Sneakers (1992)

A security pro finds his past coming back to haunt him, when he and his unique team are tasked with retrieving a particularly important item.

Director:

Phil Alden Robinson

Writers:

Phil Alden Robinson, Lawrence Lasker,

Stars:

Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Sidney Poitier

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jo Marr	...	College-Aged Cosmo (as Jojo Marr)
Gary Hershberger	...	College-Aged Bishop
Robert Redford	...	Martin 'Marty' Bishop
Sidney Poitier	...	Donald Crease
David Strathairn	...	Irwin 'Whistler' Emery
Dan Aykroyd	...	Darren 'Mother' Roskow
River Phoenix	...	Carl Arbogast
Bodhi Elfman	...	Centurion S&L Night Guard
Denise Dowse	...	Bank Teller
Hanyee	...	Bank Secretary
Timothy Busfield	...	Dick Gordon
Eddie Jones	...	Buddy Wallace
Time Winters	...	Homeless Man
Mary McDonnell	...	Liz
Jun Asai	...	Piano Prodigy

Storyline

Martin Bishop is the head of a group of experts who specialise in testing security systems. When he is blackmailed by Government agents into stealing a top secret black box, the team find themselves embroiled in a game of danger and intrigue. After they recover the box, they discover that it has the capability to decode all existing encryption systems around the world, and that the agents who hired them didn't work for the Government after all...

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Plot Keywords:

computer | cryptography | teamwork | heist movie | heist | 

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Taglines:

We could tell you what it's about. But then, of course, we'd have to kill you.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief sexual references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Chinese

Release Date:

11 September 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Héroes por azar

Filming Locations:

400 California Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$51,433,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min 118 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The access code entered at the very beginning of the movie ends in 1138, most likely in reference to George Lucas's first film, THX 1138 (1971).

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Goofs

When the gang discovers that the circuit is the ultimate code breaker, and when Whistler has Carl enter different sites for them to connect to, Carl enters numbers on the keyboard's numeric keypad. Assuming standard Internet addressing nomenclature, and the fact that this movie is presumably set in the early 1990s, the numeric address would be IP4 formatted addresses: 4 octets with each number between 0-255. Carl doesn't enter anywhere near enough digits for actual routing to different sites across the Internet.

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Quotes

Whistler: Anybody want to black out New England?

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Crazy Credits

After the closing credits, and after the MPAA rating, a smiley-face appears, and then a directive to visit Universal Studios in Hollywood.

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Connections

References The Blues Brothers (1980)

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Soundtracks

Violin Concerto in E
BWV 1042
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Courtesy of Laser Light Digital
By Arrangement with Sounds of Film

User Reviews

Guilty Pleasure

There are a bunch of movies which might not be GREAT, but really good, and you can watch them over and over again. Rainy day movies. "Sneakers" is without a doubt such a movie.

It is a lightweight caper which gets into a higher division thanks to the acting: Redford is always good, as is Strathairn, Kingsley and McDonnell. The other actors do a really good job as well, but these four stand out in my opinion.

There are twists and turns in the script, Great San Francisco locations and lots of underplayed humor in this film, all contributing to that the movie can be seen several times.

Take it for what it is, and you'll have a really good time in front of the TV.