Okay, Mark, I will write an article about Sneakers. Seriously, this is one of those flicks that I am sure most would walk right by in the video store, but let me tell you, it’ss a gigantic mistake to have overlooked this one. Mark and I have quoted this flick and have talked about it now for 20+ years because of how awesome it is. Again, this is a gem that you have to see. Let me get on with this:
Here is the premise of this gem. A team of security experts, led by Martin Bishop (Robert Redford), is hired to steal a mysterious black box capable of breaking any encryption. What starts as a routine job quickly turns into a high-stakes game of espionage, deception, and a heist with biblical implications. Okay not biblical but worldly. Sorry, I just rewatched Ghostbusters.
Let’s jump right into the cast of this film. We have Robert Redford and Sidney Poitier — two absolute monsters of cinema. Redford won an Academy Award for Best Director with Ordinary People (1980) and was later awarded an honorary Oscar for his contributions to film. His work in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, and All the President’s Men are golden. My favorites are Three Days of the Condor and Spy Game, an under-rated Tony Scott flick. Then there’s the late Poitier, who changed Hollywood with his historic Academy Award win for Best Actor in Lilies of the Field (1963). He continued to dominate with In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and They Call Me Mister Tibbs! Not his finest moment but he directed Bill Cosby in Ghost Dad, which I have seen way too much. Why, I have no clue. But these are two of the main characters in this flick and they are both amazing.
The rest of the cast: David Strathairn, playing the blind tech genius Whistler, who I loved in Godzilla (2014). He also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his stunning portrayal of Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck (2005). A must see. Next is Dan Ackroyd, the resident conspiracy nut Mother, forever tied to Ghostbusters, where he played Ray Stantz. But also Elwood Blues, Joe Friday in Dragnet (See Wait! Have You Not Seen This: The Adventure Begins), and Beldar Conehead. One day I will write about Ackroyd in detail. The guy is easily on the Mount Rushmore of Comedy. The late River Phoenix, the youngest of the team, who was forever immortalized as young Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; I also loved him in The Explorers and Stand by Me. How about the main bad guy in the flick. Ben Kingsley, playing the perfectly named Cosmo. You know the guy that won an Academy Award for Gandhi (1982). Real name Krishna Bhanji, and amazing in everything he has been in including Iron Man 3. Okay, more from the cast, the recently deceased James Earl Jones, whose voice alone is everything. Voice of Darth Vader, voice of Mustafa, voice of Thulsa Doom. Boom goes the dynamite. Okay, only three more from the cast. Mary McDonnell, playing Liz the love interest and eventual team member, from The Closer/Major Crimes which I am sure my Mom has watched every time she has visited me. Stephen Tobolowsky, in a classic quick role that I love to this day. You should recognize him as Ned. Ned Ryerson. “Needlenose Ned”? “Ned the Head”? C’mon, buddy. Case Western High. Ned Ryerson: I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? If you know, you know. The last one I will mention is Donal Logue, who is brilliant in everything. I believe this is the third greatest ensemble cast in film history, only behind Tombstone and The Godfather. Could actually be the second best.
Now, the crew. Behind the camera, we have Phil Alden Robinson, who directed Field of Dreams, but he is way more interesting than that. He won an Emmy for Band of Brothers, but again that is not the coolest thing. Also note that he wrote the film Ghost Dad mentioned above. The coolest thing is that he helped with the script for Fletch. Cool, right? Also directed The Sum of All Fears, which is super solid. The cinematographer, John Lindley, also worked on Pleasantville and I think Field of Dreams. He also worked on The Core where a team has to restart the Earth’s core. Biblical. The script was written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter Parkes, who also wrote WarGames, another classic technology gone wrong thriller. Parkes went on to become a pretty important producer in sci-fi, working on Men in Black (1997), Minority Report (2002), and The Island (2005). Not a bad run.
Now, let’s get to my favorite part, the quotes:
- “It’s not about who’s got the most bullets, it’s about who controls the information.”
- “Too many secrets.”
- “Cattle mutilations are up.”
- “The world isn’t run by weapons anymore, or energy, or money. It’s run by ones and zeroes, little bits of data.”
There’s a moment in Sneakers that is so insane I have to bring it up. A security guard refers to Sidney Poitier as ‘Midnight’ — yes, that actually happens. The first African-American man to win an Academy Award. Dropped as casually as if he were commenting on the weather. I had to rewind it the first time I saw it because I couldn’t believe it. Even in a film filled with conspiracies, hacking, and espionage, this might be the craziest part. Was this scripted? Did the actor improvise? Did Sidney Poitier react and they just kept rolling? How did everyone on set not immediately stop and go, ‘Wait, WTF?’ It’s one of those moments that sticks with you and Mark and I have talked about almost everyday since. Another thing that I love about this film is the tech. The tech might be outdated a bit, but the themes of surveillance, data security, old computers, and government overreach I always love. Also, fun fact: the movie got advice from real hackers, which is why so much of it feels authentic, even for today and for the time.
Okay, where can you see it? Apple TV + for $3.99. And well worth the rent. Your reaction to the “midnight” line is worth admission alone. Probably that and when you catch Poitier’s reaction when Carl (River Phoenix) is preparing for the break-in. Damn, this movie is great.
