7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized; over 10 years later, they get their chance for revenge.
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jason Patric, Ron Eldard, Billy Crudup, Minnie DriverCrime | 100% |
Drama | 51% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Sleepers is an adaptation of a memoir by Lorenzo Carcaterra that the author insists to this day is true. However, all broadcast and video versions, including this Blu-ray, carry disclaimers before the end credits by various New York governmental authorities disputing Carcaterra's account -- which isn't surprising, given how badly they're portrayed. Carcaterra acknowledged in his prologue to the book Sleepers that he'd altered names, dates, places and personal details to protect identities, but he insisted that "this is still my story and that of the only three friends in my life who have truly mattered". The same words are spoken in voiceover by the character "Shakes", who is Carcaterra's alter ego in the book and film. Viewers and readers of Sleepers may feel that the story is too melodramatic to be believable, but melodrama often gets an unfair rap. One of America's great directors, the late Sidney Lumet, loved the genre, believed that it portrayed essential human truths and delighted in pointing out that revered works of art are often melodramas (he cited Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, but many of Lumet's classics could have been included). "In a well-written drama", Lumet once said, "the story comes out of the characters, and in a well-written melodrama, the characters come out of the story." In Sleepers, both the story and the characters come out of Hell's Kitchen in New York City, whose peculiar character defines the four protagonists and sets them on their paths in life. The story's tragic irony is that it's the outside world, the realm of law and order and fine, upstanding social institutions, that brutalizes them and damages them for life. With the aid of their old neighborhood, Shakes and his friends finally achieve some measure of justice, but Carcaterra was too honest a writer, and writer-director Barry Levinson's adaptation was too faithful, to let the their revenge be anything but a melancholy necessity. Maybe that's why audience response to the film was weak when it was released in the fall of 1996; after almost two and a half hours of heartache and intrigue, viewers wanted more uplift than Sleepers provides. No doubt there was also some disappointment upon discovering that many of the film's biggest names (among them, Brad Pitt and Dustin Hoffman) didn't appear until an hour into the film, and then only as part of an ensemble. Still, it's a great ensemble. If you've only seen Hoffman and Robert De Niro together in the Focker films, watch the courtroom exchange in Sleepers where Hoffman's alchoholic lawyer questions De Niro's priest for an idea of what pros like these can do with even a short scene where the subject really matters.
It's not worth throwing a life away just to get even. - Fat ManchoSleepers is roughly divided into two parts, the first set from 1966 to 1968 and the second in 1981. The leads are four boyhood friends:
Sleepers was released on a so-called "flipper" DVD in 1997, which means that it was split between two sides of a double-sided disc, because back then the industry hadn't yet perfected double-layer DVDs. This Blu-ray is the first reissue of the film in region 1; so it's hardly surprising that the image is an upgrade in every respect. Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus created several different styles for Sleepers. In the 1960s sequences, images tend to be more brightly lit and the pallette is dominated by cheerier colors, with frequent pastels. As soon as the film reaches Wilkinson, the pallette becomes muted, at times almost to the point of monochromatic; some scenes are genuine black-and-white, as are flashbacks later in the film. The 1981 portion of the film uses darker, richer tones, and not just because so many scenes occur at night or in indoor locations with dark decor, whether it's a courtroom, King Benny's bar or Little Caesar's office. The darkness of the 1981 sequences is thematic, with plots, secrets and skulduggery all around. The Blu-ray's 1080p, AVC-encoded image handles these carefully orchestrated color shifts effectively and accurately. Detail is excellent, as is apparent in, e.g., the fine appearance of clothing patterns and the elaborate period decor on the streets of Hell's Kitchen, as well as the crowded furnishings in residences like Carol's apartment. Black levels are very good, which is essential for scenes like the clandestine meeting between Shakes and Michael just after Michael has gotten himself appointed to try the Nokes murder. They meet late at night and step in and out of shadows, but you can always make out the details of their expressions. I have read suggestions that DNR was applied to this transfer, but I did not observe any motion artifacts, loss of fine detail or waxy complexions that are the trademarks of such digital filtering. The Blu-ray is remarkably free from any visible grain, but Sleepers has always had a notably smooth and grainless texture, despite the fact that it wasn't completed on a digital intermediate (and notwithstanding the categorical declarations of those who declare that Super35 photography is always, always grainy).
Though it is a dialogue-driven film, Sleepers includes a number of sequences where sounds other than speech are used for effective storytelling, and the DTS lossless track reproduces these forcefully. One example is a touch football game that becomes something more; the game is intercut with scenes from its aftermath and acquires tremendous impact from the contrast between the expansive roar of the players and onlookers in all five speakers with the quiet scenes featuring a single individual afterward. Scenes in subways, especially a meeting between Carol and Michael, use the entire soundfield, including the subwoofer, to convey the New York MTA's full sonic assault. A particularly interesting use of sound occurs late in the film, when gunfire is shown but not heard, because it's being drowned out by a plane taking off, the sound of which is conveyed at full volume through the entire system. In short, even though Sleepers may not become your latest "demo" disc, you won't regret having your system well-balanced and adjusted. Even if there were nothing else, the soundtrack of Sleepers would merit the best playback system possible for John Williams' excellent score, which is notable because it demonstrates the great composer's range. Meditative, worldly, almost (but not quite) mournful, Williams hits exactly the right bittersweet note for this tale oddly balanced between triumph and tragedy. It was the film's only Oscar nomination and well-deserved.
It was disappointing at the time, and it remains disappointing fifteen years later, that Warner has made no effort to assemble any comments, thoughts or recollections from the creative talent that made Sleepers. Even if the actors and director were unavailable, it would have been interesting to hear from the production designer, cinematographer and effects people about recreating the look of vintage Hell's Kitchen streets after the passage of thirty years (and a lot of gentrification). It's hard to believe that Carcaterra would have been unwilling to provide a commentary track, given his role as co-producer and his personal investment in the story. Still, the film itself is what counts, and the Blu-ray edition of Sleepers provides excellent audio and an image that, while not eye-popping, is accurate and pleasing to the eye. And since the film was never available on region 1 DVD in anything but a "flipper", this upgrade to Blu-ray is an easy decision. Highly recommended.
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