Sleepers

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Sleepers

R

Released Oct 18, 1996

2h 32m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

56 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Four teenage friends from Hell's Kitchen end up being sent to reform school after almost killing a man. There they are brutalized by the guards. John (Ron Eldard) and Tommy (Billy Crudup) grow up to be hit men who recognize their abuser years later and kill him. Their trial is prosecuted by another member of their gang, who is now the assistant DA.

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Critics Consensus

Old friendships are awakened by the need for revenge, making Sleepers a haunting nightmare burdened by voiceover yet terrifically captured by Barry Levinson.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

The problems start with Levinson's script, which overemploys Patric's florid narration to tell you what you're about to see, what it means and how you should feel about it.

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

Janet Maslin

New York Times

''Sleepers'' has become a big Hollywood movie with a slick, shrewd manner that perfectly mirrors Mr. Carcaterra's writing style.

Jul 6, 2010

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Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

It is all legally preposterous. But Levinson is a slick craftsman, his actors are insinuatingly real, and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus casts a disarmingly believable light on these proceedings.

Aug 14, 2009

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Brian D. Johnson

Maclean's Magazine

Levinson knows how to make a movie. He keeps it compelling throughout, and although it runs 2 1/2 hours, Sleepers offers no room for catnaps.

Oct 16, 2019

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

It plays out as a stylish and lurid amoral vigilante thriller, one that never earns the viewer's confidence that this is the real thing.

Rated: B-

Apr 27, 2015

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Views the gray tones of good and evil and what lengths people are willing to go through to re-claim the dignity they lost as children.

Nov 13, 2013

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Jack D.

Great! ! Very underrated.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/13/25

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Gregory S

Truly one of the most underrated movies of all time. It’s absolutely heartbreaking and real. That this was not at least nominated for best picture of the year is truly unreal.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/30/25

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/26/25

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Stephen C

Success in 2 hours and 32 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated R for Language, Graphic Violence and Strong Sexual Content!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $53,300,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/23/25

Full Review

Audience Member

A movie that never gets mentioned in any conversation. If ever there were a movie that was 5 stars AND seems to have disappeared from the cannon of cinematic excellence= it's this. First off- the Cast is extraordinary. All acted perfectly. 2nd= the story is super original and yet I'm sure has actually happened many times through the decades. It's depraved and shocking and sad and ends with a great redemption. Any detractors about anything of this movie must not be able to know great cinema nor be able to insert themselves in the era from which the movie was created. I find that often when people complain about a movie they are almost always young and saw it much after the fact and were not born yet when the movie first hit the theatres. This is a 5 star movie and a spectacular add to any serious collectors.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/09/25

Full Review

Terry W

So underrated. One of the best movies from 1996.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/29/25

Full Review

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Synopsis

Four teenage friends from Hell's Kitchen end up being sent to reform school after almost killing a man. There they are brutalized by the guards. John (Ron Eldard) and Tommy (Billy Crudup) grow up to be hit men who recognize their abuser years later and kill him. Their trial is prosecuted by another member of their gang, who is now the assistant DA.

Director: Barry Levinson
Producer: Steve Golin, Barry Levinson
Screenwriter: Lorenzo Carcaterra, Barry Levinson
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Propaganda Films, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Baltimore Pictures
Rating: R (Language|Graphic Violence|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 18, 1996, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $53.3M
Runtime: 2h 32m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, Dolby A, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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