out of control in Everything Must Go. If you've seen commercials or blurbs that make it look like a comedy, don't be fooled -- it has some humorous elements here and there, but it is definitely a drama, and there are several great moments for Ferrell in which he can break your heart with how desperate and ultimately pathetic he gets. For example, there's a scene where he is out of money and tries to talk the 7-11 guy into letting him take some beer for free, followed by a shameful scene in which he lingers around the parking lot asking customers if he can just have one of their beers. Ferrell gets many such great moments of raw humanity, sadness, or in some cases desperation that turns to ugly and hateful behavior destructive to not only himself but even people he's grown to care about. Leaving Las Vegas Movie Review (1995) | Roger Ebert Tweet Mike Figgis ' "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995) is not a love story, although it feels like one, but a story about two desperate people using love as a form of prayer and a last resort against their pain.

It is also a sad, trembling portrait of the final stages of alcoholism. Those who found it too extreme were simply lucky enough never to have arrived there themselves. Advertisement Few films are more despairing and yet, curiously, so hopeful as this one, which argues that even at the very end of the road, at the final extremity, we can find some solace in the offer and acceptance of love. The movie tells the story of Ben and Sera, played by Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue. He is a Hollywood agent, she is a prostitute. Although prostitutes can be a cliché in the movies, and those with a good heart even more so, the details of their relationship leave clichés far behind, and the movie becomes the story of these specific characters and exactly who they are. There is also the truth that a man in Ben's condition would be unable to begin any relationship without paying for it. Ben is in the final stages of an alcoholic meltdown. We watch as he asks a friend in a bar for a loan and is told bluntly: "Don't drink it in here." We sense his loneliness and need in his attempt to pick up a woman in a bar: "I really wish you'd come home with me.

You smell great and you look great." We see him being fired from his job, and agreeing that he should be fired, and telling his boss the severance check is too generous. Then he burns all of his possessions, and there is a curling photograph in the fire, which seems to come from a failed marriage. He moves to Las Vegas with the intention of using his severance to drink himself to death. Cage's performance in these early scenes is an acutely observed record of a man coming to pieces. He shows Ben imploding, rigid in his attempt to maintain control, to smile when he does not feel a smile, to make banter when he wants to scream. Heneedsa drink. During the movie, Cage will take Ben into the regions of hell. There will be times when he has the DTs, times when he must pour booze into his throat like an antidote to death, times of nausea, blackouts, cuts and bruises. There is a scene in a bank when his hands shake so badly he cannot sign a check, and we empathize with the way he tries to function, telling the bank teller whatever he can think of ("I've had brain surgery").

Yes, sometimes, he feels better, and sometimes we can sense the charm he must have had (we sense his boss' affection for him even as he's being fired). But for Ben these moments are not about pleasure but about the temporary release from pain. Advertisement Sera is seen in three ways: As Ben sees her, as her pimp and her clients see her, and as she sees herself in close-up monologues during therapy sessions. Her pimp ( Julian Sands ) is soon off the scene; it is bold of Figgis to establish him, to show his sadomasochistic control of Sera, and then to make him disappear in an off-screen killing. We need to know where Sera is coming from, but we don't need to linger there. For Ben, who almost runs her down in a crosswalk, she is literally the last person in his life he will be able to focus on. He loves her with the purity of a love that has no components, except need and gratitude. He doesn't want to have sex with her, doesn't want her for companionship, isn't looking for an "experience." He is simply touched, somewhere inside his suffering where nothing else can reach, that this woman would care for him.

