Sneakers (1992)

Complex but lighthearted thriller about computers and cryptography, government and espionage, secrets and deception and betrayal.

Director:

Phil Alden Robinson

Writers:

Phil Alden Robinson, Lawrence Lasker,

Stars:

Jo Marr, Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier

1 nomination.

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 | encryption | cryptography | russia | scrabble | 

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Taglines:

To trust can be murder.

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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:

9 September 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Héroes por azar

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel between Hill and Figueroa, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

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 code spewing on the screen, reflected in Whistler's glasses for effect, as Mother accesses connections in the Black Box is ~12 lines of repeating gibberish except for the entries "mnop=fred/14cb", "ploo", and "123". "[des]" appears, as well as "cap=dw". These cryptic references may be meaningful.

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Goofs

When Whistler is driving the van, one of the headlights gets smashed, yet is operational in a subsequent shot.

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Quotes

Carl: Hey, that's not easy, what I just did!

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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

Referenced in Takedown (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"
Written by Jim Croce
Performed by George Cheung (as George Kee Cheung)
Chinese Translation by George Cheung (as George Kee Cheung)

User Reviews

Excellent actors, awesome score, stunning visually

Sneakers is, and has been, one of my favorite movies for years. I saw it on Showtime, and I had to buy it on VHS. Soon after the release of DVD, I bought the DVD version and I watch it ALL the time. This movie is awesome in all aspects. I love the cast, and I love the music. I have the soundtrack on CD, and Branford Marsalis on sax adds so much to the movie and its entire mood. As for the story...funny, exciting, thought- provoking. I made a comment about the visuals, I think they were exciting as well. The camera shots and all, hard to explain, but I love it. I especially love the shots at the start of the movie in the snow, that scene as a whole, camera angles, music, lighting---awesome. What I don't get about the movie is this---how come Redford has to ask his off and on "girlfriend" what encryption is? I thought he was a hacker!? There are a few other times in the movie where he and his "crew" ask questions about computer subjects it seems they should know everything about. I never understood that. Well, that's that....I think the movie is a must see.