Rating: 
Summary: Drastically underrated film...
Review: ...that should rank among the other modern greats like Shawshank Redemption and American History X; the big difference between this movie and those others is that this is much more difficult to watch, and deals with more unsettling subjects. I have read petty bad-reviews on this film complaining about the lack of morals in the movie and how it seems to condone murder. Well, it doesn't - the film deals with a real situation and deals with it in realistic terms. It doesn't screw around with hollywood happy-endings and big uplifting plots/climax' but rather simply tells a very real story that DOES HAPPEN and deserves to be told. Everyone should see this movie including the faint of heart. (That aside, the DVD is terrible.)
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, horible DVD
Review: I am not reveiwing this excellent movie. I am reviewing the horrible DVD. No extras at all, and its a flip disc to boot!! That means once you are all comfy in your couch/chair/bed you gotta get up halfway through the movie to flip it to side B. Where is the SPECIAL EDITION??? This is a great movie with a great story and great performances that needs to be treated with better respect than this. If VAN WILDER can get a special edition 2 disc set, that I cant see why SLEEPERS cant.
Rating:
Summary: A Grabber!! But Not For The Faint Hearted
Review: This is a movie that deals with the abuse of children in a reform school setting, and the revenge taken by those children when they become adults. In a nutshell, the story involves a childhood prank gone wrong, reform school guards gone sadistic and revenge taken fifteen years later by the boys, grown to manhood. I read Lorenzo Caracaterra's book (which was touted as a true story, but later shown to be no such thing, but still a good read) and here is one case where the movie is better than the book -- by far. The movie is tightly scripted, and although it may, at 2 1/2 hours, seem long, you will not notice the passage of time. The cast demonstrates from the very outset what fine acting is all about. To single out any one performer may not do justice to the entire cast, but Robert DeNiro is superb in the role of the parish priest, who becomes conflicted by his religious beliefs and his wish to help "his boys", grown to adulthood. Although the subject matter involving the reform school guards' sadistic abuse of four boys is troublesome, this is outstanding film making. I have watched it several times and will do so again, because of the compelling story, outstanding acting and superb filming. The DVD quality is excellent and so is the sound. I have never known anyone who did not find "Sleepers" to be anything other than an outstanding movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelieveable!!!!!
Review: I don't know how to feel about this movie. I was reluctant to watch it at first because I had heard about some of the controversial things that happened in the movie. When I finally saw it for myself, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Even though there is friction about whether the horrfic things in this movie took place or not I still found it disturbing. I liked it don't get me wrong, but the movie doesn't really pick up until the four boys get shipped off to reform school. After they got there is when the nightmare really begins. I was totally disgusted when I saw how harshly Kevin Bacon was acting(I didn't know he had it in him). I felt so sad for the boys that I couldn't help but cry. After that, I got mad because I just didn't understand how or why people can be that cruel to children that they are suppose to be guarding and protecting. I could'nt believe they actually beat Rizzo to death (even though they didn't show the actual beating). That's the reason I loved it so much when Kevin Bacon got what he deserved. My heart raced through this whole movie. I just couldn't believe how Kevin Bacon just enjoyed and relished in the power he had over those young boys (not to leave out the rest of his ... pals as well). I guess Nokes (Bacon) just stood out the most to me because he was just plain sick. I must say that if this story was in fact true that the whole entire cast made me feel the pain of the people this sadistic trauma really happened to.