Why does Sera love Ben? The movie leaves that for us to intuit, and the therapy sessions do not explain her feelings, they only show her trying to discover them. There is an early monologue where she boasts about her skill as a hooker, how she can sense exactly what a client wants and provide it. That is how she wants to see herself. We also see that her pimp cuts her ("never on the face"), and we witness a night when she goes into a motel room with four drunken high-school athletes, and this is so unwise that we read it as deliberately self-destructive. Sera still has her looks, but she once had innocence and hope, and they are gone. When she looks at Ben, she feels sympathy and empathy, but more than that, I think she feels admiration for the purity of his gesture: Having arrived at the end of his road, he accepts his destiny with a certain stoic courage. Advertisement Of course, he could be saved. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are filled with healthy, functioning people who were once living Ben's life. But most drunks are not lucky enough to find sobriety. And in Ben's case, there may be another component; he is actively committing suicide.

"Is drinking a way of killing yourself?" Sera asks him, and he replies: "Or, is killing myself a way of drinking?" Sera senses she cannot save him. "You can never, ever, ask me to stop drinking," he tells her soon after they meet. "Do you understand?" She says: "I do. I really do." As a hooker in Vegas she has met a lot of sad and desperate men and no doubt a lot of drunks, but there is something about Ben, she tells her therapist, that she can't get out of her mind. Oddly enough, we sense it, too. There are not many terminal drunks we would want to spend a movie with, but we feel tender toward Ben. Of other famous movie alcoholics, Ray Milland's in "The Lost Weekend" was a case study, seen from outside, and Albert Finney's in "Under the Volcano" lacked Ben's self-knowledge. The movie was made quickly, inexpensively, close to ground level.

Mike Figgis is a British director whose career is a litany of risk-taking and original concepts; his boldest experiment was "Timecode" (2000), filmed on video in four unbroken 90 minute shots which were simultaneously seen on a screen divided into quadrants. He shot "Leaving Las Vegas" on location, without permits or permissions, using an unobtrusive 16mm camera and sometimes sending his actors into real situations. The cinematography, by Declan Quinn, creates a high-contrast noir look, the shadows sometimes invaded by garish neon. The music reinforces it. Figgis wrote the original score, and also uses the kinds of songs (" Angel Eyes ," "Come Rain or Come Shine") drunks punch into the jukebox at 3 a.m. He repeats some of the songs, which is right: A drinking session can develop its own theme song. Advertisement The film was nominated for best actor, actress, director and screenplay. Cage won, and deserved to. Shue did not win ( Susan Sarandon did, for "Dead Man Walking").

It is impossible to imagine one performance without the other, and Shue is the emotional center of the film, because the Cage character is on a set trajectory and beyond the possibility of change. Shue before and since has been in mostly mainstream commercial movies; like Halle Berry with " Monster's Ball " and Charlize Theron with " Monster ," she found a role that took her absolutely to the limit and went all the way, fearlessly. The screenplay is by Figgis, based on a novel by John O'Brien , who killed himself at about the time the film went into production. He was 34. His father said the book was his suicide note. The character of Ben is certainly a man who has made his decision and will stay with it; why he kills himself with alcohol, instead of, say, shooting himself in the head as O'Brien did, may have two answers. The first, more pragmatic, is that it allows a story arc to develop, as Sera follows Ben on his final lonely journey. The second, which I feel when I watch the film, is that Ben's guilt, or despair, or self-loathing, is so great that he doesn't want a quick end. He wants to suffer all the way out.

That Sera brings him some comfort does not lessen his pain, and if he truly loved her he would not want to leave her. But perhaps he is too deranged to have such thoughts. "You are my angel," he tells her, not long before the unbearably sad and tender death scene. By then he is much more dead than alive. Nicolas Cage also stars in " Moonstruck ," another title in the Great Movies collection at Advertisement Leaving Las Vegas Rankings & Opinions 27 lists Leaving Las Vegas Leaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film written and directed by Mike Figgis and based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas. While there, he develops a relationship with a hardened prostitute played by Elisabeth Shue, which forms the center of the film. O'Brien committed suicide two weeks after princi...

1995 Academy Awards® Winners and History Il Postino: The Postman (1994, It./Fr./Belg.) Sense and Sensibility (1995, UK/US) Actor: NICOLAS CAGE in "Leaving Las Vegas", Richard Dreyfuss in "Mr.

