Sneakers (1992)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Phil Alden Robinson

Writers (WGA):

Phil Alden Robinson (written by) and
Lawrence Lasker (written by) ...

Release Date:

9 September 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

We could tell you what it's about. But then, of course, we'd have to kill you.

Plot:

Complex but lighthearted thriller about computers and cryptography, government and espionage, secrets and deception and betrayal.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Cryptography | Encryption | License Plate | Blindness

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jo Marr	...	College-Aged Cosmo (as Jojo Marr)
Robert Redford	...	Bishop
Gary Hershberger	...	College-Aged Bishop
Sidney Poitier	...	Donald Crease
David Strathairn	...	Erwin 'Whistler' Emory
Dan Aykroyd	...	Mother
River Phoenix	...	Carl
Bodhi Elfman	...	Centurion S&L Night Guard
Denise Dowse	...	Bank Teller
Hanyee	...	Bank Secretary
Timothy Busfield	...	Dick Gordon
Eddie Jones	...	Buddy Wallace
Time Winters	...	Homeless Man
Mary McDonnell	...	Liz
Jun Asai	...	Piano Prodigy

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief sexual references.

Runtime:

126 min | Canada:118 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12 (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Netherlands:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #31961) | South Korea:15 | Peru:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Spain:7 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The orange Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible driven by Robert Redford in the Embarcadero area ("The Handoff" scene) is the same vehicle driven by Mike Myers in So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) - also filmed in San Francisco - the following year.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bishop calls the NSA from Liz' apartment, he presses the buttons on the telephone with his left hand. In the next shot he removes his right hand from the telephone.

Quotes:

[Mother walks into the room and triggers the motion sensor]
Donald Crease: This is what's in Cosmo's office. Best motion sensor on the market.
Mother: And watch this.
[he breathes in front of the sensor, and it goes off]
Donald Crease: Also responds to thermal differentials.
Martin Bishop: Does this have a happy ending?
Mother: Oh, yeah. We can wrap you in a full-body suit of neoprene, heat-resistant rubber. Or we can raise the temperature in Cosmo's office to 98.6 degrees - which is probably what we'll have to do, because the neoprene would suffocate you. Either way, you've got a top speed of two inches per second. Any faster than that...
[alarm beeps]
Mother: and, uh, big guys with guns. But you'll probably do fine.
Martin Bishop: Since when am I the one who's...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Takedown (2000)

Soundtrack:

Really

Excellent actors, awesome score, stunning visually

Sneakers is, and has been, one of my favorite movies for years. I saw it on Showtime, and I had to buy it on VHS. Soon after the release of DVD, I bought the DVD version and I watch it ALL the time. This movie is awesome in all aspects. I love the cast, and I love the music. I have the soundtrack on CD, and Branford Marsalis on sax adds so much to the movie and its entire mood. As for the story...funny, exciting, thought- provoking. I made a comment about the visuals, I think they were exciting as well. The camera shots and all, hard to explain, but I love it. I especially love the shots at the start of the movie in the snow, that scene as a whole, camera angles, music, lighting---awesome. What I don't get about the movie is this---how come Redford has to ask his off and on "girlfriend" what encryption is? I thought he was a hacker!? There are a few other times in the movie where he and his "crew" ask questions about computer subjects it seems they should know everything about. I never understood that. Well, that's that....I think the movie is a must see.