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Sleepers

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Sleepers (1996)

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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

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Reviews for Sleepers

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21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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No review available.

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

A skillfully packaged product that is bound to satisfy.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

It is well acted, cleverly directed, photographed and edited, but leaves one feeling hollow and feeling after seeing it.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
03/16/03
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

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

Sleepers' ultimate sin is that it takes child sexual abuse, a subject that shouldn't be toyed with, and uses it as the impetus for a trifling revenge play.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
08/15/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

At times the images are agonizing to behold, men in their most desperate, hateful depths preying on children. The film, exceptional on many counts, ultimately is sad in a hopeless, haunting way.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/18/02
Peter Stack
Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

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

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

Idealized? You bet. That's why the loss of this world must be avenged with the same broad strokes that you'd expect from the Count of Monte Cristo.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/12/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Although Sleepers is billed as a thriller, this is not what the film is about. In the end, the film is about human relationships, and what draws us together as friends.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
02/27/01
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

In craft terms alone, Sleepers is considerably better than average filmmaking, but it's difficult to take this film as seriously as it takes itself.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/14/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Engrosses if it doesn't fully convince.

comment Comment
01/01/00
USA Today

The implausibility of this story is high, but it still retains the vibrance and interest of all good prison and courtroom dramas.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
01/01/00
Barbara Shulgasser
Barbara Shulgasser
San Francisco Examiner

No review available.

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

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

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

The plot is complicated and the climax is subtle. But for much of the movie, Levinson ... is still in that Natural mode, wherehe doesn't trust his audience to get it.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

No review available.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Despite protests from the Catholic Church (which whines about any movie that portrays priests as anything less-than-pure), Sleepers, which represents two and one-half hours of gripping entertainment, is well worth the price of admission.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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Latest News for Sleepers

August 16, 2006: Character Actor Bruno Kirby, Dead at 57
You'd immediately recognize the face (and the voice) from movies like "City Slickers," "Good Morning Vietnam," and "When Harry Met Sally," but you... More...

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