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	Sleepless Max von Sydow, Stefano Dionisi Artisan, 2001 average customer review:based on 41 reviews view larger image
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Von Sydow plays the role of a retired detective named Moretti, a cop who had an amazing record of solving murder cases but has since suffered from rampant insomnia and a fading memory. Moretti now spends more time ambling around his house talking to his pet bird and trying to remember the specifics about the one case that eluded his grasp than anything else. That case, called the killer dwarf crimes, seemed solved when the supposed killer died as police officers closed in. Now, years later, the killings have started up again, gruesome crimes that resemble in many ways those of the original case. Moretti finds himself sucked back into working on the case even though the cops on active duty wish he would just go back to his bird and leave the investigating to younger men. Our aging cop soon teams up with the son of one of the victims of the first spate of killings and the two men embark on a quest to discover what exactly is going on. The path to solving the crime is fraught with peril: arcane clues abound, strange nursery rhymes play a big part, and Moretti's ailing memory prevent him from making connections between the latest victims and those killed in the first wave. Even worse, the killer knows Moretti is looking for him and plans on doing something about it. The conclusion to "Sleepless" recalls the numerous plot twists of "Deep Red" and "The Bird With They Crystal Plumage," two of Argento's better films. There is a lot to like with "Sleepless."

Arguably, the best part of the film is the first twenty minutes. Argento turns a stalk and slash sequence on an empty passenger train speeding along a track into a masterful exposition of oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere matched with a pounding music score produced by none other than Goblin. Moreover, the great cinematography employed in this extended scene reveals that the director has lost none of his imaginative abilities with the camera. Even better, the beginning of the film gives the audience two amazingly beautiful women of a type rarely seen in a horror movie. Seeing these two lovely girls convinced me, more than anything else I have seen or heard, that I must visit Europe as soon as possible. Sadly, Argento dispatches the two ladies quite quickly, but that shouldn't stop a dedicated viewer from making liberal use of the rewind button on the remote control.

The rest of the film is a mixed bag, since the performances from some of the principals are mediocre (excluding the always great Max Von Sydow). The pacing occasionally lags in "Sleepless" as well, as the film feels like it runs too long in places. What helps move the film along are the gory killings that pop up to say hello every now and again. We get a gruesome decapitation, a nasty looking--and sounding--flute stabbing (!), an ink pen punched through a head, and a face repeatedly introduced to a brick wall in grisly close up. You come to expect imaginative and stylistic violence in an Argento film and "Sleepless" delivers it all in bright, flashy color. The mouth kissing brick especially brings out the cringes even though it was done better with sharp furniture corners in "Deep Red." Anyway, don't go into "Sleepless" expecting a bloodless movie that zips along at mach speed.

I've seen a lot of grumbling about the Artisan DVD version of "Sleepless." Since I haven't seen the European release that is supposedly much better than the American version, I will say that I thought this DVD wasn't as bad as some think. The picture quality is good even if it is a full screen release. The extras are lacking, but at least there are a few: a trailer for the movie, bios, and some sneak peeks at a few other films. Maybe it's because I have seen some "classic" films lately with absolutely nothing in the way of goodies on the DVD, but I did not feel cheated with the extras for "Sleepless." Could Argento's most recent film receive better treatment from someone else? Probably, but the movie is entertaining enough to watch even in fullscreen. If you enjoy Dario Argento films, be sure and check out "Sleepless" if you haven't done so already. Despite a few problems, it is still a roller coaster of a ride.

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Dario does Dario

If you go into this movie expecting to see "Deep Red" or "Suspiria" you probably will be disappointed for it's not on that level. However, with that being said "Sleepless" is a much better film than people give it credit for. While Argento couldn't match the brilliance of his earlier films in the 70's and early 80's this effort is much better than that of his efforts throughout the 90's.

The avid gore hound will be happy with over the top violence in the murders and the soundtrack by the now familiar "Goblin" is insanely pulsating. The first 15-20 minutes are worth the price alone, amzingly gripping and suspensful. After that the middle may fall into the tedious catagorie but pulls itself together at the end.

The story involves Max Von Sydow (The Exorcist) as a retired detective, with memory lapses, who finds that the "killer dwarf" murders he believed he had solved 17 years earlier are beginning once again. Now he must team up with the now adult son of one of the victims from a previous murder.

While this film is a far cry from his earlier giallo's Argento shows flashes of brilliance that dubbed him "The Italian Hitchcock" Well worth an evening for the avid Argento or giallo fan!

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The Nursery Rhyme Killer Needs To Grow Up!

"Sleepless" accurately describes the serial killer in this superb giallo from Dario Argento, the Italian Hitchcock who directed such horror masterpieces as "Deep Red" and "Suspiria." The killer can never sleep because he is constantly waiting for the right moment to begin killing again.

