Justice takes time – “Sleepers” on 4K UHD
- Bill Kelley III
- 19 minutes ago
- 6 min read
4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS
Serial criminals John Reilly (Ron Eldard) and Tommy Marcano (Billy Crudup) listen to the testimony of a witness during their murder trial of killing the devilish guard Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon), who had beaten and sexually assaulted them two decades earlier. (2) Longtime friend Lorenzo ‘Shakes’ Carcaterra (Jason Patric) and Father Bobby Carillo (Robert De Niro) will stand by John and Tommy.
(Click an image to scroll through the larger versions)
“SLEEPERS: 30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION”
4K Ultra HD; 1996; R for profanity, graphic violence and two scenes of strong sexual content; Digital copy via Amazon Video (4K), Apple TV (4K), DirecTV (4K), Fandango Home (4K), Google Play (4K), Movies Anywhere (4K), Verizon (4K), Xfinity (4K)
Best extra: “Making of Sleepers: A Conversation with director Barry Levinson”
THIS powerful psychological thriller opens with the narrator, Shakes, saying, “This is a true story about friendship that runs deeper than blood.”
But for over 30 years, the story from writer Lorenzo Carcaterra was questioned over many of its claims. The book was a New York Times bestseller in 1995, and director Barry Levinson, who got his start with his own autobiographical “Diner” (1982) and won an Academy Award for “Rain Man” (1988), adapted Carcaterra’s novel. He quickly assembled an all-star cast, including Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Minnie Driver, Bruno Kirby, and Billy Crudup. The production was filmed during the fall of 1995, in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Newtown, Connecticut.
Today, “Sleepers” is considered a fictionalized biographical account of the author’s traumatic childhood growing up on the west side of Manhattan – Hell’s Kitchen during the 1960s. He [Shakes] and his buddies (Michael, Tommy, and John) bounce between the honorable Father Bobby (Robert De Niro) and the neighborhood mafia boss King Benny (Vittorio Gassman). They steal a hot dog wagon, and it accidentally rolls down subway steps and seriously injures a man. The four are sentenced to a New York reform school (Wilkinson Home for Boys), where they are beaten and sexually assaulted by a merciless guard, Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon), and his gang during their 12-18-month sentence. Thank goodness Levinson restrains the visuals, but it’s implied.
Summer 1966
(1&2) Shakes says, he and his three buddies, “were inseparable...happy and content to live in the closed world of Hell’s Kitchen.” (3&4) The four were frequently altar boys at the Holy Angels Church. Shakes (Joe Perrino) gets in trouble with Father Bobby during a service involving a noise clicker. (5) Shakes’ father (Bruno Kirby) tells a story to the boys while getting a haircut. (6) The neighborhood mafia boss King Benny (Vittorio Gassman).
Fast-forward to the early 1980s, Shakes is now a newspaper reporter (Jason Patric), and Tommy (Billy Crudup) and John (Ron Eldard) are serial criminals with justified revenge on their minds when they spot Nokes at a local diner. The two are arrested, and it just happens that Michael (Brad Pitt) is now a District Attorney, who will prosecute his former friends. Dustin Hoffman plays the alcoholic defense attorney, and Father Bobby is roped into the case to provide a possible alibi.
The courtroom battle is gripping, but not quite up to the very best legal dramas: “12 Angry Men” (1957), “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957), “Anatomy of Murder” (1959), “Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961), “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962), “Breaker Morant” (1980), “The Verdict” (1982), “A Few Good Men” (1992), “Primal Fear” (1996), “Just Mercy” (2018) and “Anatomy of a Fall” (2023).
As the closing credits begin rolling, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office gives their explanation of the case, while Carcaterra stands by his story, explaining only the names, dates, and places were changed.
Summer 1967
(1-4) The boys steal the hot dog wagon from the neighborhood vendor (George Georgiadis), and the prank goes bad when the wagon slips from their hands and rolls down the subway station stairs and crushes a man. The four are sentenced to 12-18 months at the New York reformed school for boys.
EXTRAS
The 4K disc and digital provide two short featurettes with Levinson, who hadn’t seen the film in decades.
“The Making of Sleepers: A Conversation with Barry Levinson” (6 mins.) – He considered “Sleepers “a fascinating experience.” As the story follows the journey of the young boys, and how their stunt “leads to something truly disastrous… and changes their lives forever.” He had many conversations with Carcaterra during his adaptation, and the author visited the movie set many days, which provided the director the opportunity to make sure scenes had the right attitude.