Holland's Opus", Anthony Hopkins in "Nixon", Sean Penn in "Dead Man Walking", Massimo Troisi in "Il Postino" Actress: SUSAN SARANDON in "Dead Man Walking", Elisabeth Shue in "Leaving Las Vegas", Sharon Stone in "Casino", Meryl Streep in "The Bridges of Madison County", Emma Thompson in "Sense and Sensibility" Supporting Actor: KEVIN SPACEY in "The Usual Suspects", James Cromwell in "Babe", Ed Harris in "Apollo 13", Brad Pitt in "Twelve Monkeys", Tim Roth in "Rob Roy" Supporting Actress: MIRA SORVINO in "Mighty Aphrodite", Joan Allen in "Nixon", Kathleen Quinlan in "Apollo 13", Mare Winningham in "Georgia", Kate Winslet in "Sense and Sensibility" Director: MEL GIBSON for "Braveheart", Mike Figgis for "Leaving Las Vegas", Chris Noonan for "Babe", Michael Radford for "Il Postino", Tim Robbins for "Dead Man Walking" The major Oscar winner of the year was the Best Picture award winner, producer / star / director Mel Gibson's and

 Paramount's stirring and violent historical action-epic tale Braveheart, about 13th century Scottish folk rebel hero and warrior Sir William Wallace, who led a vengeful, bloody revolt composed of guerrilla strikes against the treachery of villainous King Edward I.

The three-hour, rousing action tale (Australian Gibson's second feature as director after his work in The Man Without a Face (1993)), with unforgettable battle scenes, romance, and sacrifice, was nominated for ten awards (including Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Sound). It triumphantly won five Oscars - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, and Best Sound Effects. Braveheart was the only Best Picture nominee that didn't have an acting nomination (Gibson was denied a nomination in the performing category). The only Best Picture nominee that could be considered a traditional Hollywood offering was director Ron Howard's blockbuster hit Apollo 13 (with nine nominations and two wins - Best Sound and Best Editing) - a chronicle of the real-life adventures of the ill-fated, heroic astronauts (Jim Lovell and his crew) of the 1970s Apollo-13 mission to the moon, who averted tragedy with the persistent help of the Houston NASA team.

The other three Best Picture nominees included: the Australian fantasy film by director Chris Noonan, Babe (with seven nominations and one win - Best Visual Effects) about a live-action barnyard and its 'sheepherding' star - an intelligent piglet named Babe Taiwanese director Ang Lee's costume drama and British comedy of manners Sense and Sensibility (with seven nominations and one win - Best Adapted Screenplay for first-time screenwriter and star actress Emma Thompson), a witty adaptation of Jane Austen's 19th century novel director Michael Radford's and Miramax Studio's Italian tragi-comedy based on Antonio Skarmeta's novel Burning Patience, Il Postino (The Postman) (with five nominations and only one win - Best Dramatic Score by Luis Enriquez Bacalov) about a sweet, tongue-tied Mediterranean mailman (Massimo Troisi) whose friendship with exiled, legendary Chilean poet Pablo Neruda yields unexpected results with the town's beautiful barmaid. [Il Postino was only the fifth non-English language film in the history of the Awards that received a Best Picture nomination.] With his Best Director win, actor/director/producer Mel Gibson became the sixth actor-turned director to win a Best Director Oscar.

He joined five other actors-turned-filmmakers with Best Director Oscars: Woody Allen for Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven (1992) Two of the five directors of Best Picture nominees were not nominated as Best Director: Ron Howard Ang Lee In their places, writer/director Mike Figgis was nominated for his adaptation of John O'Brien's semi-autobiographical novel - the low-budget indie Leaving Las Vegas (with four nominations and one win - Best Actor), a depressing, film-noirish acting tour de force about two down-and-outers in flashy Las Vegas. And producer/writer/director Tim Robbins was nominated for Dead Man Walking (with four nominations and one win - Best Actress), an adaptation of Sister Helen Prejean's best-selling account of her work among condemned-to-die prisoners on death row at New Orleans' Angola Prison. Both films - Leaving Las Vegas and Dead Man Walking were nominated in the Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress categories, but were snubbed in the Best Picture category! All four of the year's acting winners were first-time Academy Award winners.

