...
Something which did surprise me was, that when the Oscars came round, Sleepers only got one nomination and that was for "Best Music, Original Dramatic Score", which brings me neatly on to the sound track. The songs which appear in the film are mainly those from the sixties such as "Walk ... Read review
The first thing you need to know aboutSleepersis that it's based on anovelby Lorenzo ... more
Carcaterra that was allegedly based on a true story. The movie repeats this bogus claim, which was attacked and determined by a wide majority to be misleading. Knowing...
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The first thing you need to know aboutSleepersis that it's based on anovelby Lorenzo ... more
Carcaterra that was allegedly based on a true story. The movie repeats this bogus claim, which was attacked and determined by a wide majority to be misleading. Knowing...
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Mean Streets: You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it on the streets... ... more
'Mean Streets' heralded Martin Scorsese's arrival as a new filmmaking force - and marked his first historic teaming with Robert De Niro. It's a story Scorsese lived a semi-autobiographical tale of first-generation sons and daughters in New York's Little Italy. Harvey Keitel plays Charlie working his way up the ranks of a local mob. Amy Robinson is Teresa the girlfriend his family deems unsuitable because of her epilepsy. And in the starmaking role that won Best Supporting Actor Awards from the New York and National Society of Film Critics De Niro is Johnny Boy a small-time gambler in big-time debt to the loan sharks... (Dir. Martin Scorsese 1973) Taxi Driver: 'Taxi Driver' provoked fierce controversy when it was released running into censorship problems in America as some of the scenes of violence were described to be 'as gory as Clockwork Orange and Straw Dogs' (Evening News '76). In addition there was outcry at a 13-year-old schoolgirl actress (Jodie Foster) co-starring as a prostitute. (Dir. Martin Scorsese 1976) Casino: Robert De Niro Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci star in Director Martin Scorsese's riveting look at how blind ambition white-hot passion and 24-carat greed toppled an empire. Las Vegas in 1973 is the setting for this fact-based story about the Mob's multi-million dollar casino operation - where fortunes and lives were made and lost with a roll of the dice... (Dir. Matin Scorsese 1995) Sleepers: To four boys growing up on the streets in the mid 1960s Hell's Kitchen was a place of innocence ruled by corruption. The infamous New York City neighbourhood that stretched north from 34th to 56th Street and pushed west from the 8th Avenue to the Hudson River was guided by both priest and gangsters. The children who grew up there shared joyful times but subscribed to a sacred social code-crimes against the neighbourhood were not permitted and when they did occur punishment was severe. Four friends made a mistake that changed their lives forever... (Dir. Barry Levinson 1996) Cape Fear: Sam Bowden has always provided for his family's future. But the past is coming back to haunt them. Master filmmaker Martin Scorsese brings heart - pounding suspense to one of the most acclaimed thrillers of all time. Fourteen years after being imprisoned vicious psychopath Max Cady [Robert De Niro] emerges with a single - minded mission to seek revenge on his attorney Sam Bowden [Nick Nolte]. Cady becomes a terrifying presence as he menancingly circles Bowden's increasingly unstable family. Realising he is legally powerless to protect his beautiful wife [Jessica Lange] and his troubled teenage daughter Danielle [Juliette Lewis] Sam resorts to unorthodox measures which lead to an unforgettable showdown on Cape Fear. Visually stunning images and brilliant performances from a talented cast highlight this roller-coaster ride through relentless psychological torment. (Dir. Martin Scorsese 1991)
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The first thing you need to know aboutSleepersis that it's based on anovelby Lorenzo ... more
