morrison-dylan-fan Listening to music from co-writer/(along with Franco Ferrini & Carlo Lucarelli) director Dario Argento's movies,I stumbled across an excellent Rock track,which I was surprised to discover was from one of his more recent films.After having seen all of his other feature films, (with the exception of Argento's "live opera" Macbeth)I decided that for my 29th birthday that I would go to sleep.The plot:Leaving a clients place,a prostitute trips over a folder that the client has left out, (woops!)which contains clippings on a serial killers reign 17 years ago.Grabbing the folder,the prostitute rushes out with the folder and jumps on a train.Sitting on the train,the prostitute gets a call from the client,who tells her that he is going to track her down.Finding herself on her own,the prostitute is suddenly gripped by a strangers hands,who kills her.Making sure that there is no chance of getting identified,the murderer kills the prostitute's friend and takes the folder back into safe hiding.Learning about the killings,retired detective Ulisse Moretti notices that the killings look eerily similar to a "nursery rhyme/Dwarf Killer" serial killer (who was found dead via "suicide" bullet in the head) case that he solved 20 years ago.As the bodies start to pile up and the nursery rhyme lyrics return, Giacomo Gallo (whose mum was one of the original victims) reminds Morettthat that he promised him that he would get his mothers killer,as Moretti begins to fear that he read the wrong rhyme 20 years ago.View on the film:Backed by a thunderous score from Goblin, (who joined after original composer Goran Bregovich asked for more cash!)Dario Argento builds an excellent halfway house,with references to his past work being spread across a tense millennial Giallo chiller.From the blood- splatted opening Argento reveals a rejuvenated energy, as dazzlingly stylised whip pans and jagged tracking shots give each of the murder set pieces a blazing atmosphere. Reuniting with cinematographer Ronnie Taylor,Argento & Taylor smoke the Giallo in Film Noir red,by scattering needles of rain and bursts of smoke in decaying buildings,which creates an excellent bleak canvas for the reign of terror.Whilst the final twist does take the title into a deranged comedic direction,Argento & Franco Ferrini collaboration with novelist Carlo Lucarelli makes the change one that is easy to forgive.For the opening 30 minutes,the writers hit a perfect note of keeping the murders moving at a lightning speed,whilst making sure to drop clues to future revelations.Sinking into the Film Noir side of the Giallo,the writers smartly give Moretti & Giacomo partnership space to breath,which gives the uncovering of the truth a tense mood,and also leads to a fantastic twist in the last 30 minutes hitting an unexpectedly tragic note.Looking rather fetching in bra & panties,the very pretty Chiara Caselli gives a terrific performance as Giacomo's girlfriend Gloria,whose uncompromising,determined attitude tightens Moretti and Giacomo's desire to solve the case.Giving the title a warm sense of gravitas, Max von Sydow pulls up the Film Noir roots of the Giallo in his superb performance as Moretti.Looking worn down to the bone, Sydow paints Moretti as a Film Noir loner whose fading memory is unable to block Moretti's doubt over solving the case decades ago,as Argento's Giallo gloves start to make Moretti sleepless.

bwljcql thank god for dario argento and giallo because the movie world would be poorer place without them my favorites being tenebrae and profondo rosso then came this absolute gem which i saw under the title sleepless and with a combination of dario argento and the legend that is max von sydow this was always going to be excellent and has since taken over as my favorite argento film with its superb storyline great camera work and excellent murder scenes super acting all round especially max von sydow i would be amazed if anybody did not enjoy this film and as always with argento films the music is outstanding and as alway a film that will keep you guessing until the very end a film that i can watch over and over again highly recommended

