Customer Reviews

Insomnia / Insomnie (Bilingual) [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(62)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I am a huge Chris Nolan fan because of his cerebral story-telling. Possibly my favorite director (along with Danny Boyle).
The blu-ray version of insomnia is a must have for any potential film makers out there who want to listen and learn from the best.
There is a Chris Nolan commentary track that you HAVE to check out. The track reorders the film into the actual shooting schedule so you get a real feel of what it is to shoot a Hollywood film. Chris Nolan gives an incredible amount of detail about the choices he made, why he likes to get the camera close to the actors (in particular, one phone scene with Al Pacino) and his relationship with Wally Phister (DOP), Nathan Crawley (Production Designer) and his editor (whose name eludes me, sorry) who understand the "Chris Nolan vision" and compliment it in every way.
I am a new filmaker myself and what I learned from watching the film itself and all the informative extras cannot be rivaled.
Anytime a Chris Nolan film is available with a directors commentary, I extremely recommend it (the following, memento)... Of course, that's if you're into "how the sausage is made," as opposed to just eating it blindly;)

Insomnia is of course a remake of a Norwegian film starring Stellan Skarsgard, directed by Erik Skjoldbjaerg in 1997 but as much as this may make me a heathen to European film culture, I must confess to having never seen the original. However, thanks to one of my good friends (Steve, take a bow) I was lucky enough to see the UK premier of Insomnia as the closing movie of the 2002 Edinburgh film festival and lucky enough to see and hear the Director Christopher Nolan say a few words about this fine movie.

Opening with incredibly stunning cinematography of Alaskan ice fields, haggard L.A police detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) and his partner Hep Eckhart (Martin Donovan) arrive in America's most northerly city to help solve the brutal killing of a teenage girl. Met by a local Detective (Hilary Swank) who openly hero-worships Dormer and his successful career as a Detective, Pacino's character sets about showing the local hicks how it's done. However, it soon transpires that Dormer is only in Alaska in the first place to avoid an ongoing criminal investigation by police Internal Affairs back in Los Angeles and it is not long before his investigation into the Alaskan girl's murder goes horribly wrong. Troubled by his conscience and the never-ending daylight of an Alaskan summer Dormer prays for sleep.

For many people that have seen either of Christopher Nolan's previous two movies (Following and Memento) Insomnia may seem like an odd choice; it's a 'mainstream' Hollywood movie (Warner Brothers studio), it is told in a linear timeframe and it's a remake. However, there must have been obvious attractions apart from the budget and his paycheck. First off, Stephen Soderbergh, who successfully makes mainstream movies with an Indie heart, oversaw production and secondly there was the chance to work with great actors such as Pacino, Swank and Robin Williams, although at this point I have to add that I believe Williams was totally miscast and made an unconvincing villain.

There are some wonderful scenes in this movie, including a nightmare like chase over hundreds of floating logs and the hunt for the killer in a freezing fog. It is also a movie that allows it's stars to shine and this is undoubtedly Pacino's best role (and best movie for many a year) and it is a pleasant change to see him with a decent script in an intelligent movie instead of hamming it up in the likes of The Devil's Advocate, alongside walking surfboard Keanu Reeves. This movie will also undoubtedly and deservedly enhance the careers and reputations of both Director Christopher Nolan and Hilary Swank, who both produce work of depth and subtlety. However, I also feel that much of the credit for what is a beautiful photographed and well-written movie should go to Wally Pfister and (for what is an excellent adapted screenplay) to Hilary Seitz. Insomnia is an excellent movie made by a very modest, very talented young British movie Director. Be warned though, you probably need an IQ to fully appreciate it.