Carcaterra that was allegedly based on a true story. The movie repeats this bogus claim, which was attacked and determined by a wide majority to be misleading. Knowing this,Sleepersbecomes problematic because it's too neat, too clean, too manipulative in terms of legal justice and dramatic impact to be truly convincing. And yet, with its stellar cast directed by Barry Levinson, itsucceeds as gripping entertainment, and its tale of complex morality--despite a dubious emphasis on homophobic revenge--is sufficiently provocative. It's about four boys in New York's Hell's Kitchen district who are sent to reform school, where they must endure routine sexual assaults by the sadistic guards. Years after their release, the opportunity for revenge proves irresistible for two of the young men, who must then rely on the other pair of friends (Brad Pitt, Jason Patric), a loyal priest (Robert De Niro), and a shabby lawyer (Dustin Hoffman) to defend them in court. Despite the compelling ambiguities of the story, there's never any doubt about how we're supposed to feel, and the screenplay glosses over the story's most difficult moral dilemmas. At its best,Sleepersgrabs your attention and pulls you into its intense story of friendship and the price of loyalty under extreme conditions. The movie's New York settings are vividly authentic, and Minnie Driver makes a strong impression as a long-time friend of the loyal group of guys. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
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Sleepers (1996): To four boys growing up on the streets in the mid 1960s Hell's Kitchen ... more
was a place of innocence ruled by corruption. The infamous New York City neighbourhood that stretched north from 34th to 56th Street and pushed west from the 8th Avenue to the Hudson River was guided by both priest and gangsters. The children who grew up there shared joyful times but subscribed to a sacred social code-crimes against the neighbourhood were not permitted and when they did occur punishment was severe. Four friends made a mistake that changed their lives forever... Meet Joe Black (1998): Bill Parrish (Anthony Hopkins) has it all success wealth and power. Days before his 65th birthday he receives a visit from a mysterious stranger Joe Black (Brad Pitt) who soon reveals himself as Death. In exchange for extra time Bill agrees to serve as Joe's earthly guide. But will he regret his choice when Joe unexpectedly falls in love with Bill's beautiful daughter Susan (Claire Forlani)? Twelve Monkeys (1995): A lone time traveller from the year 2035 must solve a riddle that may save his people... but it may also take him to the brink of madness. Bruce Willis Madeline Stowe and Brad Pitt star in this brilliant sci-fi masterpiece from Terry Gilliam. After the world's population is devastated by a killer virus survivors must live in dark underground communities. Cole (Willis) "volunteers" to travel into the past to obtain a pure virus sample thereby helping scientists develop a cure. Along the way he crosses paths with a beautiful psychiatrist (Stowe) and a one-card-short-of-a-full-deck mental patient (Pitt). But the race is on as Cole searches for The Army of the 12 Monkeys a radical group linked to the deadly disease. With unforgettable performances and imaginative special effects 12 Monkeys is a modern-day classic laced with Gilliam's trademark wit and dazzling visual style.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Good performances and sympathetic direction Disadvantages: Shame that these horrors go on in the world
...when the Oscars came round, Sleepers only got one nomination and that was for "Best Music, Original Dramatic Score", which brings me neatly on to the sound track. The songs which appear in the film are mainly those from the sixties such as "Walk Like a Man" and "Good Vibrations". The score to the film was created by the legendary John Williams and features orchestral pieces which at times seem very threatening but works ... ...feeling and emotion.
The film has been shot over several locations, from the actual streets of Hell's Kitchen to the dark and evil reform school and also into the magnificent court room. Each set has been authentically decked out with period items, as the films spans from the mid 60's to the early 80's.
The Cast
-----------
Brad Renfro ---- Young Michael Sullivan
Brad Pitt ---- Michael ... more
The Storyline -----------------
Four teenage friends, who have no direction in life, enjoy having fun and causing mischief in an area of New York called Hell's Kitchen. The boys have a friend in the local priest, who is more suited to the street than the pulpit. He tries to give them guidance and is concerned as they strike up a friendship with the Boss of Hell's Kitchen. One day, an attempt to get free food goes terribly wrong and the four boys end up being sent to a reform school for a minimum of one year. Whilst here, the guards subject the boys to ciolence, humiliation and sexual abuse which leaves them scarred for life. Ashamed of what had happened to them, they hide the facts deep in the back of their minds.
