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Sleeper (film)
Encyclopedia
Sleeper is a 1973 futuristic science fiction
comedy film
, written by Woody Allen
and Marshall Brickman
, and directed by Allen. The plot involves the adventures of the owner of a Greenwich Village, NY health food store played by Woody Allen who is cryogenically frozen in 1973 and defrosted 200 years later in an inept totalitarian state. The film contains many elements which parody notable works of science fiction.
, about to implement a secret plan known as the "Aires Project" (sic). The underground movement hopes to use Miles as a spy to infiltrate the Aires Project, because he is the only member of this society without a known biometric identity.
The authorities catch onto the scientists' project, and arrest them; Miles escapes by disguising himself as a robot
. He goes to work as a butler
in the house of socialite Luna Schlosser (Diane Keaton
). When Luna decides to have her "robot's" head replaced with something more "aesthetically pleasing," Miles has no choice but to reveal his true identity to her. Luna is frightened, and threatens to turn Miles in to the authorities. In response, he kidnaps her and goes on the run, searching for the Aires Project.
Miles and Luna start to fall in love, but Miles is captured and forced to undergo brainwashing. He forgets that he comes from 1973, and becomes a complacent member of futuristic society. Meanwhile, Luna finds a group of commando-rebels and joins the underground movement. The rebels kidnap Miles and force him to undergo reverse-brainwashing, whereupon he remembers his past and joins their efforts.
Miles and Luna successfully infiltrate the Aires Project: they learn that the Leader was killed by a rebel bomb ten months previously, and all that survives is his nose
. The nose has been kept alive, and the members of the Aires Project, mistaking Miles and Luna for doctors, want them to clone
the leader from this single remaining part. Instead, Miles steals the nose and "assassinates
" it by squashing it under a steamroller
.
. The outdoor shots of the hospital were filmed at the Table Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research
in Boulder, Colorado
. There is also a cameo appearance of the main building of the Denver Botanic Gardens
and of the signature concrete lamp posts. The Sculptured House
, designed by architect Charles Deaton
, is a private home known locally as the "Sleeper House" or "Flying Saucer House" located on Genesee Mountain near Genesee Park, west of Denver. The Mile Hi Church of Religious Science in Lakewood, Colorado
was turned into a futuristic McDonald's
, featuring a sign counting the number sold: The digit 1 followed by more than twenty zeroes.
The film contains several plot points which parody or spoof several well-known works of science-fiction, most notably H. G. Wells
's The Sleeper Awakes
and George Orwell
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
. Another direct homage/parody is the use of actor Douglas Rain
(best known as the voice of the HAL-9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey) to voice the evil computer in Sleeper.
American Film Institute
Lists
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
, written by Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
and Marshall Brickman
Marshall Brickman
Marshall Brickman is a screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen. He is also known for playing the banjo with Eric Weissberg in the 1960s, and for a series of comical parodies published in The New Yorker.-Biography:After attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he...
, and directed by Allen. The plot involves the adventures of the owner of a Greenwich Village, NY health food store played by Woody Allen who is cryogenically frozen in 1973 and defrosted 200 years later in an inept totalitarian state. The film contains many elements which parody notable works of science fiction.
Plot
Miles Monroe, a jazz musician and owner of the Happy Carrot Health-Food store living in Manhattan in 1973, is cryonically frozen without his consent, and not revived for 200 years. The scientists who revive him are members of an underground movement: 22nd-century America seems to be a police state ruled by a dictatorDictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
, about to implement a secret plan known as the "Aires Project" (sic). The underground movement hopes to use Miles as a spy to infiltrate the Aires Project, because he is the only member of this society without a known biometric identity.
The authorities catch onto the scientists' project, and arrest them; Miles escapes by disguising himself as a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
. He goes to work as a butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
in the house of socialite Luna Schlosser (Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
). When Luna decides to have her "robot's" head replaced with something more "aesthetically pleasing," Miles has no choice but to reveal his true identity to her. Luna is frightened, and threatens to turn Miles in to the authorities. In response, he kidnaps her and goes on the run, searching for the Aires Project.
Miles and Luna start to fall in love, but Miles is captured and forced to undergo brainwashing. He forgets that he comes from 1973, and becomes a complacent member of futuristic society. Meanwhile, Luna finds a group of commando-rebels and joins the underground movement. The rebels kidnap Miles and force him to undergo reverse-brainwashing, whereupon he remembers his past and joins their efforts.
Miles and Luna successfully infiltrate the Aires Project: they learn that the Leader was killed by a rebel bomb ten months previously, and all that survives is his nose
Human nose
The visible part of the human nose is the protruding part of the face that bears the nostrils. The shape of the nose is determined by the ethmoid bone and the nasal septum, which consists mostly of cartilage and which separates the nostrils...
. The nose has been kept alive, and the members of the Aires Project, mistaking Miles and Luna for doctors, want them to clone
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
the leader from this single remaining part. Instead, Miles steals the nose and "assassinates
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
" it by squashing it under a steamroller
Steamroller
A steamroller is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for levelling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine...
.