Everybody was expecting a 10 stars hit from director Christopher Nolan in this film . As result - they was very dessapointed . I watched this film totally blank , without any expectations . As result - I loved it . No flashy scenes , no big chases . Just very solid and deep film . I gave it only 4 stars just because of the power of the director in it . You can feel how much power he has ... but holding back a little . This feeling of danger and exitment at same time . Friends ! He is about to explode ! Next one will be a killer .
I didn't say anything about what this film about just because it is so many very good reviews right behind me . I don't want to repeat them . But I can tell you which moment I loved the most ... the last one :
- Nobody needs to know ?!
-I just need to catch some sleep....

Christopher Nolan's follow-up to MEMENTO is a more straight-forward thriller which serves as both an excellent tour-de-force of suspense in terrific form and re-establishment of Robin Williams' serious acting roles. But the main guy here is of course, the great Al Pacino, who gives another fantatsically compelling performance. The story, basically, is centered around Pacino hunting down a serial killer on the loose (Williams). Hey, at least Williams is breaking away from his "funnyman" sterotype and proves, at least with this, that he can be serious and still bring the same commanding M.O to any character on film. Hillary Swank also provides impressive supporting energy, helped with a sharp script. Not surprisingly, the score, very important addition in this genre, is a fantastic blend of slighty etheral tracks with downbeat percussions building up the tension. Director Nolan, having proven his coup-de-grace with the intracate stylistic MEMENTO, here works in more familiar action territory. That's not to say that the film is bereft of twists however, for there are numerous shockers and suprises along the way. A terrific film, and a must have on DVD.
Speaking of which, the DVD extra features are fantastic, with an interesting commentary by director Christopher Nolan, commentary by actor Hilary Swank, production designer Nathan Crowley, editor Dody Dorn, cinematograher Wally Pfister, and screenwriter Hillary Seitz, additional scene with commentary the doco "Day for Night" making of documentary, "180 Degrees": A Conversation with Christopher Nolan and Al Pacino, "In the Fog": Cinematography and production design and "Eyes Wide Open": The insomniac's world. Also included are trailers and stills gallery. Very impressive.

I love Christopher Nolan and the filmmaking is first-rate even in this more formulaic type of movie. Basically, it's a thriller but the setting in Alaska in the always daylight summertime there makes the movie what it is.

Now I'm not a big fan at all of Hilary Swank (sorry, those gigantic teeth and her being Steve Sanders' annoying girlfriend at one point on "Beverly Hills, 90210" just can never be erased from my brain) or Robin Williams on the big screen but I at least found them tolerable and believable in this. Meaning they must be good actors for me to overcome my completely prejudiced views of their whole body of work.

Anyway, in no way shape or form is this anywhere near as great as Inception, Memento or Following which both contain the same sort of themes of playing with time and people's perceptions of time as well as using the location as really a major part of the film. Throw in the whole Nolan obsession with the human mind and that's where Insomnia is at. Problem is it's at its base level this is still a murder mystery of which way too much gets revealed at the start when Al Pacino shoots his fellow cop accidentally on purpose early in the movie. Don't worry it's not a spoiler as the audience sees and knows this on screen very early in the flick.

I would say it is worth watching but I think it suffers mainly in comparison to Nolan's other majestically brilliant work. Taken on its own, it's a decent almost film noir in some ways and well worth seeing even if it doesn't stack up to Nolan's other films.

i didn't like this movie too much.as a matter of fact,it nearly put me
to sleep.how's that for irony.the movie is basically about murder which
occurs in a small Alaskan town.two big city cops are sent to
investigate.the twist to this movie.the sun doesn't set,which throws
everything out of whack for the detectives and complicates their
investigation.Robin Willima is in this one,in another darker role for
him.Al Pacino,Hilary Swank and Martin Donovan also star.there's nothing
wrong with the acting,but the movie is much to methodical,as it slowly
plods from one clue(or non clue) to the next.as i said earlier,i had a
heck of a time staying awake with this one.Christopher Nolan directed
this movie,but he cannot be blamed for this one.the writing is the
culprit here.i suspect,it looked good on paper and even while they were
filming,but somehow the end product doesn't seem to work.i think they
tried really hard with this one,but sometimes things just don't work
out the way you planned.this is not a horrible film,but it's just
missing something.i give "Insomnia" 2.5/5 for the effort.