Rating:
Summary: Distrubingly intense
Review: I found this to be an incredibly compelling film, although it took a long time for me to get past the central brutality, and watch it a second and third time. By then, I was hooked.The underlying story is a troubling but familiar one, about young boys growing up in the Hell's Kitchen section of New York. Their lives take them on a huge turn when heir "innocent" prank goes bad. For their crime, they are sentenced to a year in a reform school for troubled boys, ostensibly to keep them from advancing into a life of crime. Unfortunately, the institution is populated by not only brutally sadistic fellow inmates but also with guards who take the boys' remaining innocence and traumatize them. The boys leave, but
years later their paths bring them back across a terrible reminder of their past. The remainder of the film is the turning of the law enforcement system, in which the system itself is shown for what it was, and the way it impacts these individuals. One of the bit players, Frank Medrano as a neighborhood tough guy has the most timeless line of the film: "On the street, justice got no price. She's blind where the judge sits. But she ain't blind out here. Out here, the ... got eyes." Fabulous performances, even if they were critically not acclaimed. Robert DiNero is terrific as a local priest who never gives up hope for "his boys", even to the point of ommitting perjury for them. Kevin Bacon IS the sadistic guard, and there is real joy at seeing his comeuppance. Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman appear as dueling lawyers in the courtroom scene, each giving marvelous and understated performances. Ron Eldard steals his scenes as one of the abused boys, all grown up, who serendipitously discovering Bacon in a restaurant has the best line of the movie when Bacon asks him what he wants. His retort, (which I will not quote, to avoid giving away the
ending) delivered with deadly quiet, and is nothing short of chilling. As another reviewer said, this film is stunning with its insight of boys' institution's and its horrors. It makes one wonder if anyone can ever survive the institution which was supposed to be an alternative to jail for kids. Growing up in New York around the same time as the protagonists, and getting into just a tad of trouble myself, I kept thinking "There but for the Grace of God go I". That alone was enough to make me say "Damn! What a movie"
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT movie...
Review: When i first saw this movie it shcoked me..the movie was so distrubing at times..but than i realized how incredible this movie is..the acting in this movie is sensational...This movie is based on the controversial bestseller sleepers...this movie is based on a true story about four friends ...a prank that goes wrong and how the punishment absolutely doesn't fit the crime..while they are in a dentention center they are abused physically and sexual..all the innoscence they once had was ripped away...they live out there time and move on still haunted by the evils they experineced..still scared of the pain they suffered...till one day two of the boys who are now men murder the man who is responsible for all their nightmares ..then they must all help each other to get them a not guilty verdict for this time the punishment again didn't fit the crime...this movie is a riverting movie...aboutlove, trust, truth, pain, suffering, revenge, peace...JUSTICE...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen, despite the fact that its story is shocking and some viewers will not like it. I recommend it, but bear in mind that it is not for everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Get The VHS Version
Review: If you want to see this great movie without having to get up after one hour to turn the DVD over, then get the VHS version!! This ... disc (typical of many Warner Brothers DVDs!!) is mono layered, and they don't tell you on the DVD case.Why would anybody want a 2-sided DVD ?? The movie is only 148 minutes long, and there aren't bonuses included on the DVD, so go figure!! ...
Rating:
Summary: Shocking....A Case for Anarchy!
Review: Sleepers was one of those movies you can't watch without your dark passions for revenge coming out to haunt you! While in real life it is not wise to seek such horrendous behaviors in the name of 'getting even,' movies may be an appropriate place for mature audiences to vent their feelings of frustration, rebellion, and vengeance. And Sleepers is a movie that will definitely make you want to do that!
Four young boys called Lorenzo (see other reviews for actor names), Micheal, John and ...They are sent to a corrections institution in 1967 where they meet their guard Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon in a sinister role). ...Eventually the grown John and Tommy, now turned into real, corrupted criminals, kill Nokes in an act of hot-blooded revenge. Michael then becomes the prosecutor in a sneaky move to help them get away with murder...These guards were also beating up and humiliating the boys in the name of "discipline" but were really just insecure and trying to display their authority and power. On the other side of the coin, many diverse groups felt that the movie promoted real-life revenge. Perhaps it is better that people can vent their feelings in a movie theater than in real life. Vengeance is a natural human instinct and trying to suppress it by condemning the feeling is ineffective. This movie serves as a release valve for the times in our lives when we get enraged and want to get even. The theme of this movie from my opinion is "Strike Back Against The Oppressor." What is the oppressor in real life? I believe it is big government, big business, and paternalistic criminal laws designed to be racist, sexist, homophobic, and persecute victimless crimes. Therefore, in real life Sleepers may not promote violent revenge, but it may promote REBELLION and ANARCHY. Which may be good to some extent.
