Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4787 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-02-19
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish
• Dubbed in: French, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 83 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
If Interiors was Woody Allen's Bergman movie, and Stardust Memories was his Fellini movie, then you could say that Sleeper is his Buster Keaton movie. Relying more on visual/conceptual/slapstick gags than his trademark verbal wit, Sleeper is probably the funniest of what would become known as Allen's "early, funny films" and a milestone in his development as a director. Allen plays Miles Monroe, cryogenically frozen in 1973 (he went into the hospital for an ulcer operation) and thawed 200 years later. Society has become a sterile, Big Brother-controlled dystopia, and Miles joins the underground resistance--joined by a pampered rich woman (Diane Keaton at her bubbliest). Among the most famous gags are Miles' attempt to impersonate a domestic-servant robot; the Orgasmatron, a futuristic home appliance that provides instant pleasure; a McDonald's sign boasting how many trillions the chain has served; and an inflatable suit that provides the means for a quick getaway. The kooky thawing scenes were later blatantly (and admittedly) ripped off by Mike Myers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. --Jim Emerson

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English\German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital English French German Italian Spanish
Dolby Digital
Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Menu
Chapter Selection
Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\French\German\Italian\Norwegian\Spanish\Swedish

Synopsis
In 1973, nerdy Miles Monroe (Woody Allen) goes in for minor surgery--and ends up cryogenically frozen after his untimely death. But 200 years later, Miles is up and about again, in a brave new world of huge vegetables, automaton servants, and orgasmatrons--the ultimate way to get sexual pleasure without having to worry about another human being. But the hapless milquetoast also becomes a wanted man and gets captured by guerrillas who want to recruit him to their cause. This hilarous retro-futuristic comedy also stars the always-endearing Diane Keaton.

Customer Reviews

Woody Allen does the time warp and ends up in the future
Twice in the Seventies I literally fell out of my seat in a theater laughing. Once was when the Israeli tanks came over the hill at Judas in "Jesus Christ Superstar" and the other was when they gave Woody Allen's character a drink of water when he was unthawed at the beginning of "Sleeper." Certainly I can explain the first a lot easier than the second, but it might have something to do with the fact that you expect something more cerebral from Allen than letting water fall out of his mouth. But it struck my funny bone in a way my funny bone is rarely touched.

Allen plays Miles Monroe, who finds himself in the far flung future where he has to explain the peculiarities of the 20th century (such as Howard Cosell) to the historians. Of course the point is to critique the present (which is not past) by looking at the future (which has not happened yet). Miles becomes enamored of Luna Schlosser (Diane Keaton), who is even more out of touch than the lost in time Miles, and the pair become involved in an attempt by revolutionaries to overthrow the sterile government of the Leader. Miles is not the heroic type, but he needs to impress Luna, who has fallen for the dashing leader of the revolutionaries, Erno Windt (John Beck).

I never really thought of it before, but I can see where "Sleeper" is Allen's Buster Keaton film. Unlike most Allen films there are several funny physical gags, such as Allen having to pretend to be a robotic servant and getting caught in the orgasmatron. Allen does not make a passable Blanche DuBois, but Keaton does a pretty good Brando ("Hah!"). "Sleeper" is the best of the "early funny films" made by Allen (i.e., the ones before "Annie Hall"), mainly because it does not require you to have a thorough knowledge of Russian literature like "Love & Death." There is also the original jazz score by Allen with the Woodman himself wailing on his licorice whip as a special bonus. Who would have suspected what was in store once Allen turned "serious" in his films?

Way ahead of it's time
This has got to be Woody Allen's daftest and arguably funniest film, but it's also brilliantly clever and was far ahead of it's time. There are echoes of 'Sleeper' in a myriad of films even today (The Matrix for example), and the 'deeper' issues raised by the film are as relevant today as they were back in '73. America in 2173 is a police-state, where every citizen is catalogued, chipped, recorded and watched. But Allen's character, cryogenically frozen after an operation on an ulcer in 1973 goes wrong, is defrosted and sequestered into the underground movement. All this goes on in futuristic buildings, surrounded by robot servants and electronic dogs, but is set to the ragtime music of Allen and his band, a bizarre idea that works perfectly.

Sleeper is particularly heavy on visual, slapstick comedy, alot of which is brilliantly funny, not least because Allen himself looks like a total space-cadet. But if Allen's attempts at silly slapstick are not quite your cup of tea, there is still plenty of material here to keep you amused. After being awoken 200 years later, Monroe (Allen's character) admits "I knew it was too good to be true... I parked right outside the hospital", and (an Allen classic) "My analyst was a strict Freudian... if I had been going all this time I might even be cured by now".

But yet again, it's the cretins who put out the DVD's who are to blame for the 4 star rating, as the film easily deserves 5. They really haven't gone to too much trouble. Extra features... only a trailer. Actually, it's the best trailer I've seen on a DVD, and contains Allen himself giving a mock-serious synopsis of the film. But the real reason I've marked it down is that someone has seen fit to change a few scenes around. There is an entire scene replaced, (atleast on the copy I bought last week), where Allen is eating at the dinner table and Keaton watches in stunned amazement. Not my favourite scene by a long way, but that's hardly the point. Instead, there is a scene that I had never seen before, where Allen is shaving in the mirror. It's hardly worth losing much sleep over (pardon the pun!), but it's irritating to know that they will just chop whole scenes without telling you before you buy...

The sound is pretty lousy as well... and the overall presentation of the DVD, like many other Allen films, is below par, hence the whole package does not deserve the full 5 stars. But, until they remaster it, this still has to be called essential!

the most inventive woody allen movie ever made
In the last few years woody's films have been lacking the creative edge , but to look back at his earlier films reminds us of his inventive / fertive imagination . Right from the outset of this movie you do believe that he has been transported from 1973 greenwich village to the future ( after being cryogenically frozen after a tonsill operation goes wrong ) . The sets , costumes and even the vehicles are all outstanding , this combined with the witty script form a very well observed sci fi comedy . There are very few alternatives out there that meet the standard of this movie , which is now twenty eight years old . If you've never seen a woody allen film this is the one to start with .