Leaving Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Leaving Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 22, 2016

Winner of Oscar Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Leading Role, Mike Figgis' "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; B-Roll footage; and archival interviews with dierctor Mike Figgis, Nicolas Cage, and Elisabeth Shue. In English, with optional English SDH and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

It is easy to label many of the films Nicholas Cage has made during the last couple of decades as bad. It is because they are. But the same can be said about the majority of the films many other Hollywood A-listers have made during the last couple of decades. It is just the way the film business is these days. It is dominated by bad, made-for-quick-consumption via streaming platforms, projects that are required to check a lot of boxes, meet many quotas, and if one wants to make a living while in it, one has to be willing to do them. It is the naked truth. It is why Hollywood is broken now.

However, it is even easier to declare that Cage has remained one of only a few A-listers who continue to gamble with unorthodox parts in films that aspire to be original -- or at least as much as Hollywood allows these days. Cage has even gone overseas to make them. Some of these films have been misfires, too. However, several are genuine bangers because of the incredible performances Cage gives in them, and a few of them are now rightfully labeled as contemporary cult classics.

Before streaming broke Hollywood, Cage again gambled with unorthodox parts, and arguably the best of them emerged from Mike Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas. In it, Cage is not the only actor who shines in a truly special way, but it would not be an exaggeration to declare that his performance now makes it easy to argue that Leaving Las Vegas may very well be the best film the 1990s left us. Indeed, before Figgis’ camera, Cage is astonishing, and in every possible way an actor could be.

In a working-class suburb of Los Angeles, failed screenwriter and hardcore alcoholic Ben Sanderson (Cage) begins the final chapter of his life story. He cleans up his house and places all personal belongings connected in some way to the family he has lost in several trash bags, burns his passport, and jumps in his car. Then, after quickly moving through the city’s notorious traffic, he heads to Las Vegas, determined to drink himself to death.

Somewhere near the Strip, Sanderson, already mildly boozed up, nearly hits Sera (Elisabeth Shue), a sexy streetwalker, and, following a short interaction, hires her to give him a good time. Instead of making love in his hotel room, the two then spend the entire night talking and comforting each other, with Sanderson also boozing as much as he can. In the days ahead, Sanderson steals Sera’s heart, reluctantly agrees to move to her apartment, and, for a short period of time, the two begin acting like a somewhat normal couple. However, Sanderson refuses to abandon his plan to drink himself to death, and Sera is forced to rethink her relationship with her Latvian pimp (Julian Sands) after he becomes a target for the Russian mafia.

Cage’s character is like James Caan’s character from Karel Reisz’s The Gambler. They are both hardcore junkies. Only their fix is different. Cage’s character drinks, while Caan’s character gambles. Unsurprisingly, they both slide into the same abyss where all hardcore junkies self-destruct.

What makes the slide of Cage’s character into the abyss different is that it lights up the space around it, where other miserable souls, like the streetwalker, are also gambling with their lives. Because of him, it is easy to see them, and it is even easier to realize that they have simply chosen a longer route to get to the bottom of the abyss.

The final thirty minutes are heartbreaking. The more Cage’s character drinks, the clearer it becomes that hardcore junkies like him cannot be saved. Their addiction is a lot stronger than love, happiness, and everything else that makes a life worth living.

Leaving Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mike Figgis' Leaving Las Vegas arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The basic characteristics of the technical presentation are very similar to those of the U.S. release which MGM produced back in 2011. This is rather disappointing because the U.S. release is sourced from an older master with some obvious limitations. Detail and clarity are rather pleasing, but plenty of the darker footage looks somewhat flat. Indeed, shadow definition isn't optimal, and as a result, depth can be quite inconsistent (see screencaptures #6 and 10). There are no traces of recent degraining adjustments, but grain isn't as well exposed and resolved as it can be. Edge-enhancement isn't an issue of concern. Colors are stable and appear natural, but it is very easy to see that saturation should be much better. Ideally, there should be a bigger spectrum of healthy nuances as well (see screencaptures #2 and 14). Contrast levels remain stable. Basic image stability is very good, but as mentioned earlier, a new scan of the original negative will undoubtedly produce drastically better fluidity. Lastly, there are no large debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, or warps to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Leaving Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0, and German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. It is a good one, allowing the wonderful jazz score to open up the film in all the right places and handling the dialog very easily. The mid/high registers appear well balanced as well. On the lower end there isn't a great deal of movement, but such is the film's original sound design. There are no audio dropouts, pops, background hiss, or digital distortions to report in our review.

Leaving Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making of Featurette - this short archival featurette has clips from interviews with dierctor Mike Figgis, Nicolas Cage, and Elisabeth Shue. In English, with optional German subtitles. (6 min).

• B-Roll - presented here is B-Roll footage from the shooting of the film in Las Vegas. In English, with optional German subtitles. (10 min).

• Interviews - presented here are four short interviews with Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands, and Mike Figgis. The interviewees discuss some of the film's main themes, the nature of the relationship between Ben and Sera, the film's atmosphere, etc. In English, with optional German subtitles.
  
  1. Nicolas Cage (4 min).
  2. Elisabeth Shue (4 min).
  3. Julian Sands (3 min)
  4. Mike Figgis (4 min).

Leaving Las Vegas Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Leaving Las Vegas is one of the very best films of the '90s. It is brilliantly directed by Mike Figgis, and Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue's performances are truly in a category of their own. It has an unforgettable soundtrack as well. I frequently revisit this film, and I was hoping that this new release from StudioCanal would offer some substantial improvements. Unfortunately, it is sourced from the same master that MGM used for the U.S. release of the film a few years ago. I would recommend this release to fans of the film in the United Kingdom, as it certainly looks a lot better than previous DVD releases, but I think that the film needs to be remastered so that it looks as good as it should in high-definition. I secretly hope that in the United States Criterion will eventually find a way to do just that and produce a definitive Blu-ray release. RECOMMENDED.