Robert De Niro’s film, ‘Sleepers,’ released almost 30 years ago, was controversial and received mixed reviews at the time. Now, years later, the film’s famed director, Barry Levinson, is revisiting the topic again and wondering why it was so controversial in the first place.

Director Barry Levinson talks about Robert De Niro’s ‘Sleepers’

While talking to The Hollywood Reporter about the film, director Barry Levinson wondered why it received mixed reviews and was viewed as a ‘controversial film’ at the time.He cited, “Why does film get caught in this cycle of whether something happened or didn’t happen? It’s a story. It wasn’t the craziest, weirdest thing you’ve ever imagined.” The film is making news again after it was recently confirmed that it will soon be released on 4K and Blu-Ray. Levinson further added that he never understood what was wrong with the film to warrant people speaking against it when it was released in 1996. He added, “I never quite got that noise that was made at that time. It, in some ways, took away from what the piece was. It doesn’t need to be authenticated in that regard for us to pay attention.”A critical part of the film that was called out was Robert De Niro’s character, who gave false testimony in court that helped the victims get released. At the time, many were unhappy with his portrayal of a Father of the Church and alleged that a priest would never lie. To this, Levinson further added that people missed the film’s point, as De Niro’s character was a minor part of the huge tale in itself. He stated, “(It) got caught up in whether or not a priest would ever lie on the stand. You can certainly have that, but that’s not the point of the movie. It was a much broader piece than that.”

Plot of Robert De Niro’s ‘Sleepers’

The film’s plot revolves around four teenage boys from Hell’s Kitchen. After a prank gone wrong where they almost killed a man by accident, they are sent to a reform school. Rather than helping them, they are subjected to 6 to 12 months of brutal and sexual torture at the hands of four guards present at the school. Years later, as adults, two of them are convicted after they gun down one of the perpetrators who ruined their lives. Other than the 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 others.