Sleepers (1996) Movie Overview

Sleepers is a 1996 legal drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra’s 1995 novel of the same name. Lorenzo “Shakes” Carcaterra, Thomas “Tommy” Marcano, Michael Sullivan and John Reilly are four childhood friends (played by Joseph Perrino, Jonathan Tucker, Brad Renfro and Geoffrey Wigdor respectively) who grow up in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City in the mid-1960s. During this time, the local priest, Father Bobby (Robert De Niro), plays a very important part in their lives and keeps an eye on them. However, early on they start running small errands for a local gangster, King Benny (Vittorio Gassman), who later turns out to be a very important contact. On a summers day in 1967, their lives take a sharp turn when they almost kill a man after pulling a prank on a hot dog vendor. As a punishment they are all four sentenced to serve time at the Wilkinson Home for Boys in upstate New York. There, the boys are systematically beaten, abused and raped by guards Sean Nokes, Henry Addison, Adam Styler and Ralph Ferguson (played by Kevin Bacon, Jeffrey Donovan, Lennie Loftin and Terry Kinney respectively). These traumatic events change the boys and their fr… Source

• Sleepers Movie Details
• Director: Barry Levinson
• Official Sites: Warner Bros., Levinson.com
• Tagline: When friendship runs deeper than blood
• Country: USA
• Run Time: 147 min
• Genre: Crime , Drama , Thriller

• Cast Overview
• Kevin Bacon as Sean Nokes
• Billy Crudup as Tommy Marcano
• Robert De Niro as Father Bobby
• Ron Eldard as John Reilly
• Minnie Driver as Carol Martinez
• Vittorio Gassman as King Benny

Sleepers Movie Overview – Yahoo Movies

Sleepers (1996): Church of the Holy Angels and its grammar school were the center of Hells Kitchen in the 1960s–a place of refuge for many neighborhood kids from troubled homes. Father Bobby had his favorites–among them were Lorenzo and his pals, Michael, John, and Tommy. Because their blue-collar, hardworking parents were more often fighting tha… Source

Sleepers Movie Review from New York Times

Barry Levinson directed this crime drama based on a controversial bestseller. Jason Patrick stars as Lorenzo, a New York reporter more commonly called “Shakes,” a nickname courtesy of his three childhood pals from Hell’s Kitchen — Michael (Brad Pitt), John (Ron Eldard), and Tommy (Billy Crudup). As kids, all four were sent to reform school after a… Source

Sleepers Movie Details from Imdb

Four boys growing up in Hell’s Kitchen play a prank that leads to an old man getting hurt. Sentenced to no less than one year in the Wilkenson Center in upstate New York, the four friends are changed by the beating, humiliation and sexual abuse by the guards sworn to protect them. Thirteen years later and a chance meeting lead to a chance for reven… Source

Sleepers (1996) from YouTube