The Best Actor Oscar went to Nicolas Cage (with his first nomination and first Oscar) for his performance as failed, Hollywood scriptwriter and fatally-destructive, genial, but suicidal alcoholic Ben Sanderson in Leaving Las Vegas. The other four Best Actor nominees in the category were: Richard Dreyfuss (with his second nomination) as mid-1960s high school, mentoring music teacher Glenn Holland (in a career spanning three decades) in director Stephen Herek's tear-jerker Mr. Holland's Opus (the film's sole nomination) Anthony Hopkins (with his third nomination) as tragically-lonely, scandal-ridden President Richard M.

Nixon ('Tricky Dick') in producer/director/writer Oliver Stone's three hour-long, melodramatic, historically-interpretative film Nixon (with four nominations and no wins) Sean Penn (with his first nomination) as Sister Helen's client - accused, remorseless death row rapist/murderer Matthew Poncelet in Dead Man Walking Massimo Troisi as shy, romantically-inclined, village postman Mario Ruoppolo in the bittersweet film Il Postino [Troisi was the first post-humous Best Actor nominee since Peter Finch was nominated (and won the Oscar) for Network (1976) . He died of a heart attack very shortly after filming his final scene.] Two of the nominees for Best Actress and the winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, played the role of prostitutes. Ironically, the role of a nun was the winner in the Best Actress category - this was the first time a person won for being a nun in Oscar history.

Susan Sarandon (with her fifth Best Actress nomination and first Oscar win) won the Best Actress award for her powerful role as anti-death penalty, real-life Catholic nun - Sister Helen Prejean, who spiritually advised a condemned, death-row murderer (Sean Penn) in Dead Man Walking. She became the first star to win Best Actress in a film directed by her nominated director-husband (unofficial but live-in husband Tim Robbins). [Note: Some argue that Frances McDormand was the first in the following year, winning Best Actress for Fargo (1996) , directed by nominated director-husband Joel Coen.] She was only the 2nd nun-playing actress in Academy history to win an Oscar for her performance, following Jennifer Jones who won the Best Actress Oscar for The Song of Bernadette (1943). Others who have been nominated (both lead and supporting) for their nun-characters include Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in Doubt (2008), Anne Bancroft and Meg Tilly in Agnes of God (1985), Peggy Wood in The Sound of Music (1965) (P.S.

technically, Julie Andrews hadn't taken her vows yet), Lilia Skalia in Lilies of the Field (1963), Audrey Hepburn in The Nun's Story (1959), Deborah Kerr in Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), Loretta Young and Celeste Holm in Come to the Stable (1949), Ingrid Bergman in The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), and Gladys Cooper in The Song of Bernadette (1943).

The competing Best Actress nominees included: Elisabeth Shue (with her first nomination) as lonely, soft-hearted prostitute Sera in Leaving Las Vegas Sharon Stone (with her first nomination) as Las Vegas casino boss Robert DeNiro's ex-hooker wife - the hedonistic and alluring Ginger McKenna in writer/director Martin Scorsese's underworld crime adaptation of Nicholas Pileggi's book Casino (the film's sole nomination) that reunited DeNiro, Scorsese, Pesci and Pileggi Meryl Streep (with her tenth nomination, and her 8th Best Actress nomination) as repressed, mid-1960s, Madison County (Iowa) farm-wife Francesca Johnson yearning for romance with a photographer (co-star Clint Eastwood) in star/producer/director Clint Eastwood's adaptation of Robert James Waller's novel The Bridges of Madison County (the film's sole nomination) Emma Thompson (with her fourth acting nomination and a recent Oscar win in Howard's End (1992)) as sensible Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility [Emma Thompson became the first performer to have dual nominations as screenwriter and actress - for Sense and Sensibility.

