Sleeper
1973 Directed by Woody Allen
Synopsis
Woody Allen takes a nostalgic look at the future.
Miles Monroe, a clarinet-playing health food store proprietor, is revived out of cryostasis 200 years into a future world in order to help rebels fight an oppressive government regime.
Genres
Popular reviews
More-
Pretty funny at times but not really that consistent.
As a bonus, there is costume design by Joel Schumacher.
-
This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
-
Having a tough time coming to a decision on which is better, this or BANANAS? I found both of them equally silly, funny, and tedious in equal measure. I think I have to give the edge to BANANAS though because political comedy is more ripe for satire than science fiction if you ask me. Then again, SLEEPER is more polished with a better script that keeps things moving forward, clever gags, some hilari-bad costumes and props. The physical comedy is as silly as ever with Allen literally plucking from the well of the Three Stooges with slipping-on-banana gags as well as bonks on the head, it's all good fun but I wonder how people in the 70s took it? Surely…
-
Among the last of what Allen would later in Stardust Memories dub his “earlier, funnier movies”, Sleeper is at once a silly sci-fi pastiche and a loving homage to the slapstick comedians of yesteryear. Utterly ridiculous from beginning to end, it sees Allen play a 1970s New Yorker frozen and sent 200 years into the future, where he poses as a robot butler to Diane Keaton’s wealthy socialite as part of a rebellion against an emergent dictatorship. As perfect a screen couple as ever they were, Allen and Keaton have a great time enacting the farcical romp, everything from flying machines to oversized fruit entering at one point or another to join the fun. Playing it all for sight gags,…
-
I haven't had too much experience of Allen's "early funny ones" but I remember not being too big on Bananas so I was a little surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this.
With probably the most physical comedy I've seen in one of his films, Allen goofs around a future set tale as he pulls funny faces, gets into loads of sped up chases and generally acts like a loon with occasional breaks for his usual kind of witicisms.
The story isn't exactly groundbreaking but when you've got Allen smearing blue goo on people's faces, running around in a wheelchair and being used as a liferaft, I don't care too much. It's knowingly very silly but also a lot…
-
Loose description: A nerdish store owner is revived out of cryostasis (after 200 years) into a future world to fight an oppressive government.
Luna Schlosser: ''It's hard to believe that you haven't had sex for 200 years.''
Miles Monroe: ''204, if you count my marriage.''
Sleeper is a hit. Sure, the goofiness is way over-the-top, but it's mixed in nicely with right amount of Woody Allen's wit to keep it afloat. Really enjoyed spotting the movie references (A Streetcar Named Desire, 2001: A Space Odyssey & Modern Times), and the two terrific performances from Diane Keaton and Woody Allen. A bit dated, the last act especially falls a little flat, but it's mostly wonderful, campy fun. Very amusing.
Recent reviews
More-
Woody Allen's take on the science fiction genre, as well as a satire on the slapstick comedy of Benny Hill and Bob Hope, is as amusing as one could imagine. The early chemistry between Keaton and Allen is also very apparent, which makes their story arch all the more enjoyable. A solid effort.
-
good
-
Loose description: A nerdish store owner is revived out of cryostasis (after 200 years) into a future world to fight an oppressive government.
Luna Schlosser: ''It's hard to believe that you haven't had sex for 200 years.''
Miles Monroe: ''204, if you count my marriage.''
Sleeper is a hit. Sure, the goofiness is way over-the-top, but it's mixed in nicely with right amount of Woody Allen's wit to keep it afloat. Really enjoyed spotting the movie references (A Streetcar Named Desire, 2001: A Space Odyssey & Modern Times), and the two terrific performances from Diane Keaton and Woody Allen. A bit dated, the last act especially falls a little flat, but it's mostly wonderful, campy fun. Very amusing.
-
Woody Allen's most political film! He makes fun of he NRA and bites back against a society who looks to eradicate intellectualism and subversiveness. There are definitely Orwellian undertones though all of the slapstick gags make the subject matter more digestible. All and all a fun film worth seeing!
-
Allen meets sci-fi. Profit
-
ADORABLE <3. It might be my favorite Woody Allen film now. It’s so much fun.
-
I think I liked the second one better, it seemed to be less corny. But it may also be that I watched T2 first. I still like this one, it’s dark and punchy and frightening. By the time it got to the police station shootout, I was a little dizzy from all the shoot-em-up action. Not a terrible thing, but a bit overwhelming.
-
Having a tough time coming to a decision on which is better, this or BANANAS? I found both of them equally silly, funny, and tedious in equal measure. I think I have to give the edge to BANANAS though because political comedy is more ripe for satire than science fiction if you ask me. Then again, SLEEPER is more polished with a better script that keeps things moving forward, clever gags, some hilari-bad costumes and props. The physical comedy is as silly as ever with Allen literally plucking from the well of the Three Stooges with slipping-on-banana gags as well as bonks on the head, it's all good fun but I wonder how people in the 70s took it? Surely…
-
Woody Allen plays Miles, a health food shop owner who was cryogenically frozen after a minor operation went wrong in 1973. Two hundred years later he is restored to life by rebels who want him to infiltrate a government project because he is the only person not known to the government.
There are some very funny lines through the film, but a series of good one-line quips doesn't make a good film (or even a good comedy), whilst the film fails as sci-fi because of all the plot holes (which wouldn't be important if it was a good comedy).