Sneakers – Collector's Edition

In this tech-thriller from director Phil Alden Robinson, a group of five renegade computer hackers, led by Martin Bishop (Robert Redford), are hired by the government to steal a black box, containing a code-breaking machine, from the mathematician who invented the device. The government is able to persuade Martin to take the job by convincing him that they will drop a decades-old federal warrant for his involvement in computer fraud. Martin agrees and he takes his team on the mission, eventually taking the box. Shortly after the hackers have stolen the device, the mathematician turns up dead. Before long, the quintet realize that they've gotten themselves into more than they'd originally bargained for, as Bishop's old rival Cosmo (Ben Kingsley) enters into the fold. The eclectic ensemble also includes River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and James Earl Jones. — Matthew Tobey

AMG Review:
Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Dan Ackroyd, and Ben Kingsley headline a star-studded cast for this clever, suspenseful thriller that plays upon the dawn of the information age. Redford, taut and intelligent, delivers one of his more definitive modern-day performances. Set in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the shadow of Silicon Valley, the film explores the infinite possibilities of computer advancements — both positive and negative — in a very sleek manner. With a careful hand, Phil Alden Robinson achieves a commensurate level of tightly wound thrills in direct proportion to the sharply detailed script. The one drawback is the rather uneven pace: at times lightning quick, sacrificing clarity, at other points slow and lackadaisical. River Phoenix and James Earl Jones lend support to the already capable and eclectic cast. The appropriately technocratic tone of the film rivals or surpasses later attempts at the same subject matter (The Net, Hackers). — Mike DiBella