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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 4166
Released: April 1, 1997 |
| Our Price: $4.20 |
| Used Price: $1.62 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Dramatization of the true story of four boys who are imprisoned for a year in the Wilkinson Home for Boys changing them forever. As adults one is a lawyer, one a reporter, & two are professional hit men and all are still filled with the pain & fear of their year in Wilkinson.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 3-FEB-2004
Media Type: DVD
Description of Sleepers:
The first thing you need to know about Sleepers is that it's based on a novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra that was allegedly based on a true story. The movie repeats this bogus claim, which was attacked and determined by a wide majority to be misleading. Knowing this, Sleepers can be a problematic movie because it's too neat, too clean, too manipulative in terms of legal justice and dramatic impact to be truly convincing. And yet, with its stellar cast directed by Barry Levinson, the movie succeeds as gripping entertainment, and its tale of complex morality--despite a dubious emphasis on homophobic revenge--is sufficiently provocative. It's about four boys in New York's Hell's Kitchen district who are sent to reform school, where they must endure routine sexual assaults by the sadistic guards. Years after their release, the opportunity for revenge proves irresistible for two of the young men, who must then rely on the other pair of friends (Brad Pitt, Jason Patric), a loyal priest (Robert De Niro), and a shabby lawyer (Dustin Hoffman) to defend them in court. Despite the compelling ambiguities of the story, there's never any doubt about how we're supposed to feel, and the screenplay glosses over the story's most difficult moral dilemmas. And yet, Sleepers grabs your attention and pulls you into its intense story of friendship and the price of loyalty under extreme conditions. The movie's New York settings are vividly authentic, and Minnie Driver makes a strong impression as a long-time friend of the loyal group of guys. --Jeff Shannon
Sleepers Reviews:
Hard to watch but worth it 
2009-11-30 - This film boasts an amazing cast, all at the top of their game. This is reason enough to see the film. The story, whether or not it is factual, is stunning. You won't forget it. I do warn any sensitive types that there are scenes that you might not want to see. I stopped watching it after the intense scenes of brutality in the boys' correctional institution. However, in a few days I returned to see how it would end, and I'm glad I did.
Robert DeNiro underplays his role beautifully, portraying the most sympathetic and hunky priest since Bing Crosby. Dustin Hoffman, whom I often dislike, came through with an almost comic performance. It wasn't supposed to be, and perhaps Hoffman overplayed it a little. Still, it's quite colorful and adds to the overall gritty tone of the film. Brad Pitt is wonderful and reminded me that he's much more than a pretty face. Minnie Driver was her usual warm hearted self and adopted a very good New York accent for the role. Kevin Bacon is slimy evil incarnate--another perfect performance.
All in all, this is a well made film, and, if you can stomach some heart-wrenching brutality, it's worth watching.
movie went black half way through Sleepers DVD 
2009-11-25 - shipping time was good movie was great but went black half way through and that was it !!! u wrote the seller no responce??? Sleepers DVD
great story with fantastic actors
2009-11-24 - this is the movie adaptation of the novel 'sleepers.' this book is based on a true story and the film is very true to the book. robert deniro as the neighborhood priest who would just as soon listen to your confession as bust you in the nose is spot on. he has the right nuances for the tough guy man of the cloth. kevin bacon is evil incarnate as the abusive prison guard who beats and molests the 4 friends from the neighborhood. ron eldard and billy crudup are scary as the grown up boys turned cold blooded killers. however, in this story you have empathy for what they become based on the horrors they endured as juveniles. brad pitt and jason patric are wonderful as the two men who didn't completely, well, not obviously, succumb to the horror of what went on in the reform school. they plot their revenge deliciously. minnie driver is perfect as the literal, girl next door and dustin hoffman is a fantastic surprise as the washed up lawyer who is defending eldard and crudup. it's a tough movie to watch, but one realizes this kind of abuse of power has gone on for centuries and ruined lives and families in abundance. a good movie with interesting twists and turns. vittorio gassman is also part of the cast as the neighborhood protector.
A surprising film.
2009-09-30 - Brad Pitt and Brad Renfro, (who died of a drug overdose around the same time as Heath Ledger.) He was a wonderful actor who starred in APT PUPIL, and in the CLIENT as a younger actor. This is a story of a boys prison and guards who sexually abuse them. The worst part? It's a flipper with a snap cover. I hate those flippers but in November 2009 the restored version will be available. I will buy it for sure. A good cast and a well done film, with a happy ending-smile!
Intense. 
2009-05-27 - Sleepers is an unsettling drama featuring an all-star cast. The best performance in the film is Brad Pitt, this role proved he's more than a pretty face. Jason Patric is also terrific here, very under-rated actor. The film deals with abuse, and nothing graphic is shown but you are fully aware about did happen to these boys when they were teens. Great film from a great director, check it out!
