Sleepers (1991) User Reviews

Near perfect British comedy

[strat-8 · 9/10 · 11 January 2001]

The premise is irresistible. Two Russian spies (moles) came to England 20 years ago with the goal of becoming totally English and therefore undetectable. They "sleep" until its time to execute their true mission (which they do not know). After 20 years they have become completely English and have no desire to return to Russia or work as spies. Mother Russia has other ideas and sends modern spies to locate and re-activate them. This sets up a chase that meanders across the entire country. We route for the success of the ex-patriots and we guffaw at the ineptitude of the spies sent to catch them.

I can think of only two flaws. First, the two ex-spies exhibit not one trace of ever having been Russian. Second, the conclusion is pretty far out. A little too preposterous I thought.

Four characters stand out. The two men who play the ex-Russian, ex-spies, the guy who plays Russian U.K. bureau chief, and Joanna Kanska who plays the Russian femme-fatale. She is truly sexy and funny. Wish we could see her in Movies and TV more often.

Outstanding

[pswanson00 · 9/10 · 29 June 2008]

I saw this series on TV about 15 years ago, after which the shows disappeared completely from public view (at least in the U.S.). I've searched for it for years , and -- at long last -- was delighted to find it available through NetFlix. I was worried that the series would not be as good as I'd remembered, but I was not at all disappointed. The writing and acting are excellent, and these shows hold up very well. Viewers too young to remember the tension of the Cold War may find the premise of this tale hard to accept, but -- speaking as a Baby Boomer who spent the first 2/3 of his life with it -- the story rings very true. The massive expenditures of time and money on espionage and the profession of mistrust were astounding. I can accept easily that both the Soviet and western Allies had spies living in each other's countries. What keeps this from being another depressing Cold War story is the humor woven through it. The "sleeping" agents have figured out for themselves that life in the UK is vastly preferable to life in the USSR, and they are not a bit interested in returning. The machinations they have to go through to hang onto their ways of life are both gripping and funny, and make for great television. I think this could easily have been edited into a successful theatrical release, and I can't say that about many shows made for TV.

Fantastic

[afry25 · 9/10 · 15 November 2010]

Found this at the local library. Always love British series. This was no different. The premise is excellent, although I think the ending may need a bit of explanation for some. However the whole idea of these men who had been waiting for so long that they have pretty well forgotten what they were supposed to be there for in the first place is pretty funny. Also, the way the so thoroughly embedded themselves in the British lifestyle, to the point where they lose their Russian identities is genius.

Definitely worth the watch. Shame they kept it to four episodes. Lots of interesting story lines that fall by the wayside because of it.

A fabulous send-up of post-Cold War culture

[klg19 · 10/10 · 16 February 2000]

This mini series is endlessly entertaining, whether you're a student of the Cold War, an Anglophile, or an espionage buff. It captures brilliantly the guarded peace developing among the world's remaining superpowers in the last days of the Soviet Union, and it makes you howl with laughter in the process.

Havers and Clarke (who was also a dialogue coach on the project) play Soviet agents sent underground as sleepers to the UK in the Mod '60s by enigmatic KGB guru Gough. Now it's the 1980s, glasnost has begun the Soviet thaw, Gough is shut up in a mental hospital, and Havers and Clarke have become very British indeed--the former a successful investment banker, and the latter a union boss in northern England (married and with children, no less). The sleeper project is discovered in Moscow, and the two agents are contacted, much to their dismay (as Havers observes, why should he give up his posh and comfortable life "for a bowl of red cabbage and a bed-sit in Vladivostok?"). Hilarity ensues, as an uptight KGB agent (a woman who makes Ninotchka come off like Pollyanna) is dispatched to bring the wayward sleepers home. Add in a KGB contact who looks just like Gorbachev (though named Chekhov--"No relation"), classic odd-couple pairings, a suspicious mother-in-law, and Britain's World Cup star Bobby Charlton, and you've got something worth watching, my friend.

Every couple of years or so, I send off a message to the BBC, recommending this title for VHS or DVD release, and I always get a kind note thanking me for my interest. So far, no result. I can't even begin to imagine why. Should this surface again on television, run for your VCRs and DVRs!

Ironic Cold War Comedy

[arion1 · 24 February 2003]

The most amusing mini-series about the end of the Cold War to be done in 20 years!

In 1966, an ambitious Soviet agent sends two sleepers (spies who infiltrate a country and do not act until they receive their activation code-word) to England on an undisclosed mission. Unbeknownst to the agents, their controller is imprisoned during an official purge, and they never receive their activation code! Now, 25 years later, the records of the mission have been unearthed but the agents are nowhere to be found--or, at least, that's the way they want it! One is a wealthy stockbroker, the other a married brewery worker with three children!