Rating:
Summary: Solemn drama gets the all-star treatment
Review: By virtue of its all-star cast, handsome production values and solemn subject matter, Barry Levinson's "Sleepers" (1996) was clearly intended as a Major Motion Picture from the outset. Based on the harrowing true-life bestseller by journalist Lorenzo Carcaterra - first published in 1995 - book and film describe the appalling fate of four Hell's Kitchen kids (played as children by Joe Perrino, Brad Renfro, Geoffrey Wigdor and Jonathan Tucker) who, in 1967, were sentenced to confinement in the 'Wilkinson Home for Boys' following a near-fatal accident involving a hot dog vending machine which they had stolen as a prank. Inside the reformatory, all four boys are sexually and emotionally abused by a group of sadistic guards led by the sinister Nokes (Kevin Bacon at his slimiest). More than a decade later, traumatized by their experiences, two of the now grown-up boys (Ron Eldard and Billy Crudup) corner Nokes unexpectedly in a local diner and murder him in cold blood. The other members of the group - one a prosecuting attorney (Brad Pitt), the other an aspiring writer and journalist (Jason Patric) - formulate a daring plan to have their friends acquitted, expiose the reformatory's dark secrets, and take revenge on their abusers... Such an extraordinary tale was always going to be controversial, of course, and so it proved. Upon release, book and film drew immediate fire from critics who accused author and filmmakers of embellishment and exaggeration, since no records could be found to prove that the trial depicted in the film ever took place within the Manhattan district, or that the Wilkinson Home for Boys ever existed - even though Carcaterra's book (and Levinson's script) makes it clear that most of the names, dates and locations have been changed or fictionalized to protect those involved, and that the records of all children held in institutions like Wilkinson are routinely deleted after seven years. Further scandal ensued when the movie ignited protests from those who believed the story drew unfortunate parallels between pedophilia and homosexuality, thereby reinforcing the worst kind of homophobic stereotype. The point is certainly valid, given Hollywood's shameful mistreatment of gay themes and characters over the years, but "Sleepers" doesn't seek to draw any kind of parallels, unconsciously or otherwise, merely to recreate events described in Carcaterra's book. Besides, monsters are monsters, whoever their victims may be. As a movie, "Sleepers" is competent, briskly paced, and beautifully acted by a dream cast of old pro's (including Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman in key roles) and a new generation of rising stars. It's an ensemble piece, and the lack of grandstanding - in favor of narrative momentum - is admirable. But while the film is consistently intelligent and engaging, it's drawbacks are significant: The kids are terrific, especially Perrino, but the adults are burdened by the gravity of the subject matter, and Patric's sombre narration seems a little too laidback at times, lacking warmth or even genuine emotion, while John Williams' rambling score clashes resolutely with the film's epic visual sweep. Also, for obvious reasons, the moviemakers were unable to depict the kind of sexual atrocities outlined in the original book, with unfortunate consequences: Here, Nokes' murder seems more like the result of a petulant outburst by a couple of thugs, rather than the inevitable outcome of horrendous physical abuse. And during the subsequent trial, it defies belief that the prosecution's key witness - a former guard at Wilkinson - would incriminate himself so readily on the stand, as depicted here. That said, however, the movie is still a worthwhile erntry, but the book is better. Warner Bros.' region 1 DVD - one of their first releases on this newfangled disc format - runs exactly 147:00 and is spread over two sides in a manner that wouldn't be acceptable today. The glorious Super 35 compositions are preserved in letterbox format (a little overmatted at 2.40:1), anamorphically enhanced, though the 5.1 Dolby soundtrack is fairly subdued, selling the drama without drawing too much attention to itself. There's a trailer and brief cast biographies, along with English captions and subtitles. Missing from this print is a brief intertitle which originally appeared before the closing credits, outlining some of the criticisms levelled against Carcaterra's original account.
|
