Sneakers (film)

Sneakers is a 1992 caper film directed by Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams), and written by Robinson, Walter F. Parkes and Lawrence Lasker. It stars a diverse ensemble cast, including Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn, and James Earl Jones.

In addition to being a cerebral thriller with many action sequences, the film explores numerous themes, often in a humorous and light-hearded manner. Themes include: political ideology, the role of technology in society, privacy, security, computer security, espionage, trust issues, friendship, humanitarianism, the failure of Communism, the risks and rewards of Capitalism, finding both good and evil in unexpected places, positive and negative influences at work in the United States, and the government's role in domestic surveillance.

Taglines

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

• A burglar, a spy, a fugitive, a delinquent, a hacker, and a piano teacher... and these are the good guys.

Synopsis

Sneakers tells the story of a ragtag group of security specialists led by Martin Bishop (Robert Redford). In the story, Bishop leads a tiger team (also called penetration testers and, more recently, white hats). The team comprises most of the all-star ensemble cast. The fictional team's job, as told in the movie's dialogue, is "...To break into people's places to make sure that no one can break into their places". Several lines of dialogue establish that Bishop's team are underdogs -- talented, creative, and likeable, but nevertheless a hapless bunch.

An emotional and expository vignette opens the film (a common characteristic in movies by Lasker and Parkes, also used in WarGames). Through the use of a flashback, we learn that "Bishop" is Martin's assumed name, as he has been hiding his true identity to protect himself from the government since the late 1960s. In the flashback, we see Martin Brice and his friend Cosmo playfully breaking into computer systems, playing such "pranks" as electronically transferring Richard Nixon's personal assets to left-wing groups -- for fun, and to make sharp political statements. In the climax of the opening vignette, police descend upon Martin and Cosmo to arrest them. Martin escapes the dramatic arrest, but Cosmo is not so lucky. As the vignette ends, Martin and Cosmo look directly at each other from a distance as they are each pulled in different directions: Cosmo by the arresting police force, and Martin by the sudden realization that he must disappear.

Following the flashback, the film transitions to the present day, and we are introduced to Martin's new life under his assumed name, Martin Bishop, and to the members of his team.

The "team" is comprised of likeable misfits. In addition to Bishop, with his background as an early pioneer in computer penetration and a man skilled at "not getting caught"; there is Donald Crease (Poitier), a former CIA agent; Mother (Aykroyd), an eccentric conspiracy theorist with unsurpassed technical skills and dexterity; Carl Arbogast (Phoenix), a young genius; and Erwin 'Whistler' Emory (Strathairn), a blind man with superb hearing and wits to match. They also enlist the help of Bishop's former girlfriend, Liz (McDonnell). Liz is Martin's equal when it comes to intellect, political savvy, and cracking wise. Liz has worked hard to put her relationship with Martin and his associates behind her. (The relationship is only alluded to in the film.) However, due to Liz's unparalleled insight into the team's operation and its quirks, and compounded by the fact that she was the only person whom Martin was able to trust with his secret, she becomes a necessary part of the team in the course of events.

The first of many plot twists comes when Martin is approached by a mysterious pair of officials (Timothy Busfield, Eddie Jones), who intend to blackmail him using their knowledge of his true identity. They threaten him with incarceration unless he uses his skills to perform for them the dangerous heist of a mysterious "black box". The purpose of of the "black box" is central to the themes of the movie. The worldly ramifications of the mysterious device are revealed in progressively climactic scenes.

The plot of the film takes several turns as a number of mysteries are unraveled, often in a manner that attempts to engage the viewer's wits. (Source: Filmmakers' commentary, Sneakers: Collector's Edition DVD.) The course of the film sees many conflicts arise, mislead the characters and the audience, and then ultimately become resolved, leaving enough open for the viewer to ponder his or her own values.

Several humorous internal conflicts exist among the characters. Mother and Crease bicker about the truth behind conspiracy theories. Carl expresses his struggles as a teenager, and his idealization of his more experienced teammates. Liz and Martin's playful verbal jousting is central to the sardonic, world-wise, and (sometimes unexpectedly) humorous tone of the film. Despite their differences, or possibly because of them, the characters on the fictional team all work together much like a family. The dynamics of the seasoned ensemble cast, coupled with the exceptionally accurate depiction of technology (for a film) have made this movie especially appealing to fans of intrigue and technology alike.

Cast

• Robert Redford as Martin Bishop/Martin Brice
• Ben Kingsley as Cosmo
• Sidney Poitier as Donald Crease
• David Strathairn as Erwin 'Whistler' Emory
• Dan Aykroyd as Darryl 'Mother' Roskow
• River Phoenix as Carl Arbogast
• Stephen Tobolowsky as Werner Brandes^[1]
• Bodhi Elfman as Centurion S&L Night Guard
• Timothy Busfield as Dick Gordon
• Eddie Jones as Buddy Wallace
• Mary McDonnell as Liz
• Donal Logue as Dr. Gunter Janek
• James Earl Jones as Bernard Abbott

Trivia

• Leonard Adleman, a computer scientist noted for his contributions to public-key cryptography (see RSA), served as a consultant on the film. He wrote and designed the visual aids used by the groundbreaking mathematician character in the film. According to an interview with Adleman that appears on the Sneakers Special Edition DVD, he provided his services as a consultant on the condition that his wife would get to meet Robert Redford.
• In the novelization of the film, the final encounter with the NSA happens on a bridge over a river; the Sneakers make the deal mentioned above, and then Martin reveals that he still has the chip before throwing it into the river and watching it sink.
• In breaking into Cosmo's facility, the team must bypass a voice recognition device that uses the phrase "My voice is my passport; verify me." This phrase has been widely quoted on the Internet^{[citation needed]}.
• Dr. Elena Ryzhkov, Gunter Janek's love interest, is mentioned in a brief scene in the film version of The Sum of All Fears, which was also directed by Phil Alden Robinson.
• On the wanted sign it says Martin Brice and on the computer it says Martin Bryce.
• When the characters are playing scrabble someone has made the word "crunch" on the board, also when the characters are sorting through Stephen Tobolowsky's characters trash, one of the characters holds up a captain crunch cereal box when commenting on how tidy the trash is. These are possible references to Captain Crunch (John_Draper), a well known phone phreaker.

References

1. ^ “Werner Brandes” was the name of a German teacher at co-author Lawrence Lasker's prep school, the Phillips Exeter Academy (IMDB Trivia, Exeter Bulletin Fall 2005, p. 106.)

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