Perhaps the funniest scene is when the KGB agent-in-residence-in-London, Victor Chekhov (David Calder) is confiding in the situation to his British counterpart (William Chubb). Both men are mooning over how dull the spy world has become, compared to the past. "Yeah," says Chekhov, wistfully, "remember the Good Old Days?"

Bear in mind, this is not a slam-bang action series, but a touching human comedy. The sleeper agents are two men who until now have been happy with their lives. But now, with their buried pasts starting to catch up to them, they have to decide what to do. It's humorous, and at the same time ironic because it's really a story about how change comes to all things.

One of the best mini-series I've ever seen. When, O when will it be available on DVD?

[ettrick · 10/10 · 31 August 2002]

This miniseries regarding the cold war is probable the best you are ever likely to see. It is both serious and hilarious at the same time. The stars are all excellent, particularly Michael Gough. I do not know of any other serious-comedy that can hold your attention. make you laugh; keep you under suspense, all at the same time.

A jewel

[aberlour36 · 10/10 · 17 July 2002]

This series was superb. It's listed in the IMDB as a comedy, but it is in fact a Cold War drama of the most compelling and chilling sort. Why on earth it hasn't appeared in video is beyond me. It deserves the highest rating.

Fantastic story

[dap61_2001 · 10/10 · 10 April 2004]

"Sleepers" is the story of two KGB moles sent to Britain in the mid-60s for the purpose of establishing legends. After twenty-five years the KGB has forgotten all about these guys, but that is soon to change. The KGB accidentally stumbles across their identities in a database and starts researching who they are and why the were sent to England. The KGB now wants to find them and bring them back. Only problem is these two guys have essentially crossed cultural lines and become more British than Russian and, needless to say, do not want to return to the Soviet Union. This story is both funny and somewhat melancholy. Superb performances by all the cast. A great story that puts a rather novel spin on the spy genre. You won't be disappointed.

Splendid

[aberlour36 · 10/10 · 9 July 2000]

This has everything: comedy, suspense, brilliant acting, and first-rate direction. Why on earth isn't it on video? It's a ten. Notice especially the casting. Marvelous. Nothing this good has appeared since on the tube!

Excellent BBC TV that should be available on a DVD!

[jobrien-9 · 10/10 · 4 March 2005]

Loved this mini series and unfortunately do not have a good tape of it. Does anyone know if it is available anywhere on DVD or VHS--it should be! one of the best ever from BBC shown on US PBS. I thought the casting, plot, and mix of humor and serious jabs at the warriors of the cold war was great. With all the crud out on DVD it is hard to believe that this is not available somewhere somehow for purchase. I saw it years ago, has it been re-broadcast more recently on any PBS stations, or does BBC America re-run it ever? Now that WETA Radio in DC has sold out and gone totally "news" and talk there is a desperate need for good entertainment like this mini series. I have searched for years and would greatly appreciate any help in procuring a copy of this somehow.

Watch this, comrade!

[neiljeffery1 · 10/10 · 13 April 2005]

I do wish this was available! The whole premise is that 2 Soviet sleeper agents are activated just as the Cold War is entering its last thaw. Clarke and Havers are well-known character actors in the UK and they do a great job - personality clashes and differences in outlook. Kanska does a good job in a thankless role, as the KGB officer sent to find them.

The whole idea of two men who are strangers in a country but who have become so accustomed to life that they feel more at home in their new land than their old homeland may sound dry and turgid, but here it is done with such an adept touch that this is just a brilliant, gentle, heart-warming comedy - but a light comedy drama, not a belly-laugh joke-fest. If ever you get the chance to watch it - see it, comrade!

A definite keeper: good thing I had the VCR running!

[cellogirl · 2 August 2002]

More than a decade after its first airing on "Masterpiece Theatre," I still pull out my copy of "Sleepers" to watch once a year or so.

"Sleepers" has it all: wonderfully witty, satiric commentary on post-Cold War politics; superb acting by Nigel Havers & Warren Clarke & Company, in turns farcical, funny, & poignant; a script that pokes fun at the Yanks, the Brits, the Soviets, & all of our cultures simultaneously. It's a travesty that it's never surfaced on video or DVD, & that it got a mere passing mention in the recent "Masterpiece Theatre" anniversary book. "Sleepers" is one of the finest, & unfortunately most overlooked, installments of the "Masterpiece Theatre" series.

Now if you'll excuse me, Episodes 3 & 4 are cued up in the VCR & awaiting my return to the sofa....

Great Spy Sendup

[Lhasadad · 10/10 · 25 October 2001]

I enjoyed watching the two Russian Spys trying to hide from mother russia when they realize they have done nothing for the USSR with their 20 plus years in England. I would love to get a copy of this on VHS or DVD. If anyone hears about a source. please drop me a note. Thanks.

One of a tiny handful you can watch every other year without growing tired of it.

