Robert De Niro’s film “Sleepers,” released nearly 30 years ago, was controversial and received mixed reviews at the time. Now, years later, famed film director Barry Levinson is revisiting the topic and asking why it became so controversial in the first place.
Director Barry Levinson talks about Robert De Niro’s “Sleepers.”
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about the film, director Barry Levinson wondered why it received mixed reviews and was seen as a “controversial film” at the time.
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He cited, “Why is the movie in this vicious cycle of whether or not something happened? It’s a story. It wasn’t the craziest, weirdest thing I could have ever imagined.” The film is in the news once again after it was recently confirmed that it will soon be released on 4K and Blu-Ray.
Levinson also added that he never understood what was wrong with the film to justify people speaking out against it when it was released in 1996.
He added: “I never understood the fuss that was made at the time. It violated, in some ways, what the piece was. It doesn’t need to be endorsed in that regard for us to pay attention to it.”An important part of the film that was recalled was the character of Robert De Niro, who gave false testimony in court which helped get the victims released.
At the time, many were dissatisfied with his portrayal of the Father of the Church and claimed that the priest would never lie. In addition, Levinson also added that people missed the point of the film, as De Niro’s character was a small part of the huge tale in itself. “[It]got caught up in whether or not the priest was going to lie down on the platform,” he said.
You can certainly have that, but that’s not the point of the movie. It was a much broader piece.
Plot from the film “Sleepers” by Robert De Niro
The plot of the film revolves around four teenage boys from Hell’s Kitchen. After a prank goes wrong where they almost kill a man by accident, they are sent to a reform school. Instead of helping them, they are subjected to brutal and sexual torture for a period of 6 to 12 months at the hands of four guards present at the school. Years later, as adults, two of them were convicted after shooting one of the perpetrators who ruined their lives.
Other than veteran actor De Niro, the film also starred names like Kevin Bacon, Brad Renfro, Billy Crudup, Jonathan Tucker, Brad Pitt, Minnie Driver, Jason Patric, Dustin Hoffman, and many more.
