Sleepers

"Four friends have made a mistake that will change their lives forever."

1996 2h 27m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 4,072

CrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.

“Four friends have made a mistake that will change their lives forever.”

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Cast

Kevin Bacon
Nokes
Robert De Niro
Father Bobby
Dustin Hoffman
Danny Snyder
Bruno Kirby
Shakes' Father
Jason Patric
Shakes
Brad Pitt
Michael
Minnie Driver
Carol
Brad Renfro
Young Michael

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Barry Levinson
Writers: Barry Levinson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Barry Levinson, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stu Linder shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kevin Bacon and Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Four friends have made a mistake that will change their lives forever.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0117665 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Barry Levinson directs. Michael Ballhaus behind the camera. John Williams scores. Stu Linder cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 3.8× over at the box office.
230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Barry Levinson, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Stu Linder shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kevin Bacon and Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Four friends have made a mistake that will change their lives forever.".
8IMDB entry: tt0117665 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 27 themes, including "child abuse", "sexual abuse", "based on novel or book", "court case".

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Stu Linder
Production design: Kristi Zea
Costume design: Gloria Gresham
Sound: Lora Hirschberg
Stunt coordinator: Jery Hewitt
Runtime: 147 min · 2h 27m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $44,000,000
Box office: $165,600,000
Return: 376% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Sleepers (1996)

Also by

Barry Levinson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-12-17
★ 7/10
Justifiable execution and justifiable lying “Sleepers” (1991) starts out as a coming-of-age film about four boys in 1966-1967 from Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, and then morphs into a juvenile prison picture, which covers the first hour. The rest of the movie is a crime tragedy turned courtroom drama, taking place 13 years later in the early 80s. Jason Patric plays the adult version of Shakes, the main protagonist and narrator, while Brad Pitt plays his attorney friend, Michael. When their other two buds, John and Tommy, are taken into custody for murder they hatch a plan to get them off for understandable reasons. Robert De Niro plays their Catholic pastor and father-figure while Dustin Hoffman appears as the dubious defense attorney. Kevin Bacon is on hand as a perverse guard at the boys’ reformatory. In an eye-rolling knee-jerk response, liberal critics have dissed the film as “homophobic” when this isn’t the case at all. For verification, if the victims at the reformatory were girls the baseless criticism wouldn’t even be mentioned. It is not about gender; it is about children and the monstrous abuse of authority for selfish purposes. The film NEVER criticizes what two adults CHOOSE to do behind closed doors. In tone and theme, “Sleepers” is similar to the heralded “Mystic River” (2003), but more episodic in nature and therefore not as dramatically compelling. Yet it’s a poignant crime drama. Some have panned the movie on the grounds that it justifies revenge murder, but it more clearly supports the idea of just execution when legal authorities have failed and allowed gross corruption to continue. Another moral issue revolves around lying. Is it ever right to lie for the sake of justice? In other words, is lying ever justifiable? Of course it is; at least on rare occasions. For instance, in the bible the midwives lied to Pharaoh in order to save Hebrew infants and are commended for fearing God (Exodus 1:15-21). Rahab also lied to save the two Hebrew spies in Jericho and her actions are hailed in Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith chapter. During WW2, if Nazi authorities came to your door looking for hidden Jews, would you say “Yes, I cannot lie; they are hiding in the attic”? Of course you wouldn’t. The script by director Barry Levinson was based on a book by Lorenzo Carcaterra, which is supposedly a true story. Although New York authorities have denied its authenticity, they have good reason to do so. Whether or not every jot & tittle is accurate is irrelevant; stories LIKE IT have happened. The film runs 2 hours, 27 minutes and was shot in New York City & surrounding areas (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Yonkers, Hoboken) and Fairfield Hills Hospital, Newtown, Connecticut (Wilkinson School for Boys). ADDITIONAL CAST: Minnie Driver plays the guys’ friend from their youth while Vittorio Gassman is on hand as a nonchalant mob leader in Hell’s Kitchen. GRADE: B
AstroNoud2022-02-26
★ 8/10
‘Sleepers’ uses a disturbing and unnecessary narration to tell its controversial revenge story, but the rich characters and great actors easily make up for that. 8/10
JPV8522026-06-29
★ 8/10
Been a very long time since I last watched this and seeing it again it's a well acted movie that doesn't quite hit the emotional punch despite the very dark story (compare that with something like Mystic River). Still a very good movie with an amazing cast. 4/5