[brunsftcol · 10/10 · 8 December 2014]

This is the only 4-hr show in my "never grow tired of it!" category.

For decades all I had was an old VHS tape made from a PBS over-the-air broadcast, with a virtually inaudible sound track. Thank heavens BBC finally wised up and released the DVD!

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SPOILER: FAVORITE SCENE: At the very end: Albert stands immobile outside his home, dreading the possibility that Sandra won't take him back. She sees him through a window she's cleaning, while in her sweater pocket is the Private Investigator's thick envelope documenting all of Albert's lies about his past - the identity he stole, the schools & orphanages he never went to, etc. She doesn't yet know what's in it; only that it contains seriously bad stuff about Albert.

And as they cling together tightly on the front walk, the garbageman walks past, and Sandra, without Albert seeing, pulls one hand away to reach in her pocket, pull out the still-sealed envelope, and dump it in the bin as it passes.

Wow! Powerful scene! I've seen many great cinematic husband-wife reconciliations over the decades, but this one is special - a couple of notches above the rest. Because right there in her hands she's Got The Goods on him. She has him "by the gonads". She has *LEVERAGE*. "Knowledge is Power" and power has been handed to her on a silver platter. It's a full accounting of his sins, to be whipped out now or any convenient time, to loudly read it out and watch him squirm in humiliation. But instead, she throws it all away and returns to clinging tightly to him with both arms.

===================

SPOILER: FAVORITE QUOTE

ALBERT:(referring to his wife & kids, vs Jeremy's still being single): "That's easy for you to say; you have no attachments".

JEREMY: "NO ATTACHMENTS?!? I'm pulling down {some enormous salary} a year, I have a flat in {some posh London neighborhood}, drive a {Maserati/Ferrari/etc}, have a string of girlfriends, own a home in the country and half a bloody racehorse ... and I'm just supposed to give it all up for a bowl of cabbage soup and a bed-sit in Vladivostok?!!?"

ALBERT: "I fancy your point". (or maybe it's "Fancy a pint?")

Pure genius

[hillrosemary · 10/10 · 9 November 2008]

I discovered this almost by accident by searching for something else, and I'm so glad I did. It manages to be funny, touching and thought-provoking, which is some achievement in just one film. There are truly too many highlights to mention. I laughed out loud when the hapless vicar offered Dundee cake to the CIA bloodhounds, and Robinson/Zelenski's attempt to drive Coward/Rublev's sports car was absolutely priceless.

This is an absolute must-see for anyone who grew up through the Cold War and perestroika. The acting is superb throughout. For me the most outstanding performance came from David Calder as Viktor Chekhov. If he didn't get an award for it, he surely should have done.

My only query is why, oh why, isn't the DVD available in the UK? Why has the BBC never issued it? When I think of some of the rubbish they churn out these days, most of which seems to be available on DVD the second the programme has been broadcast, that seems incomprehensible to me. It deserves far better treatment than that. I had to purchase it on Amazon from the United States, where, thank goodness, it apparently WAS issued.

Wherever and however you get hold of it, it's more than worth it. British TV at its best!

Delightful!

[mizboo6 · 31 October 2002]

Some serious Cold War subjects are explored in the context of a comedy of errors. This movie is a delightful blend of clever comedy, slapstick, suspense, romance and a sobering surprise ending. It offers intelligent dialogue, ideal casting, thoroughly engaging characters, and an intriguing plotline that never flags. I highly recommend it. And if it EVER comes out on VHS/DVD, I will snatch it up in a flash for my collection.

Demotic Capitalism 1 Cold War 0 in hilarious conflict

[jminer · 24 October 2000]

A clever concept about people left behind - except that they aren't: they have left behind their past, and when they are called upon to act roles ordained in the past, they simply won't. A witty and human subversion of the Ian Fleming/John Le Carre spy story, a tale of what goes right and what goes wrong, of cultural clashes, class warfare (remember that?), identity, politics, greed and happiness. The cultural artefact (I can't spoil it) that sends the storyline spinning into a new orbit is chosen with wit and imagination. Nigel Havers has rarely been so funny although Warren Clarke has always been capable of dominating the screen in comedy like a working-class Jack Nicholson. A mini like no other - because it never flags in pace, intensity, observation or commentary.

Enjoyable light British comedy.

[cmyklefty · 17 December 2001]

Sleepers is about two Soviet agents sent to England in 1965. They go undercover and live average lives all the years in England, until somebody in the Russian government notices. The Russians send a woman agent to try to bring the lost agents back home. This show is well acted and written.

Incorrect Prime Link

[windsong353 · 20 September 2020]

You're incorrectly linking this to a DIFFERENT FILM offered on Amazon Prime. They unfortunately don't offer this terrific movie. You need to correct this entry.