Graham Greene Sleepless (2001) finds director Dario Argento at his self-referential best; producing a film that seems like a veritable greatest hits package of his more recognisable trademarks and preoccupations, including the revelation of a traumatic childhood event, the reliance on the juxtaposition between an older, more seasoned character and his young protégé turned amateur sleuths, the foregrounding of a burgeoning love affair and the always prevalent notions of sight and perception. It taps into the territory of his earlier films perfectly, with the depiction of a black-gloved serial killer prowling the night and killing to the rules of a bizarre children's storybook that is rife with reminisces to Argento's earliest masterpiece, Deep Red (1975). Admittedly, it could be argued that the film falls apart a little towards the end, but for the most part Sleepless is a fantastic thriller, and easily Argento's best film since Opera (1987) more than a decade before.It was touted at the time as the director's return to his more traditional Giallo roots of films like The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1974) and Tenebrae (1982); though I'm sure some would still argue that it doesn't quite achieve the creative highs of those particular films, with the occasional flaws - many of which Argento fans will have come to know and love - marring the film in the second half. However, I think even the most vocal critics would be able to see it as a self-conscious effort on the part of the filmmaker to create a film with a writhing and endlessly fascinating plot, some bold visual compositions and scenarios that recall the greatness of his earlier work, and of course, lashings of gratuitous violence. The presentation might be a little more cutting-edge, with the modern-day, 21st century streets of Rome and contemporary attitudes of its characters further fuelling the plot; however, the structure of the film, the relationships between the characters and the fantastic way that Argento builds tension and dread is right out of his "animal trilogy" of the 1970's.The murder scenes are as inventive as ever, filled with those trademark POV shots and plenty of bravura, with the cinematography of Ronnie Taylor thankfully being closer to his work on Opera (1987) rather than The Phantom of the Opera (1998). The opening scene itself is one of the greatest things that Argento has ever directed, skilfully establishing the back-story of the killer and his particular Modus operandi as he stalks a terrified prostitute through a passenger train and out onto the empty, nocturnal train station, in a manner that recalls the opening sequences of that perennial favourite Suspiria (1977). The grandiose scenes of stalk and slash terror is to be expected from Argento, especially with the memory of his earlier films still in mind, however, what really sets Sleepless apart from his more recent works, like The Stendhal Syndrome (1996) and The Card Player (2005), is the compelling performance from a genuine acting legend; in this instance, the ever-brilliant Max Von Sydow.Von Sydow plays Ulisse Moretti, a now retired police detective still obsessing over a shocking murder case that took place eighteen years earlier. As fate conspires to throw Moretti together with Giacomo, the son of the original victim, the two men decide to re-investigate the case in light of recent murders that seem to point to the same killer, or indeed, killers. Though Stefano Dionisi as the earnest and enthusiastic Giacomo lacks the natural ability of Von Sydow (a fact not helped by his rather poor English dubbing), he still manages to carry his strands of the narrative fairly well, while the scenes between their two particular characters resonate with the same kind of mutual respect and contagious curiosity that was found between the lead characters of The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) or even the aforementioned Deep Red. Some of the other performances aren't quite as strong, though the shadow of Von Sydow and the technical virtuosity and ace storytelling of Argento definitely make up for it; turning a film that could have easily become generic and derivative into a genuinely interesting murder mystery.It might not be Argento's greatest film; lacking the unconventional flair and visual eccentricity of Deep Red or the self-reflexive experimentation and daring design of the classic Tenebrae, it does at least deliver on the basic levels of story, characters and vision. As mentioned before, the ending falls apart somewhat; certainly not to the degree of The Stendhal Syndrome or The Card Player, but enough to detract from the overall experience. It's a shame too, as the individual elements of the film are great and filled with numerous Argento touches of horror and humour. However, for this to really be considered a masterpiece it needed the kind of jaw-dropping final-act revelation of the films he made in the 70's and early 80's. Without question, Sleepless is still a great film for those in the right frame of mind and definitely something that should be appreciated by long-term Argento devotees still desperate for something that comes close to the tone of his more iconic early works.

gavin6942 As a child, a young boy named Giacomo witnesses his mother's murder, but cannot see the killer's face. After the killer is presumed dead, he goes on with his life. But years later the killer returns and Giacomo is back in the thick of things: he teams up with a retired detective he met as a boy (played by Max von Sydow) and they track the clues around Turin.Dario Argento consistently delivers films that I consider top-notch. If you look at a list of my reviewed films from highest to lowest ranked, you'll see a cluster of his work right up in the top ten or twenty (which is pretty high considering how many reviews I've done). This is the lowest I've ranked his work yet, and let me be clear about my reasoning: this is not a bad film. On the contrary, it is a very good film (some say the best since "Suspiria", although I would disagree).The primary reason this is ranked lower is because it's largely recycled from Argento's earlier giallo films. Particularly, this film has strong connections to "Bird With the Crystal Plumage" and "Deep Red". You have a protagonist who is connected to a murder and is investigating it, though not actually part of the police. This protagonist gets a strong clue about the killer, but is not able to make out what it is until after examining his memory five or six times (in this case it's a noise he hears the killer make). And, there's at least one red herring: as soon as the killer is caught, it may not be the real killer (again, this one has strong "Plumage" connections).My other problem, and it's relatively minor, is that one of the main characters has the most obnoxious voice. It's a lispy, wheezing, Asian-sounding, high-pitched Michael Jackson voice. I had a hard time believing that anyone really talks like that. But, apart from the voice, the acting and everything else was fine.The three really great things that stand out about this film, other than the usual Argento traits (the great music and scenery, for example) are the use of space, increased violence and the switch-up of main characters. The space issue is best shown early on in a scene on a train, which I think is what this film is most known for now (with good reason). A young woman must hide from a killer on a moving train -- putting her and the camera in a confined space. This really accelerates the terror, as we feel with her that there's literally no where to run.The increased gore and violence is noticeably. In newer films (such as "Pelts" and "Jenifer") Argento really lets the gore out, but in earlier works it is more mellow and implied. Even in the really violent scenes from the 1970s, it's quick and not very disturbing. This film, with its finger-hacking and English horn choking, really creates the bridge between the 1970s Argento and the 2000s Argento.Lastly, the characters switching is a nice touch. We don't establish who the main character is until maybe twenty minutes or more into the film. Following the path of the killer's notebook, we see who finds it and how it gets from point A to point B. But the notebook is not a main focus of the film, nor are the people who carry it. Like the red carpet later on, it just serves as a guide for the camera. (There is some question of how the killer is able to move around on the train and elsewhere so quickly, but we won't worry about that here.) As with all other Argento, I bring this one to you with the highest recommendation. Great plot (actually better than much of his work), great gore, great characters and great music. His best camera work in a long time, and a higher quality filming process (Italy is usually years behind America in film quality -- this is an exception). On your next sleepless night, pick up "Sleepless". It's a winner.