Plot: What’s it about?
I’ll be the first to admit that I knew nothing about Sleepers, the feature film based on the memoir by Lorenzo Carcaterra. Evidently the state of New York denies that the event(s) took place and, well, here we are. Still, the film is based in fact but a work of fiction. And the point of a film is to entertain, so to quote Maximus from Gladiator – “Are you not entertained?” What I do know is that the film had one of the best ensemble casts at the time (even now it’d still be stellar). The big names of Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro were recognized and Brad Pitt was coming off a hot streak from both Se7en and 12 Monkeys, so the film did strike while the iron was hot (and three decades later it still is). Adding to the cast there was also Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Billy Crudup and Minnie Driver just to name a few. Luckily the film was a success, raking in nearly four times its $40 million budget else I have to wonder how these stars would have been paid? Kidding aside, the film is much darker than I remember, so without further ado – let us dive in.
Sleepers follows the lives of four childhood friends: Lorenzo “Shakes” Carcaterra (Joe Perrino as a child, Jason Patric as an adult), Tommy Marcano (Jonathan Tucker as a child, Billy Crudup as an adult), Michael Sullivan (Brad Renfro as a child, Brad Pitt as an adult) and John Reilly (Geoffrey Wigdor as a child, Ron Eldard as an adult). In the late 60’s, 1967 to be exact, there was a prank involving a stolen hot dog cart that tragically ended when the boys mistakenly kill a man. They’re sentenced to the Wilkinson Home for Boys, a juvenile detention center upstate. While there, they’re subjected to the verbal and physical (and sexual) abuse by the guards, namely Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon). It’s this trama that serves as a catalyst for the film’s final act – Tommy and John encounter Sean later in life and kill him. They must now rely on their friend, Michael as well as Father Bobby (Robert De Niro) else they spend the rest of their lives in prison.
There’s a lot going on in this film and running at nearly two and a half hours, there’s plenty of time for it all to be (over) explained. Patric’s voice over narration is helpful, but I was always reminded of Ray Liotta from GoodFellas. Or maybe that’s just the film-lover in me? I’ve mentioned the cast a few times and it is a stellar lineup, but those expecting to see a lot of Brad Pitt might be let down as this one is nearly all the Jason Patric show. Still, having these big names do make for an eye-opening experience. Looking back on my life I can say that a lot of what happens to us as children does truly shape the people we become as adults. Are we truly creatures of habit or are we shaped by the events that ultimately define us? That seems to be a question that the film asks. Three decades later, I don’t think Sleepers is one of those films that’s stood the test of time, but it’s still eerily relatable today. Levinson’s direction paired with the cast do make this one to see, however.
Video: How’s it look?
I’m sure I’m dating myself when I say that I can remember when Sleepers hit the then fledgling DVD format. It was one of the first day and date releases put out by Warner, but it was also not enhanced for widescreen TV’s (not exactly a commonality in 1997) and you had to flip the disc halfway though (ala our old friend the LaserDisc). Well, here we are, three decades later and everyone has at least a widescreen TV or two and now we’ve got a new 4K version of this film that makes the 2011 Blu-ray obsolete. Given the time that’s passed since I last saw the film, I’m not doing a direct comparison, rather just oohing and aahing at how good this transfer does look. Deep, dark blacks play a big role in the film’s later acts with the first giving us bright and cheerful color. A hotdog stand has never looked so good than it does here. Flesh tones are warm and natural and detail has, obviously, been improved. This is clearly (pardon the pun) the best the film has ever looked.
Audio: How’s it sound?
Though it might seem ripe for a Dolby Atmos mix, it evidently was not meant to be. Nevertheless, the DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 mix packs quite a few punches and throws us a sucker punch as well with a new “alternate audio track.” More on that in a second. The film is beautifully scored by John Williams who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work here (he would lose to Gabriel Yared’s score for The English Patient, the big winner that year). The LFE are hightly involved as are vocals. Given that a majority of the film is narrated by Jason Patric’s character, there’s a lot of works flying around. This is what was supposedly addressed in Levinson’s new alternate audio track which essentially eliminates only a minute or so of that dialogue (I didn’t sit down and do an A/B comparison, but based on some internet research…). It’s a little GoodFellas‘ish with this narration, but still a staple of the movie to be sure.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- The Making of Sleepers – The first of two supplements featuring the heralded writer/director. He has a lot of fondness for the project, to be sure. He reflects on bringing the script to the screen as well as the cast (which he expands upon, albeit briefly in the next feature) as well as the new 4K restoration. It’s not exactly the feature we’ve been waiting three decades for, but it’s better than nothing.
- Sleepers: The Art of Casting – Essentially more on the cast of veritable “who’s who” in Hollywood from then and now. While Levinson names a few of the stars, several are left out. Nevertheless, this is a star studded cast and one that helped the success of the film.
The Bottom Line
I honestly haven’t thought about this movie in years. It’s one of those that just seemed to slip out of my mind. But revisiting is a few decades after its initial release was a nice trip down memory lane, but one that’s not shared with the characters in this film. Warner’s new disc gives us a much better-looking version of the film than has existed in the past, and the inclusion of two new supplements is nice as well. Now about that “alternate audio track…”