She won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar award, but lost her bid for an acting Oscar this time. With her adapted screenplay statue, she became the only individual, male or female, to have scored competitive Oscars for acting and writing, in 1992 and in this year.] All ten of the Best Supporting Actor and Actress nominees were first-time contenders. Kevin Spacey (with his first nomination and Oscar win!) won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as evil, crippled con-man/loser Roger "Verbal" Kint - who was grilled about a San Pedro tanker explosion and confesses in producer/director Bryan Singer's feature film debut, a delightfully-twisted, brilliant film-noirish The Usual Suspects (with only two nominations and two wins - including Best Original Screenplay for Christopher McQuarrie).

This low-budget independent film, made for $6 million, introduced the world to the elusive character of Keyser Soze, known for the saying: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." The other four nominees in the Best Supporting Actor category were: James Cromwell (with his first nomination) as Babe's kind-hearted farm owner Arthur Hoggett in Babe Ed Harris (with his first nomination) as chain-smoking flight director Gene Kranz in Apollo 13 Brad Pitt (with his first nomination) as seriously deranged Jeffrey Goines in director Terry Gilliam's complex, off-beat science fiction fantasy 12 Monkeys (with two nominations and no wins) Tim Roth (with his first nomination) as Rob Roy's evil, loathsome nemesis Cunningham in director Michael Caton-Jones' tale of the early 18th century legendary Scot - the lusty Robert Roy MacGregor in Rob Roy (the film's sole nomination) For her lead role as naive prostitute/porno star Linda Ash ('Judy Cum'), the wayward birth mother of divorced sportswriter Woody Allen's adopted son in actor/writer/director Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (with two nominations and one win),

 Mira Sorvino (with her first nomination and Oscar win) won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar award.

She followed in a long-line of other actresses who won Oscars for playing streetwalkers and hookers.

[Mira Sorvino was the third actress to win an Oscar for a performance in a Woody Allen film - following previous winners Diane Keaton for Annie Hall (1977) , and two-time winner Dianne Wiest for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Bullets Over Broadway (1994).] Her competitors in the Best Supporting Actress category included: Joan Allen (with her first nomination) as understanding, soft-spoken wife Pat Nixon in Nixon Kathleen Quinlan (with her first nomination) as omen-fearing Marylin Lovell - Jim Lovell's (co-star Tom Hanks) wife in Apollo 13 Mare Winningham (with her first nomination) as older sister Georgia - a settled, stable, successful folk-singer in director Ulu Grosbard's sibling rivalry character study Georgia (the film's sole nomination) Kate Winslet (with her first nomination) as overly romantic Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility This year's Honorary Oscar award was presented to Kirk Douglas, with a film career of almost 50 years, "as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community." He was nominated three times for Best Actor: for Champion (1949), The Bad and the

 Beautiful (1952) , and Lust For Life (1956) - but never won.

He had appeared in many other great films, including The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946), Out of the Past (1947) , The Big Carnival (1951), Detective Story (1951), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), Paths of Glory (1957) , Spartacus (1960), Lonely Are the Brave (1962), and Seven Days in May (1964). Another Honorary Oscar award recipient was famed animator Chuck Jones, often known as "The Father of Contemporary Animation," for "the creation of classic cartoons and cartoon characters whose animated lives have brought joy to our real ones for more than half a century. He directed animation at Warner Bros. (famous for Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck), and created such characters as Wile E. Coyote, Henery Hawk, Pepe Le Pew, Marvin Martian, Ralph Wolf, the Road Runner, Sam Sheepdog, and Sniffles.