I expected this to be really good, but the potentially excellent film by Christopher Nolan was really hurt by the attitude of Al Pacino as a cop in Alaska. In his past few movies, he tries too hard to be young and savvy when he just needs to accept that he is aging. He tries to be cool in this and he is just retarded. Hilary Swank didn't do anything at all to make this movie any better. Robin Williams is the only bright spot in this movie. He is the reason for me giving this three stars. He can play a pretty good villain.

Director: Christopher Nolan.
Cast: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hillary Swank, Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan, Nicky Katt.
Running Time: 118 minutes.
Rated R for violence, language, and brief nudity.

As if Hitchcock woke from the dead and decided to make one last film so his soul could finally rest, he would have made a film very similar to "Insomnia". Although Christopher Nolan is certainly no Hitchcock, this intense suspense-thriller possesses the some of the qualities that make a true classic. The story winds through the nightless town of Nightmute, Alaska, where LAPD detective Will Dormer (played by Al Pacino is an only par performance) investigates a troubling serial killer case. When the investigation takes a sudden, twisting turn, Dormer not only is in pursuit of a killer, but is up against the sleepless psychological trauma that is disrupting his every move.

As Dormer gets closer and closer to the truth, he comes across a startlingly eerie author (Robin Williams), who happens to have vital information about concerning one of the victim's death. As Dormer becomes more involved with the author, his paranoia grows increasingly unstable. Williams steals the show throughout the second half of the film, portraying the role with ease; a haunting character that must have crept mightily out of his soul. Hillary Swank is a some-what misused rookie officer who is one step behind Dormer in solving the case and her peformance is only fair.

Director Nolan uses the excellent Hilary Seitz to his advantage, plotting Dormer's fears and ambitions, tooling Pacino and Williams's characters in a battle of good and evil, yet the good and the evil are presented in an enigmatic, vague fashion that will keep viewers guessing. Entertaining, thrilling, and moderately scary--Hitchcock would have been pretty proud.

Insomnia was a rip off of a great foreign movie. The two versions of the story are nowhere near equal. The original release was edgy and really let the viewers get into the mind of the characters portrayed and all of their internal struggles. The Hollywood version never reached the same level of suspense and the characters never seemed as convincing as in the original. So, if you don't mind reading subtitles, do yourself a favor and pick up the original instead.

I would never give Insomnia a definition - a thriller yet sunshine set, a cat-and-rat game yet also rat-jolts-cat, a cruelty murder line yet faded in the psycho confusion. Everything in Insomnia seemed to free out the stereotypes as it's supposed to be. Things of this kind can always be boring and pale if not for atmospheric direction and top-notch performances.

Starring three Oscar winners, Insomnia follows its artistic pacing without losing any commercial attraction. Al Pacino, a top favourite of mine, is prominent again as a sleep-losing yet conscionable veteran cop, occasionally losing his mind but never losing his heart. Robin Williams, gives a convincing flick of a devil shielded with a writer's position. He's shrewd and almost controlling before you, yet fragile and vulnerable behind. The only regret is that the character was reduced at it's screenplay level, with only forty minutes screen time. Williams leads the role as a dominant yet also an undercurrent, with a dark impact, which was insinuated in the endless shining set and Al Pacino's progressive sleeplessness.

Beyond these two men's insomnia circle, Swank, portrayed an idolizing yet astute enough young cop, timely refreshing you and rightfully-oriented when you are becoming fatigued and confused with the two men's psychological battle. Slightly pale yet still lovable at the same time. Maura Tierney also lends a helping hand as the Hotel manager who sympathises with Pacino's character.

Director Chris Nolan covered all these twists with atmospheric directing, not showing off yet blatant which, normally seen in Hollywood thrillers, restrains story-telling and thought-evoking. He delivered a masterpiece which you can see many times without being bored.