Over a decade later, a chance meeting between two of the boys and one of the guards gives an opportunity to take revenge for the abuse they suffered at the reform school. Now facing a prison sentence for their actions, they must rely on their childhood friendships to help them in court.
This film is based on a novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra, and supposedly based on a true story. Several groups have investigated this claim and have come up with the fact that there is no proof that it is based on a true story. Although this maybe the case, it should not detract from the film which deals with a very serious issue which effects millions of people around the world. With this in mind, the scenes which deal with the sexual abuse have been done in such away that you never see it happening as it is just off camera but you can hear the torture that the boys go through which is enough to make you feel sick. Although I don't agree with the films mentality of "An eye for an eye", I cannot say what I would do if I was in the boy's situation with an opportunity to take revenge.
This film has excellent performances from all it's leading cast as well as the supporting actors. As there are too many people to mention individually, I have listed them in the section below. What I will say is that Robert De Niro pulls of the best performance as the priest Father Bobby; he is very believable as someone who has experienced life on the wrong side of the tracks but has found a new calling as a priest and in doing so, understands where the friends are coming from.
The film is directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam) and has done a very good job of dealing with such a sensitive matter. In the wrong hands this film could have become unwatchable with too much violence and graphical sexual abuse. He has manages to keep your attention through out the duration of the film, which is pretty good going as it is 2 hours 21 minutes long. This is partly down to the fact that he doesn't dwell on a shot too long which keeps the film moving as well as that in every scene we learn something more about a character or an important fact to do with the court case.
Something which did surprise me was, that when the Oscars came round, Sleepers only got one nomination and that was for "Best Music, Original Dramatic Score", which brings me neatly on to the sound track. The songs which appear in the film are mainly those from the sixties such as "Walk Like a Man" and "Good Vibrations". The score to the film was created by the legendary John Williams and features orchestral pieces which at times seem very threatening but works well as it enhances the story and helps to demonstrate feeling and emotion.
The film has been shot over several locations, from the actual streets of Hell's Kitchen to the dark and evil reform school and also into the magnificent court room. Each set has been authentically decked out with period items, as the films spans from the mid 60's to the early 80's.
The Cast -----------
Brad Renfro ---- Young Michael Sullivan Brad Pitt ---- Michael Sullivan Joseph Perrino ---- Young Lorenzo 'Shakes' Carcaterra Jason Patric ---- Lorenzo 'Shakes' Carcaterra Jonathan Tucker ---- Young Tommy Marcano Billy Crudup ---- Tommy Marcano Geoffrey Wigdor ---- Young John Reilly Ron Eldard ---- John Reilly Robert De Niro ---- Father Bobby Kevin Bacon ---- Sean Nokes (Guard) Minnie Driver ---- Carol Martinez Dustin Hoffman ---- Danny Snyder (Defence Lawyer) Vittorio Gassman ---- King Benny (Boss of Hell's Kitchen) Bruno Kirby ---- Shakes' Father Terry Kinney ---- Ralph Ferguson (Guard)
Technical Details ---------------------
Certificate: 18 Length: 141 mins WidescreenConclusion & Rating -------------------------
For a film with such a disturbing story line it is very compelling viewing. This is purely down to the great performances and tasteful direction of the cast and director. This is a film which I have watched numerous times when I want something which is gritty but not mentally challenging. Some of the implied abuse is quite stomach churning but is necessary for you to be able to sympathise with the characters.
For me this film rates on a par with "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Murder in the First".
Although I only had a video to watch of this, I believe the DVD contains the original theatrical trailer along with production notes, but I cannot comment on how effective they are. The film is currently available for £5.97 on Amazon and at the price, in my eyes, is a bargain.