Oscar Snubs and Omissions: Leaving Las Vegas and Dead Man Walking were nominated in the Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress categories, but were snubbed in the Best Picture category. Scorsese's Casino, a tale of greed and glittering Las Vegas decadence in the 1970s, with a sole unsuccessful nomination for Sharon Stone, lacked awards-nominations in a number of other categories (Best Director, Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay), and Robert DeNiro was un-nominated for his role as ill-fated Jewish bookmaking gangster Sam "Ace" Rothstein. Director Clint Eastwood's The Bridges of Madison County (with only one unsuccessful nomination for Meryl Streep as Best Actress) lacked a Best Director nomination and a Best Acting nomination for his role as photographer Robert Kincaid. One of the biggest omissions was Before Sunrise (Best Picture, Best Director (Richard Linklater), Best Actor (Ethan Hawke as Jesse), Best Actress (Julie Delpy as Celine), and Best Original Screenplay) - an all-time great romance film about two strangers spontaneously engaging in an overnight conversation in Vienna that changed their lives.

Director Ang Lee failed to win a Best Director nomination for Sense and Sensibility, and director Ron Howard was denied a similar nomination for Apollo 13. Tom Hanks was unnominated for Apollo 13 as astronaut and mission leader Jim Lovell ("Houston, we have a problem"), denying him a chance at an unprecedented three consecutive Oscar wins for Best Actor. There were only two (unsuccessful) nominations for Terry Gilliam's sci-fi time-travel film 12 Monkeys - Best Supporting Actor (Brad Pitt) and Best Costume Design. Spike Lee's Clockers, a grim film about crack drug trade, was also denied nominations, as was David Fincher's gruesome crime thriller and box-office hit Se7en (with only one nomination - Best Film Editing). Female director Kathryn Bigelow's futuristic thriller Strange Days received zero recognition -- for acting honors to Juliette Lewis, Angela Bassett, or for Ralph Fiennes, or for producer James Cameron's script. The CGI-enhanced visual-special effects by Stan Parks were unrecognized for Jumanji.

The following were additional acting nominations - denied or unacknowledged: Jennifer Jason Leigh as Mare Winningham's tormented sister Sadie - a wanna-be, drug-addicted rock singer in Georgia Gary Sinise as bitter, grounded astronaut Ken Mattingly in Apollo 13 Julianne Moore as affluent, fragile California housewife Carol White with a unique 20th century affliction called MCS ("multiple chemical sensitivity") and forced to live an isolated existence at a desert retreat called Wrenwood to prevent serious allergic reactions, in Todd Haynes' Safe Kathy Bates as the title character Dolores Claiborne, an abused wife in a domestically-troubled family with estranged daughter Selena (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in director Taylor Hackford's adaptation of Stephen King's 1992 novel Dolores Claiborne (with no nominations) Julia Ormond as Sabrina Fairchild, and Nancy Marchand as a daffy society matron (and Harrison Ford's mother) in the inferior remake Sabrina (with two unsuccessful nominations - Best Original Musical or Comedy Score, and Best Original Song - "Moonlight") Angela Bassett as raging, wronged wife Bernadine 'Bernie' Harris in Forest Whitaker's Waiting to Exhale (

with no nominations), adapted from Terry McMillan's novel of the same name Golden Globe winner Nicole Kidman as TV anchorwoman Suzanne Stone Maretto with sociopathic, spouse-murdering intentions, and Joaquin Phoenix as the dumb, working-class teen drawn into her scheme in Gus Van Sant's black dramedy To Die For Ian McKellen as the title character in Richard Loncraine's dramatic period film Richard III (with only two unsuccessful nominations - Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design) Kevin Kline as French jewel thief Luc Teyssier in Lawrence Kasdan's French Kiss (with no nominations) Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma/The Riddler in Batman Forever (with three unsuccessful nominations - Best Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects Editing) Albert Finney as Alfie Byrne, an early 1960s Dublin bus driver in A Man of No Importance Don Cheadle as a criminal psychopath named Mouse - a sharp counterpoint to Denzel Washington's private eye named Easy in an LA crime case in Devil in a Blue Dress

Question: Who stars as the suicidal alcoholic in the 1995 film, ‘Leaving Las Vegas’?
Answer: NICOLAS CAGE