ComingSoon editor-in-chief Tyler Treese spoke with Sleepers director Barry Levinson about the film for its 30th anniversary and new 4K release. The film features a stacked cast of Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, and Jason Patric. It is now available on 4K UHD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
“Four ordinary boys. A harmless prank gone awry. Their childhood innocence forever shattered, they vow to avenge its loss in the haunting dramaSleepers. Sentenced to spend time at a reform school for their reckless behavior, four basically good boys from a bad neighborhood suffer a horrible fate while there. Forced to perform unspeakable acts by the very adults entrusted to watch over them, the young quartet barely survives the ordeal. A decade and a half later, nothing can erase the painful memories. But neighborhood justice, with a little support from a loyal priest, helps even the score. Academy Award-winners Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman team up with international superstars Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, and Jason Patric, along with Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson (Rain Man), in this compelling drama of shocking retribution. Based on the novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra,” says the official description.
Tyler Treese: Barry, such a pleasure to speak with you. Huge fan of your work, and I love Sleepers. You had obviously worked with Kevin Bacon on Diner, but he’s truly fearful in Sleepers. What made you think of him for this role? It was such a genius stroke of casting.
Barry Levinson: I knew that he was really talented, and I thought he could be interesting in this. Yes, he did Diner, and that was one type of character, but I always thought he had a wider range. When I was working on the script, I was thinking maybe he could play something like this. So it worked out.
Yeah, we got a whole different range of performances, that’s for sure. I think Sleepers really awakened that for other people.
When Sleepers came out, there was controversy about how much was true about it, and it’s even referenced in the text at the end of the film. Decades removed, we can all enjoy the film as the great piece of art that it is, but what were your thoughts on that becoming an issue? It seemed like they were ignoring what was important about it and just arguing over whether it was true or not.
No, I agree. It probably would’ve been better if it didn’t say “based on a true story” or any of those things. It’s not like saying everything is a true story. It was based on something, and the story was worthwhile to tell. It has all the complications to it, and you can ultimately see it different ways. It’s certainly open for people to be talking about, which is one of the aspects of making a movie. I thought it was valid in the story that we were telling.
Tyler Treese: Revisiting this film — it just got a great 4K release. I was interested in the use of narration because narration can be very divisive in films. I thought Sleepers does it so well, and it’s a central part of the film, especially early on. We learn so much from it, and it adds character. What’s the key to doing narration right?
Barry Levinson: In this case, the story is being told, as opposed to being laid out differently. He’s telling the story of what happened when he was younger, so it was valid to the form. What you always wonder about is that you don’t want to overstate things, you don’t want to talk too often, and you don’t want to be too busy throughout the film. It’s about finding the balance that serves the purpose of storytelling and the nature of the film itself.
I wanted to get your thoughts on the ending, because we see them celebrate, but we also get this epilogue that shows some violent ends for these people. It shows that these choices do have an impact down the line. Can you speak to that choice, and avoid a cliché feel-good ending where they all lived happily ever after and turned their lives around, and instead get a more realistic view?
It just seemed appropriate. It’s one of those things when you’re doing a film based on a novel and then adapting it into a screenplay. To be honest, as time has gone by, I can’t remember what was in the book and what was added that I wrote. It’s all a bit of a blur, which isn’t important in terms of who did what. But it was important to say this is what happened in the end. There isn’t a happy ending in that regard, and it seemed appropriate to the film and consistent with the storytelling in general.
Barry, you’ve worked with Robert De Niro so many times. What did you like most about this priest role? Because he still has that street-smart quality to him, which I really like.
Barry Levinson: What I liked about it is that he was a street priest. He grew up on the streets and understands that world. He also understands the religious aspects of it. I like that quality, and he’s an understated character. I thought Bob did a great job. He’s not bombastic or fighting in that way. There’s a quietness about him and a certain quiet dignity in his performance that I thought was very valuable in portraying the priest.
Thanks to Barry Levinson for taking the time to talk about Sleepers.