Information --------------
Author Lorenzo Carcaterra has claimed that his book on which the film is based was a true story of his childhood. When the New York legal community went on record stating that no cases resembling the events of his book could be found in any court records, Carcaterra refused to discuss the discrepancy. His claims have since been dismissed as a mere publicity stunt and discredited. - information courtesy of IMDB
Advantages: A deep and moving plot based on a real story & exceptional actor performances. Disadvantages: Some disturbing scenes of sexual and physical assult.
Sleepers (DVD)
~~~The Cast~~~
The main characters: Group of four boys - John Riley (Geoffory Wigdor), Thomas (Jonathan Tucker), Michael Sullivan (Brad Renfro) and Shakes (Joe Perrino) and their adult counterparts Ron Eldard, Billy Crudup, Brad Pitt and Jason Patric. The boys' uncompromising friends Carol Martinez (Mini Driver) and Father Bobby (Robert De Niro).
The leader of the prison guards Nokes (Kevin Bacon), lawyer Danny Snyder (Dustin Hoffman) ... ...~~~My Opinion~~~
Sleepers is director Barry Levinson's take on a Lorenzo Carcaterra novel, which itself is allegedly based on a real story. Knowing this I find the plot somewhat too convenient to be believable. However maybe after two levels of "based on" the storyline now rather resembles a Chinese whisper, embellished by each teller to the next listener. Before the credits the audience is informed that The New York state division deny the juvenile ...
e.j.kingham 15.06.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepers (DVD)
Advantages: powerful performances from a great cast Disadvantages: pretends to be a true story
Most of the time Hollywood manages to take a really good piece of fiction and convert it into a disappointing film. Thankfully this is not the case with Sleepers. The original best-selling book by Lorenzo Carcaterra was successfully transported to the big screen by Barry Levinson along with co-producer Steve Golin and under the direction of Michael Ballhaus.
This is a rare film that actually manages to stay true to the sentiments of the book and ... ...success is also supported by the mega star cast which includes Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Minnie Driver, Jason Patric and a quite excellent performance from Dustin Hoffman.
The Storyline
The film opens in the summer of 1966 and focuses on four young boys growing up in the Hells Kitchen of New York. Narrated by the adult voice of one of the boys, Shakes, a picture is painted of a poor working class area of Manhattan made up of immigrant ...
atticusuk 16.07.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepers (DVD)
Advantages: Interesting film, important topic Disadvantages: Disturbing Story
...special features. 1996, Sleepers Writer/Director/Producer: Barry Levinson is a great director; he has been responsible for films such as 'Rain Man' for which he received the 1988 Best Director Oscar, in 1987 he directed 'Good Morning Vietnams' starring Robin Williams.
The Story
Set in the 1960's this film follows the life of four young boys who are great friends, they love to hang out with each other and work at the church as choirboys, and they ... ...prank on a hot dog vender and the consequences are disastrous. As a result of their actions on that summer's afternoon the four boys are sent for 18 months to The Wilkinson's Centre, New York. The Wilkinson's Centre is a detention centre for boys; the next year is living hell for the boys as they experience all kinds of abuse from the guards at the centre, verbal, physical and sexual, the boys swear never to mention it again once they leave.
10 ...
LIZKEMPO 03.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepers (DVD)
Advantages: The first half of the film is excellent Disadvantages: Second half drags
Growing up in Hell's Kitchen in the mid sixties is great fun for Tommy, John, Michael and Shakes. They play hard, but they are generally good kids, much liked in the neighbourhood. But a prank one day changes their lives for ever - they steal a hot dog vendor's stand and let it go at the top of some stairs, seriously injuring someone who got in its way. Sent to a detention camp for a few months, they are bullied and brutalized at the hands of the ... ...and John most of all, who end up in and out of prison. Then one day, Tommy and John come across one of the wardens and shoot him dead. Mike and Shakes, both lawyers, try to help them out, bringing to justice the other wardens responsible for their fate. What will happen to the four friends? And will their friendship remain intact?
This is an interesting film, which can easily be divided up into three parts. The first part is the most pleasant, for ...
sunmeilan 20.07.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepers (DVD)
Advantages: Great cast, great script and a moving story. Disadvantages: That it ever happened.