Lastly, Levinson appreciated Warner’s 4K restoration, and “that films can live way past the creator’s involvement... and see it viewed in the best possible way.”
“Sleepers: The Art of Casting” (7 mins.) – details how he assembled the veteran cast, including Bacon, who had been part of his first ensemble cast in “Diner,” and the challenges of working with young actors.
VIDEO
Levinson and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (“Goodfellas,” “Gangs of New York”) captured everything in the Super 35 format, and the original camera negative was scanned and mastered in 4K. HDR10 and Dolby Vision grading provides a warm palette throughout the scenes from Hell’s Kitchen, while displaying a cooler tone in the reform school. A couple of flashback scenes from the school are desaturated to nearly black and white levels, showing a slight bluish cast and enlarged film grain – especially during the football game between the guards and the boys. The on-the-field violence is reminiscent of the action during the 1970’s prison film “The Longest Yard” starring Burt Reynolds.
The natural film grain is well defined and tight, while on-screen clarity is excellent from start to finish. Several of the dissolves with composite imagery do lose some resolution, while others look like the original footage was found and reassembled digitally in 4K, giving them superior quality.
Wilkinson Home for Boys
(1) The miserable bus ride to the reformed school. (2) Michael Sullivan (Brad Renfro) is confronted by a much older student, which turns into a huge lunchroom fight. (2-4) All the boys turn toward Guard Sean Nokes, and he makes the Hell’s Kitchen boys eat the food from the floor. (5&6) Father Bobby visits Shakes, but he’s scared to mention the attacks, abuse, and solitary confinement.
AUDIO
The exceptional six-channel DTS-HD soundtrack from the previous Blu-ray is ported over, plus a new 5.1 DTS-HD remaster. The bass response is deep, delivering a punch, especially from John Williams’ Oscar-nominated score, which features a strong electronic beat. It’s one of his best. Dialogue is front and center, and the surrounds get a good workout during a mafia assassin, as a jet zooms overhead near the LaGuardia Airport.
FINAL THOUGHTS
“Sleepers” was a surprise 30th anniversary 4K release from Warner, since it only finished the year No. 27 domestically in box office totals. “Independence Day” and “Twister” were No. 1 and No. 2, as huge summer blockbusters, and both are already available on 4K UHD.
Warner, since you’re in a ‘96 anniversary mode, how about the courtroom drama “A Time to Kill” with Samuel L. Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, and Sandra Bullock, since its box office totals landed at No. 8?
We’ve noticed “Eraser,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, with a No. 11 box office, is already slated for its 4K release on June 16. So, for the final good measure, how about adding action/thriller “Executive Decision” starring Kurt Russell, onto your ‘96 4K to-do list?
— Bill Kelley III, High-Def Watch producer
Summer 1981
(1&2) John and Tommy spot Sean Nokes having dinner at a local bar/diner. (3) The two are arrested after the shooting. (4) Shakes (Jason Patric) is now a newspaper reporter. (5) Michael (Brad Pitt), now a Manhattan District Attorney. (7) Defense attorney Danny Snyder (Dustin Hoffman) will represent John and Tommy.
The Trial
(1&2) Prosecutor Michael Sullivan addressed the jury, while Shakes and childhood friend Carol (Minnie Driver) watched the proceedings. (3&4) A witness to the shooting is questioned by Sullivan. (5&6) Former guard Ralph Ferguson (Terry Kinney) is questioned by Snyder about the abuse at the Wilkinson Home for Boys. (7) Father Bobby is sworn in as the last defense witness.
SPECS
100 GB disc
TRUE 4K mastering
Captured in the 3-perf Super 35 format (Common-top) using Arriflex 535 cameras
Video bitrate: Averages around 68 Megabits per second, and a running time of 147 minutes.
HDR10 maximum light level: 960 nits
Max frame average light level: 75 nits
Box office: Domestically $53 million, with a production budget of $40 million.
Rotten Tomatoes: Top Critics’ 62 percent, Audiences 85 percent.
Metacritic: Critics 49 percent, User Score 7.5
Awards: Academy Award nomination for Best Music, John Williams, which at the time was his 30th score nomination.
IMDb.com Best Courtroom Movies – “Sleepers” No. 23, “12 Angry Men” was No. 1, and “Judgment at Nuremberg” was No. 2.