Seventeen years ago, there were a series of brutal slayings that had a pattern. Each victim represented an animal from a nursery rhyme. A children's author, a dwarf, was suspected of being the serial killer; the dwarf committed suicide and the killings ended. Now, the nightmare has begun again and it is believed that the dwarf has either returned from the dead or there is a copy cat. Perhaps it never was the dwarf.

Max von Sydow (Father Merrin in "The Exorcist") investigated the original dwarf killings. He comes out of retirement to help solve the latest murders.

"Sleepless" has numerous scenes involving beautiful women being chased up staircases and through trains. They reminded me of Argento's earlier works, such as "Suspiria," and Mario Bava's gothic masterpiece "Baron Blood." The soundtrack from Goblin was awesome; it helped increase the tension to a fever pitch level. There were many gruesome deaths; the body count was relatively high. It is easy to see that this is when Argento's movies began becoming increasingly more gruesome and gory.

"Sleepless" may never receive the status of classic giallo that Argento's earlier works have achieved but it is an extremely enjoyable, fast paced ride with twists and turns. The true killer was not as easy for me to identify as they have been in other gialli. "Sleepless" is definitely on a par with "Opera," "The Card Player," and "Trauma." It has more style and class than Argento's latest gore- and sex-driven works for Masters of Horror: "Pelts" and "Jennifer."

My only complaint is with Artisan. An anamorphic format should have been made available along with the full screen format. Otherwise, the audio and video are great and there are English subtitles for those of us who have a hard time clearly hearing every word.

"Sleepless" from Artisan is highly recommended for those who are fans of Italian gialli and fans of Dario Argento.

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Watchable, but not really very good

I recently got through watching the core of Dario Argento's work(75-87), and was sufficiently impressed that I decided to immediately check out some of his less acclaimed work. First I viewed Two Evil Eyes, and was surprised by how good his segment was, and felt it was nearly equal to some of his very best work. Next I viewed this film, Sleepless, and well, I think the title of the review pretty much says it all. I don't demand my time back, I may check it out again some day, but as of right now I'm not terribly excited about this film. On the plus side, it's got a really cool soundtrack, and is quite extraordinarily brutal and gory, more so than any of his other films.(It's no surprise that it's unrated) The soundtrack is by Goblin, and is quite reminscent of their classic work, particularly for Deep Red, but with more actual instruments and fewer synths.(and far more natural sounding synths too, for the most part) I've heard them score 8 movies, I believe, and generally find there work to be quite good,(if somewhat flawed), and this is definitely some of there very best work. The rest of the film, however, is either average or subpar.

Sadly, the film is largely lacking in the style department. The set design is fairly conventional, and there isn't a whole helluva a lot of interesting camerawork. (Though a widescreen version would certainly be more impressive in this regard.) Quite a few perspective shots, but not that much else, and those aren't terribly exciting anymore. Furthermore, many of the kills are very straightforward and conventional, with little buildup or flare. Still, it has it's moments. The double murder early in the film, both on a train and at the station is easily the best. More stylish than any of the other kills, and it actually has a long, reasonably suspenseful buildup. Sadly, the actresses portraying the two victims are quite bad, which brings it down a bit, but it's quite an effective section nevertheless. Also, the decapitation murder is done very well, with a nice long shot moving across a rug for extraordinarily long time whlie the Goblin score pounds away. As it ends we see the victim's shadow, seemingly suspended in the air, and then see the decapitated head plop on the ground. Definitely a grisly and effective scene. Despite there relative lack of style, most of the other murder scenes are at least fairly effective through their brutal, disturbing nature. We have some horrific stabbings, drowning, face-smashing, pen-jabbing, a really nasty gunshot wound and, worst and weirdest of all, the old english horn repeatedly smashed into the mouth bit. Still, the brutal nature of much of the violence in Argento's earlier films was made far more effective by the beautiful, highly artistic nature of the film surrounding the violence, or even the violence itself. Sleepless largely lacks this contrast, and suffers for it. Also, the effects aren't nearly as convincing as you'd hope for such a recent film, but they work pretty well anyway.

The murder-mystery is of no great interest. For the most part, people just sit around and talk, waiting for the next murder or the next break in the case, rather than doing all that much actual investigating. The characters themselves are of no great interest either. Max Von Sydow gives the best performance, as a retired detective drawn back into work by the murder's in the film, which seem to be a continuation of a supposedly solved case which he worked on nearly 20 years earlier. Other than that the performances are pretty hit and miss, and never all that great. The 2 first victims are particularly bad, as is the homeless man Leone, and a witness who attempts to extort money from the killer. Most everyone else is at least passable, though no one is really sympathetic at all, other than Von Sydow's character.(and he isn't all that likable, really)

If you've seen and liked Opera, Deep Red, and Tenebre you might as well check this out. You'll probably enjoy, even if you're not likely to be terribly impressed. Worth a look for Argento fans, but definitely want to rent it, if at all possible. Definitely not the first Argento film you should see.

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