...I LOVE this film.
Sleepers is a dark movie based on the book of the same name. Written by Lorenzo Carcaterra, it is the story of his life growing up in Hell's Kitchen, a violent and disturbing neighbourhood in New York. The story centres around Carcaterra and his three best friends, Michael, John and Tommy and the event that changed their lives forever. In the summer of 1967 the four boys were involved in a tragic accident after a prank they pulled ... ...a year and eighteen months in Wilkinson's Home For Boys, basically a correctional facility for young offenders.
All the sets in the film are picked to perfection, from the hot sweaty streets of Hell's Kitchen to the imposing structure that is Wilkinson's, the location's all add to the brooding atmosphere of the film.
Here the boys are systematically beaten and abused, particularly by one sadistic guard by the name of Nokes. The boys go in as basically ...
dchurch 14.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepers (DVD)
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Advantages: Consistently funny Disadvantages: The directors reluctance towards extras
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The script bristles with quality one liners and neurotic Allen monologues, and we soon discover that Monroe will always be a man out of time, hating 2177 as much as 1973, and presumably 1972...71...70...etc.
Adding to the fun is a knockabout dixieland jazz score, and some nice sets and design. Allen is certainly nowhere near the director he was 4 years later with 'Annie Hall', and the staging of sequences is occasioanlly clumsy. On the few occasions the humour backfires it is quite toe-curling stuff, but on the whole, 'Sleeper' is classic early Allen viewing.
The DVD? Well, the director is well known for his dislike of DVD as an extraspacked format. I guess we should be grateful for the widescreen transfer, but the sound remains in it's original mono mix, and a trailer is all you can expect to find as an extra.
These MGM discs however are ...
dadmancat 07.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleeper (DVD)
Advantages: Classic film, adds to the collection Disadvantages: makes no use of DVD's potential
Like all of Woody Allen's comedies from the 1970s, "Sleeper" is a must-buy, simply because you know you'll watch it over and over. Like most of the DVD releases of his films, however, it makes very little use of the format's possibilities.
The storyline is rich in satire and accurately apes a genre of social message sci-fi films from the period (Planet of The Apes, The Omega Man, Silent Runnings etc.)A health food store owner from the 70s is defrosted in a future where cigarettes and burgers have been proven to be good for you and where America is under totalitarian rule. That's about as serious as it gets - the scenes best remembered (the orgasmatron, the inflatable suit, Allen as a robot) are more Harold Lloyd than H.G. Wells.
It's typical Woody - well shot, great music, high and low humour, with his best co-star, Diane Keaton ...
Aarch 07.03.2001 (05.03.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sleeper (DVD)
Advantages: Very funny Disadvantages: Bit dated in places
Sleeper is a 1973 comedy by Woody Allen and one of the last of his free-wheeling 'early funny ones'. In the early seventies Allen came up with an idea for a three hour film. The first half would be a New York comedy set in the present day. After an intermission, Allen's character would be frozen and wake in the future. The idea was rejected by the Studio but they asked him instead to make the second half of his proposed project, a comedy with a futuristic setting and sci-fi element. The end result was Sleeper.
Allen plays Miles Monroe. Monroe is a typical early Woody Allen character; nebbish, cowardly, neurotic and very funny. Cyrogenically frozen after a
routine operation, Monroe wakes 200 hundred years into the future ("I knew it was too good to be true," sighs Monroe. "I parked right near the hospital!") in a futuristic 2173 that ...
arthurpringle 02.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleeper (DVD)
"...Superbly played....Levinson shows a keen eye for the pangs of adolescence..." (Rolling Stone, p.75-6, 31/10/1996)
"...Colorful characters, richly evoked settings...and a good dose of good old-fashioned epic star power....There's a lot to enjoy in this impeccably structured, handsomely produced saga..." (Variety, 02/09/1996)
DVD Description
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).
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