Cast
- Woody AllenWoody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
as Miles Monroe - Diane KeatonDiane KeatonDiane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
as Luna Schlosser - John BeckJohn Beck (actor)John Beck is an American actor. He grew up in Joliet, Illinois. Renowned as a gritty actor with plenty of presence on set, he is ultimately best-known worldwide for playing the role of Mark Graison in Dallas during the mid-1980s, but is also well-known for several other roles in which he...
as Erno Windt - Marya Small as Dr. Nero
- Susan Miller as Ellen Pogrebin
- Mary Gregory as Dr. Melik
- Don KeeferDon KeeferDonald "Don" H. Keefer is a retired American actor known for the versatility of his roles. He was born in Highspire in Dauphin County near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Keefer's first role was as Bernard in the 1951 film, Death of a Salesman, based on the Arthur Miller play...
as Dr. Tyron - Peter HobbsPeter Hobbs (actor)Peter Hobbs was a French-born American character actor, known for roles on Broadway, television and film.Hobbs was born on January 19, 1918, in Étretat, France, to Dr. Austin L. Hobbs and Mabel Foote Hobbs. However, he was raised in New York City...
as Dr. Dean - John McLiam as Dr. Aragon
- Bartlett Robinson as Dr. Orva
- Chris Forbes as Rainer Krebs
- Brian AveryBrian Avery (actor)Brian Avery is an actor and producer who has worked frequently on film and television.He is known as an actor for the role of Carl Smith who marries Elaine Robinson in the 1967 film The Graduate. He also appeared in the 1973 Woody Allen film Sleeper.Averyhas also worked as an executive producer...
as Herald Cohen - Jackie MasonJackie MasonJackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
(uncredited voice) as Tailor - Douglas RainDouglas RainDouglas Rain is a Canadian actor and narrator. He is primarily a stage actor, but his best known film role was as the voice of the HAL 9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequel 2010 ....
(uncredited voice) as Evil Computer / Various robot butlers
Production
The film was shot in and around Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. The outdoor shots of the hospital were filmed at the Table Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research
National Center for Atmospheric Research
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has multiple facilities, including the I. M. Pei-designed Mesa Laboratory headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. NCAR is managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and sponsored by the National Science Foundation...
in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. There is also a cameo appearance of the main building of the Denver Botanic Gardens
Denver Botanic Gardens
The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in Denver, Colorado in the Cheesman Park neighborhood. The park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the summer...
and of the signature concrete lamp posts. The Sculptured House
Sculptured House
The Sculptured House, also known to locals as the Sleeper House, Star Trek House, Clamshell House, the Jetson House, or Flying Saucer House, is a distinctive elliptical curved house built on Genesee Mountain in 1963 by architect Charles Deaton...
, designed by architect Charles Deaton
Charles Deaton
Charles U. Deaton was an architect who designed the futuristic Sculptured House featured in the film Sleeper, and Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium....
, is a private home known locally as the "Sleeper House" or "Flying Saucer House" located on Genesee Mountain near Genesee Park, west of Denver. The Mile Hi Church of Religious Science in Lakewood, Colorado
Lakewood, Colorado
Lakewood is a Home Rule Municipality that is the most populous city in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Lakewood is the fifth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 172nd most populous city in the United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in April 1, 2010...
was turned into a futuristic McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, featuring a sign counting the number sold: The digit 1 followed by more than twenty zeroes.
The film contains several plot points which parody or spoof several well-known works of science-fiction, most notably H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
's The Sleeper Awakes
The Sleeper Awakes
The Sleeper Awakes is a dystopian novel by H. G. Wells about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years, waking up in a completely transformed London, where, because of compound interest on his bank accounts, he has become the richest man in the world...
and George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
. Another direct homage/parody is the use of actor Douglas Rain
Douglas Rain
Douglas Rain is a Canadian actor and narrator. He is primarily a stage actor, but his best known film role was as the voice of the HAL 9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequel 2010 ....
(best known as the voice of the HAL-9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey) to voice the evil computer in Sleeper.
Alternate versions
There are two known cuts of Sleeper. The first, seemingly original cut, contains a dinner scene shortly after Miles and Luna return to the house where Miles was originally taken after revival. In the dialogue-less scene, Miles eats in time with a piano soundtrack while Luna watches him in amazement. In another cut distributed in the US, this scene is absent but another, in which Miles shaves using a high-tech mirror and accidentally tunes into the view from the mirror in another bathroom, is present in its place. The latter cut is on the MGM 2000 DVD, which has both a widescreen and full-screen version of the film, a trailer, Spanish dubbing, and French subtitles. The network television version cuts the scene in which Miles and Luna discover a 1990's newspaper with the headline "Pope's Wife Gives Birth to Twins".Reception
- In 1974, the film was awarded the Hugo AwardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Dramatic PresentationHugo Award for Best Dramatic PresentationThe Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
at Discon II, the 32nd World Science Fiction Convention32nd World Science Fiction ConventionThe 32nd World Science Fiction Convention, also known as Discon II, was held 29 August – 2 September 1974 at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., USA.The official co-chairmen were Jay and Alice Haldeman; Ron Bounds was the vice-chairman....
, in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... - In 2000, readers of Total FilmTotal FilmTotal Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
magazine voted Sleeper the 30th greatest comedy film of all time. - Also in 2000, the American Film InstituteAmerican Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
listed Sleeper 80th among its 100 Years… 100 LaughsAFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, screwball comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of...
.
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Lists
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsAFI's 100 Years... 100 LaughsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs is a list of the top 100 funniest movies in American cinema. A wide variety of comedies were nominated for the distinction that included slapstick comedy, screwball comedy, romantic comedy, satire, black comedy, musical comedy, comedy of...
- #80 - AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie QuotesAFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie QuotesPart of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes is a list of the top 100 movie quotations in American cinema. The American Film Institute revealed the list on June 21, 2005, in a three-hour television program on CBS...
:- LUNA SCHLOSSER: "It’s hard to believe that you haven’t had sex for two hundred years." MILES MONROE: "Two hundred and four, if you count my marriage." - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated