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Movies / On DVD / Sleepers
Sleepers

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Sleepers (1996)

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74 %
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Reviews Counted:46

Fresh:34

Rotten:12

Average Rating:6.7/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 28 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Tommy, John, Michael, and Shakes are four young teenage punks growing up in the streets of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen in the mid-1960s. When these four friends pull a prank that that goes awry,... Tommy, John, Michael, and Shakes are four young teenage punks growing up in the streets of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen in the mid-1960s. When these four friends pull a prank that that goes awry, they find themselves serving time at the Wilkinson School for Boys, where they are repeatedly and sadistically violated and tortured by four guards--the most menacing being Noles, portrayed by Kevin Bacon. Fifteen years later, the foursome is still dealing with the emotional repercussions of their abuse. Tommy (Billy Crudup) and John (Ron Eldard) have become common criminals, and when they spot Noles in a local watering hole they can't pass up the chance for revenge. It's up to Shakes (Jason Patric), a low-profile newspaper employee, and Michael (Brad Pitt), a lawyer with the district attorney's office, to save their friends while keeping the details of their tortured childhoods secret. Dustin Hoffman appears as Danny Snyder, and Robert De Niro stars as Father Bobby, the local neighborhood priest who is as comfortable on the streets or in a bar as he is behind the pulpit. Based on the allegedly true story by Lorenzo Carcaterra, the film is directed by Barry Levinson (DINER, RAIN MAN). [More]

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Bruno Kirby, Brad Renfro, Minnie Driver, Joe Perrino, Geoff Wigdor, Jonathan Tucker, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Jeffrey Donovan

Director: Barry Levinson

Director: Barry Levinson
Screenwriter: Barry Levinson
Story: Lorenzo Carcaterra
Composer: John Williams
Producer: Steve Golin, Barry Levinson

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Aug 22, 1997

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Sleepers

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1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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No review available.

comment Comment
02/07/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

What a more interesting film this would have been had Levinson found a way to integrate the past and the present so that one informed the other. As constructed, however, he's made a lopsided movie.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Steve Davis
Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle

One thing you will not being doing after seeing this dark, yet beautifully written film, is sleeping.

comment Comment
08/02/08
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy
BDK Reviews

A harrowing tale that includes a preposterous court case, an-eye-for-an-eye moral, and fine acting from a star-packed cast.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mark Bazer
Mark Bazer
Boston Phoenix

No review available.

comment Comment
04/21/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Kim Williamson
Kim Williamson
Boxoffice Magazine

Disturbing, but compelling and provocative.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
08/14/09
Channel 4 Film

As entertainment, the movie functions successfully. But I don't believe the story is true -- not true to the facts, and not true to the morality it pretends to be about.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Drama needs conflict, and Sleepers, at the critical juncture, doesn't deliver any.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

É um daqueles filmes que preparam o espectador durante uma hora e meia para um clímax que nunca chega.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
05/31/02
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

Worth seeing for the acting alone. Add in the starpower, Levinson's direction and some good visuals, and you've got one heck of a movie.

Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
01/01/00
Madeleine Williams
Madeleine Williams
Cinematter

No review available.

comment Comment
01/25/06
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

One doesn't need to agree with the premise to appreciate Levinson's movie, which is rich in atmosphere and colorful in character.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
06/23/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

That revenge is sweet is no new moral code for Hollywood, of course, but in this case it's asking quite a bit to suggest that we cheer murderers and drug dealers.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Almost everything in it, true or not, plays as a cliche.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Boasting a glorious multi-generational cast (De Niro, Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Jason Patric), Levinson's tale of sexual abuse and revenge is just decent, lacking dramatic energy and relying too much on voice-over narration and conventional courtroom procedures

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
08/23/09
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/13/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/20/03
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

No review available.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Bill Chambers
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central

Finally redeems [Levinson] for the idiocy of Disclosure and Toys.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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