Sleepers (1996)

After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Over ten years later, they get their chance for revenge.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers:

Lorenzo Carcaterra (book), Barry Levinson (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Bacon	...	Nokes
Billy Crudup	...	Tommy
Robert De Niro	...	Father Bobby
Ron Eldard	...	John
Minnie Driver	...	Carol
Vittorio Gassman	...	King Benny
Dustin Hoffman	...	Danny Snyder
Terry Kinney	...	Ferguson
Bruno Kirby	...	Shakes' Father
Frank Medrano	...	Fat Mancho
Jason Patric	...	Shakes
Joe Perrino	...	Young Shakes
Brad Pitt	...	Michael
Brad Renfro	...	Young Michael
Geoffrey Wigdor	...	Young John

Storyline

As children, Lorenzo Carcaterra - Shakes to his friends - Michael Sullivan, Tommy Marcano, and John Reilly were inseparable. They grew up in Hell's Kitchen, a far from perfect neighborhood, one filled as Shakes says with scams and shake downs, but one where the rules were known by its residents. The one adult who they admired was Father Bobby Carelli, who understood them as kids more than most adults and more than he himself would like to admit. In 1967, their lives would change forever when a typical teenage prank went wrong which led to the four of them being sentenced to various terms at Wilkinson Home for Boys, a reformatory. There, they were physically, emotionally and sexually abused primarily by Sean Nokes, the head guard of their cell block, and fellow guards Ralph Ferguson, Henry Addison, and Adam Styler, although there were other caring figures of authority at the home including other guards. Their time at the home affected the four, not all who were able to emerge from the ...

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Plot Keywords:

sexual abuse | kicked in the crotch | boy | prank | guard | 

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Taglines:

Four friends made a mistake that changed their lives forever.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, graphic violence and two scenes of strong sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Levinson.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Los hijos de la calle

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$44,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,305,745, 20 October 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$49,100,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$165,615,285

Company Credits

Production Co:

Astoria Films, Baltimore Pictures, Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Terry Kinney (Ferguson) also works in a prison in the HBO series Oz. His character is drastically different in Oz however, as he works hard to reform even the worst of criminals.

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Goofs

The priest says that it took Michelangelo 9 years to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It took 4 years to paint the ceiling, and 4 more to paint 'The Last Judgement' on the wall behind the altar. The recent restoration and cleaning of the Michelangelo frescoes in the chapel took 9 years.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lorenzo: This is a true story about friendship that runs deeper than blood. This is my story and that of the only three friends in my life that truely mattered. Two of them were killers who never made it past the age of 30. The other's a non-practicing attorney living with the pain of his past - too afraid to let it go, never confronting its horror. I'm the only one who can speak for them, and the children we were.

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Connections

References I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

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Soundtracks

Memories Are Made Of This
Performed by Dean Martin
Written by Terry Gilkyson, Rich Dehr, and Frank Miller
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI-Capitol Special Markets

User Reviews

Overlooked perfection

A well-adapted, epic story of the childhood innocence of four boys brutally snatched away, and the subsequent revenge that took place so many years later. Perfectly paced, it is a long film whose length is never an issue; exciting courtroom drama, realistic sense of time and place, gritty yet sleek cinematography, and convincing performances from a cast that is actually to die for: Jason Patrick, Billy Crudup ("Big Fish") Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Minnie Driver and Brad Pitt in the same movie; it is a rare lineup. This is not to mention the young leads, who are completely convincing in heavyweight roles.

Leading the pack was Brad Renfro, whose passing in the same month as Heath Ledger was unfortunately nowhere near as noteworthy, and sadly is still a shock, for some, to learn of! If one is to go back and watch not only this film, but "The Client", "Apt Pupil" and the indie hit "Ghost World", one can see another talent that was perhaps not as widely recognised as that of Ledger, but just as unfairly snubbed short, and just as worthy of our recognition.

Barry Levinson puts together a film here that could easily be mistaken for a Scorsese work, and that may be the only criticism, if it is even that! Well drawn characters, electrifying, often emotional drama, the story never in a rush but never feeling laborious, this is an overlooked work of perfection.