Portions of this page Copyright 1981 - 2008 Muze Inc. 
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.Sleepers (1997, DVD)
 |
Buy this item
Related items
| Movie 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).
Notes DVD Features: Region 1 Snap Case Letterboxed Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Dolby Digital 5.1 - French Additional Release Material: Trailers - 1.Theatrical Trailer Interactive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Access Text/Photo Galleries: Production Notes, Theatrical release: October 18, 1996. The film was shown on opening night at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. Filmed in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY, and Newtown, CT. Although author Lorenzo Carcaterra claims that SLEEPERS is based on actual events in his life, there are no records from the school or from the Manhattan courts to substantiate his claim. The film features the screen debut of Billy Crudup. Editorial Reviews Rolling Stone - p.75-6 - Peter Travers Variety - David Stratton Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (10/18/1996) | Find errors in the product description? Submit a catalog update request now. | ||||||||||
  Sleepers: WOWReview created: 02/11/04 by: sarah13rose -- a member of Epinions  Pros: Interesting story, great cast. Cons: A bit too disturbing at times. In this drama based on characters in Lorenzo Carcaterra's controversial book, four boys from Hell's Kitchen enter a reformatory where a cruel guard (Kevin Bacon) abuses them. Years later, two of them avenge their tormenter and stand trial. This is an exquisitely crafted tale of revenge out of Hell's Kitchen. Four young teenage boys are sent to a reform school where they are regularly sodomized, beaten, and molested by four homosexual guards. Their shared experience is life altering as they suffer in silence, drift apart, and grow up. Years later, an opportunity to even the score arises. The four re-unite and execute an ingenious plan to expose the heinous perversion of the guards and exact their revenge. The story is tension filled and grips you from the outset. Sleepers might've not been the most eloquent courtroom drama, and the tactics used might be unrefined, but I absolutely loved it! It showed the consequences of the guards' sadism, which affected the boys for the rest of their lives. Kevin Bacon was great in the movie because he knew how to make you hate him. It's always easy to have to like someone, but to get the opposite is marginally harder, In the beginning, you don't really know how everything fits together until the vengence. I don't think it's the boys (grown up) who've revenged themselves; the guards' old crimes caught up with them. It's a latter-day Count of Monte Cristo, but in a rough-spoken world with its innocence lost. They way it was filmed didn't idealize or moralize, which was good, and showed things merely as they were, and they as they are. None of them were perfect, and they all had their angles. So whether or not it really happened or it's just a book Cracaterra decided to write to get even with someone, it's a really enjoyable movie. It was so sad, but not boo-hoo sad. Rather, it's a bad car accident, the kind that's all torn up, but you can't look away. So it's not for everyone, that much is true. The irony was devastating, and I didn't expect the ending. Also, you don't exactly SEE what they described in their flashbacks, but it's deftly blended to see the past and present pain. Like even when they're grown up, they don't escape the pain, but live in it. This film is rated R Review ID: 10000000000385054 Epinions.com ratings are not included in the item's average rating. Links in this review may have been removed. |
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our Member-created Product Description
| Create a product description! Creating and modifying product descriptions is fun and easy. Any member can, and is encouraged to, contribute to our member-created product descriptions. |
| Member-created product descriptions are typically composed of four sections: |
| 1- An introduction: Provide an overall description of the product, including when it was first introduced and a few key features. 2- A detailed description: Add product details and specifications. 3- Any additional information: Add information such as how the product works or any special menu options. 4- A summary: Add pros and cons, as well as overall impressions of the product. |
| That's all there is to it. Contributing to a product description is simple, and you can always edit your content if you don't like what you wrote. Click Create to get started. |
About eBay | Announcements | Security Center | eBay Toolbar | Policies | Government Relations | Site Map | Help | |
Copyright © 1995-2008 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy.
| |
