Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10243 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-06-06
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, German, French, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Polish, Dutch, Finnish, Czech
• Dubbed in: German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
This enjoyable thriller, written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson (the screenwriter of Field of Dreams), follows a raggedy group of corporate security experts who get in over their heads when they accept an assignment poaching some hot hardware for the National Security Agency. Robert Redford plays the group's guru, an ageing techno-anarchist who has been hiding from the feds since the early 1970s; his companionable gang of freaks includes Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, the late River Phoenix, and Sidney Poitier, as a veteran CIA operative turned "sneaker." The technological black box that everybody is after, an array of computer chips that can decode any encrypted message, isn't a very plausible invention, but it's a serviceable McGuffin, and the megalomania of the master plotter played by Ben Kingsley has more resonance than most. Modest inferences can be drawn about the very latest high-tech threats to civil liberties. --David Chute, Amazon.com

Special Features
1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Surround English French German Italian Spanish
Dolby Digital Surround
Production Notes
Original Theatrical Trailer
Cast And Filmmakers Notes
Czech\Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\French\German\Norwegian\Polish\Portuguese\Swedish

Synopsis
A computer expert (Robert Redford) heads a team of renegade hackers who test security systems. His past comes back to haunt him when government agents blackmail the "Sneakers" into carrying out a covert operation: track down an elusive black box filled with national security secrets.

Customer Reviews

Cuddle up Together
There are very few films that remain incessantly entertaining after repeated viewings but this is certainly one of them. I would describe it as a comfort movie - one to watch with the girlfriend on stormy afternoons or reassuringly peaceful evenings.
Sneakers is a feelgood comedy-thriller with a plausible and pacy plot and fine performances from a cast that works wonderfully well together.
Reminiscent of 1950's British espionage or courtroom thrillers, it relies, not upon contrived set-piece action sequences but upon strong plot and fine comedic performances from Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Mary McDonnell and River Phoenix (among others).
A particularly pleasing aspect of the movie is the soundtrack - composed by James Horner and featuring Branford Marsalis as a soloist. The instrumentation features bells and choral stylings that brings to mind snow and sleighs and the nativity. For this reason it has become something of a friends and family favourite at this time of year.
Honest, funny, romantic and nostalgic, this is a film that will soon mean something to you.

It's a film worthy of any library, to be viewed frequently.
The film grabs the viewer from the first scene. Robert Redford and his supporting cast shows what a broad range of talent is necessary to handle the roles. Each is a social malcontent, yet wholly professional as they address the questions posed by clients and circumstances. Among them, David Strathairn stands out. Comparing his presentation with his base commander role in Memphis Belle shows the depth of his abilities. As a blind techie relying on hearing alone, his contribution to this film is sensational. Ben Kingsley, as Redford's Mafia foil, provides a stunning presentation of a man caught up in the realities of today's information saturated world.

While the plot of this film is thin, the actors rise above its limitations with their performances. This film isn't about 'hacking', it's about advances in information technology. What is needed to protect information used in airline routing, medical research or electrical grids? The technology is valid, a 'super cracker' device is under investigation by countless agencies, both government and private. Today's mathematics will provide such a device, but one hopes it won't be achieved by the strange character depicted in this film. The serious question arises over who will control it. James Earl Jones, as the government agent who ultimately acquires the cracker is far too easygoing for the job he fills. That being said, the message of this film is vivvidly expressed. It's a film worthy of any library, to be viewed frequently for its impact.

slick and sexy!
The title of this movie doesn't give much away, but the storyline is a clever one. Redford looks slightly uncomfortable at times but no one else could really pull off the part - the leader of a bunch of misfits that break into high security buildings on purpose as a security check, to make sure that no one else can. 'Whistler' is a classic, and totally beleivable as the blind smartass with superb hearing. The soundtrack builds the drama and emotion perfectly, with clangy piano and drum rolls when you least expect them. It's a movie you can watch over and over, without worrying that you know the ending. It's great to watch just for the photography which sets a style for the film - slick and sexy in an unintentional way. Definately one to get on video.