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Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

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261–270 of 306 posts

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#261
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once you accept that a movie isn't a documentary, Hackers is a lot of fun. The editor of 2600 consulted on it (and lent his nym)

The soundtrack is much, much, better.

Agreed, just saw the remaster in a theater and it holds up surprisingly well. What seemed like glaring inaccuracies in 1995 now seem like whimsical visualizations and over the top silliness. Except of course "It's got a 28.8 bps modem".

The other thing I noticed was that it is chock-full of gender non-conformity. Not in the plot, but visually - almost every hacker character wears androgynous clothing or makeup or something along those lines. The over-representation of trans people in computer security is a common trope now and I wonder if Hackers was the first time that was depicted in media.

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#262
post #133
post #22

I never understood the love for this movie, it just seems lame to see all of these caricatures being created that reinforce hacker stereotypes - and not even in a good way.

Do you love the movie Hackers? I submit there are two camps of moviegoing nerds: those who love Sneakers and those who love Hackers. I will admit though, many many years later I softened to the sheer goofness of Hackers (which offput me much initially).

I enjoyed both of them. Also, War Games... That was the reason I wanted a modem in the first place.

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#263
post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Accidentally great, yeah. If I allow myself to believe that the producers of Hackers knew they were making a spoof of Hollywood hackers in general, I can sit back and enjoy it as a masterpiece. But at the time, that was not at all clear. And I'm still not actually convinced. It certainly wasn't marketed as a comedy; it seemed to be drinking the same drama-aid as The Net and other breathless wankery at the time. In wh…

I really disliked hackers when it came out, except for the sound track. Never saw it again until some twentieth anniversary watch party, and from that distance saw it for what it was and found it amusing. ... I still wouldn't call it a great movie, but enjoyable enough or at least I now get why people like it. Certainly far better than The Net, as low of a bar as that is.

Hackers had more of a cheesy feel to it, for sure. Sneakers felt more serious and believable.

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#264
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you can tell so much from someone's shoes You can make educated guesses based on apparel of all sorts - but you are always guessing .

Yes but many times, these can be quite valuable inferences. Shoes are indeed a valuable source of information about a person. I knew at least one BH case manager who really paid attention to them. Shoes are expensive, very durable, and typically one of those items that people have only a few pairs of. So while someone can easily change their outfit to match a situation, place, or mood for the day, they may be less li…

What is BH?

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#265
post #169
post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the only part that really pulled me out of the movie was when they were testing the device and it was decrypting a dial-up feed random character by random character on the screen. It wasn't "Hackers" bad but it was still pretty unbelievable.

Once you accept that a movie isn't a documentary, Hackers is a lot of fun. The editor of 2600 consulted on it (and lent his nym)

What is an nym?

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The soundtrack is much, much, better.

Agreed, just saw the remaster in a theater and it holds up surprisingly well. What seemed like glaring inaccuracies in 1995 now seem like whimsical visualizations and over the top silliness. Except of course "It's got a 28.8 bps modem". The other thing I noticed was that it is chock-full of gender non-conformity. Not in the plot, but visually - almost every hacker character wears androgynous clothing or makeup or som…

point eight bee pee ess, said no one ever. Also too much ADR to censor words that didn't need to be censored

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#267
post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really disliked hackers when it came out, except for the sound track. Never saw it again until some twentieth anniversary watch party, and from that distance saw it for what it was and found it amusing. ... I still wouldn't call it a great movie, but enjoyable enough or at least I now get why people like it. Certainly far better than The Net, as low of a bar as that is.

Hackers had more of a cheesy feel to it, for sure. Sneakers felt more serious and believable.

This comment is one of the best examples of understatement I've ever come across.

(This is a compliment by the way. I agree, but with at least 10x more force than I feel from your comment ;)).

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#268
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a fan of baseball, and in 2021, there was a real MLB game played at the original filming location. It started with Kevin Costner leading the players out of the cornfield.

I had goosebumps, they nailed it.

This is kinda way off-topic, but that feeling of the "bringing back" something that had been lost to time that Field of Dreams provides, I get the same thing from the movie Midnight in Paris. Like a literally palpable warm, comforting, everything-is-alright feeling (mostly from the Salvador Dali encounter).

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#269
post #165

I was shocked when I rewatched this recently just how good the cryptography technobabble is in this movie. Specifically the scene where the professor is presenting on breaking public key cryptography. The very first thing he mentions is a number field sieve. Nice work hiring whatever cryptography consultant that got for this scene.

I think the only part that really pulled me out of the movie was when they were testing the device and it was decrypting a dial-up feed random character by random character on the screen. It wasn't "Hackers" bad but it was still pretty unbelievable.

Hackers is actually good.

Re: Sneakers (1992) – 4K makeover sourced from the original camera negative

#270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They spelled Len's name wrong in the credits. :/

You might be right, but keep in mind actors often adopt variations for their names and may not even be consistent.

He was a consultant, not an actor.
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