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	...	Bishop
Sidney Poitier	...	Crease
David Strathairn	...	Whistler
Dan Aykroyd	...	Mother
River Phoenix	...	Carl
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 specialize 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 | security | nsa | encryption | 

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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:

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 USA:

$51,433,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$105,233,000

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

Writer and Director Phil Alden Robinson once did an internship at WRGB-TV in Niskayuna, New York. As a favor, he has former WRGB news anchor Ernie Tetrault cast as the news anchor in this movie.

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Goofs

If Dr. Elena Rhyzkov is indeed Czech, as mentioned in the film, her last name should actually be Rhyzkova, the female form of Rhyzkov.

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Quotes

Cosmo: Anyway, I couldn't have you talking to the Russians. Five years ago, yes, we could trust them not to go running to the F.B.I., or if they did we could trust the F.B.I. not to believe them, but today we can't trust anybody.

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Crazy Credits

Next, BLOND RHINO SPANIEL becomes (A) PHIL ALDEN ROBINSON (FILM).

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Alternate Versions

The line "Who's going to save the world Marty? Greenpeace?" in the dubbed Spanish version (DVD) becomes "Who's going to save the world Marty? The military?"

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Connections

References The Manhattan Project (1986)

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Soundtracks

The Girl From Ipanema
Written by Antonio Carlos Jobim & Vinicius de Moraes
Performed by Charlie Byrd
Courtesy of Concord Picante

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.