Leaving Las Vegas (1995) 4K Restoration
- Sat, Nov 15
Sat, Nov 15 @ 11:00 am: 4K Presentation
Director: Mike Figgis Run Time: 111 min. Rating: R Release Year: 1995
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands, Richard Lewis, Steven Weber
Country: United States
Language: English, Russian, Latvian
About the film:
Winner – Best Actor in a Leading Role – Nicolas Cage – 1996 Academy Awards
Ben Sanderson (Nicolas Cage), a once-successful Hollywood screenwriter, arrives in Las Vegas intent on drinking himself to death after losing his career, his family, and all sense of purpose. His life is a downward spiral he no longer wishes to stop. Amid the city’s neon excess, he meets Sera (Elisabeth Shue), a resilient yet deeply wounded sex worker living her own cycle of survival and solitude. What begins as a chance encounter becomes an unflinching, painful, and unexpectedly beautiful relationship — one built not on salvation, but on mutual acceptance.
Together, they form a fragile bond defined by unspoken rules: she won’t try to stop his drinking, and he won’t question her work. Within that space, the film captures a rare kind of intimacy — one that exists in the quiet understanding between two people who have abandoned hope but still yearn for connection. Figgis’ direction and handheld cinematography give the film a raw immediacy, while his jazz-infused score envelops the story in melancholy warmth, echoing the rhythm of Ben’s slow descent.
Restored in 4K from the original 35 mm camera negative, this new edition revives the film’s naturalistic textures and vibrant, nighttime palette — the restless glow of Vegas now sharper, the vulnerability of Cage and Shue even more vivid. The restoration preserves the grain and intimacy that made the film an emblem of 1990s independent cinema, reminding audiences why it remains such a searing emotional experience.
About the filmmaker:
Mike Figgis is a British filmmaker, composer, and screenwriter celebrated for his bold experimentation and emotional honesty, best known for his Academy Award–nominated film Leaving Las Vegas (1995). With a background in music and theater, Figgis brings a distinctive sense of rhythm, improvisation, and visual immediacy to his work, often exploring themes of intimacy, isolation, and creative freedom. His innovative use of digital video and split-screen storytelling in later films such as Timecode (2000) established him as a pioneer of new cinematic form, blurring the boundaries between performance, technology, and art.
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