| | | From the controversial bestseller.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Trailers, Notes
The judicial system is supposed to protect them. But when a youthful prank in New York's Hell's Kitchen spins out of control, the punishment doesn't fit the crime. Sentenced to the Wilkinson School for Boys, four pals are mistreated at will by a cadre of sadistic guards. Now, 15 years later, they have an unexpected opportunity to use that system--for revenge. Friendship. Loyalty. Retribution. The powerful themes and startling events of the controversial bestseller come to the screen in the electrifying thriller Sleepers, written for the screen and directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Disclosure). Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Bruno Kirby, Jason Patric and Brad Pitt headline the ensemble of this compelling movie.
"...reminds us what superb acting is all about." Pat Collins, WWOR-TV
"Absorbing... grabs and holds you...strong performances all around." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"A moviegoer's dream. Steamy, suspenseful, powerful and gripping." Rex Reed, New York Observer
Editor's Note
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).
Plot Summary
When a mischievous prank goes awry, a group of Hell's Kitchen juveniles are sent to a reform institution, where they experience brutal sexual assaults by the sadistic "caretakers." Two decades later, a pair of the now-grown victims spot their chief tormenter and decide to exact revenge.
| Features | Theatrical Trailer | | Audio: English, French Dolby Digital 5.1 | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Interactive Menus | | Production Notes | | Scene Access |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 12/8/2009 |
| Running Time: 148 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1996 | | Catalog ID: 14482 | | UPC: 00085391448228 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1997) | | | John Williams, Nominee, Best Music, Original Dramatic Score |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...Superbly played....Levinson shows a keen eye for the pangs of adolescence..." 10/31/1996 p.75-6Variety
"...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..." 09/02/1996 Chicago Sun-Times
"...Dustin Hoffman gives a fine, subtle, quavering performance....Kevin Bacon is a strong, effective villain..." 10/18/1996 p.33 Rough Cut 9 of 10
...stellar cast including Robert DeNiro as the boys' priest and mentor, Dustin Hoffman as an alcoholic attorney and Brad Pitt as the man who uses the justice system to indict an institution instead of his friends, Sleepers already has an advantage over its dramatic box office competition. But it is director Levinson's camera work that will make you sit through more than two and a half hours of angst, as he turns both the poverty and violence of Hell's Kitchen as well as the despair of juvenile hall into a dark lyric you can almost feel. - Wendy Wilson
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