Insomnia (Criterion)

BearFan · 10-06-99, 02:20 PM

The disc:

This disc, by criterion, had a good trasfer (16x9!), the colors were outstanding and really showed off the great cinematography of this film. and DD 2.0 soundtrack ( Norweigian/Sweedish) with English subtitles was fine, the sound effects in the movie were minimal. Not speaking any Scandanavian languages, i can not comment on the accuacy of the subtitles.

Extras: tralers and TV spots (with English subititles) and the usual Criterion color bars constitute the extras on this disc.

Plot Summary from DvdExpress:
Insomnia (1997)

Disgraced Swedish detective Jonas Engstrom (Stellan Skarsgard) travels to northern Norway to solve a brutal murder in Insomnia. Unable to sleep through the night of the midnight sun, Engstrom quickly loses his grip on the case and his mind. Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s debut feature is a deft amalgam of psychological thriller, morality play, and police procedural.

My take (very mild spoilers):

This movie was really good. The main character, the detective, was played very well, you could see him slowly "degrade" throughout the movie both pysically and mentally as the case and other pressures turned against him. the supporting actors rangedfrom quite good to a bit shallow, but this story is about the lead detective, so some of the weaker characters can be forgivven. The plot had a few nice twists and was very interesting. I would highly recommend seeing this movie if you like psychological thrillers.

DVDer · 10-07-99, 12:08 AM

Thanks for the review, BearFan, this is now the next DVD I plan to rent.

--Heather

Ford Prefect · 10-07-99, 12:18 AM

Thanks for the review, I'll definitely have to check it out (the star, unsure of name spelling, was great in DEEP BLUE SEA and RONIN).

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Gamblor187 · 10-07-99, 12:24 AM

I'll second Bearfan's recommendation of this film. It was a fascinating film with a great performance from Stellan Skarsgard (By the way, will "Breaking The Waves" ever make it to DVD?). Although there are no real extras, the transfer is excellent...another great addition to the Criterion library.

jim

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DVDer · 10-07-99, 12:28 AM

Jim--

I don't know where I read it (dvdfile, possibly) but "Breaking the Waves" is supposedly going to be released as part of a three DVD-pack (it won't be available separately, as far as I know, and I don't have any release date information, either). Regardless of whether the other two films in the pack are any good, I'll buy it just to have "Breaking the Waves" on DVD.

--Heather

bboisvert · 10-07-99, 10:15 AM

Breaking the Waves is coming out in November as part of the INDIE COLLECTOR'S PACK, which includes Matewan (1987), Traveller (1997), and Breaking The Waves (1996). This is a great bargain (Reel has it for $27).

BE CAREFUL! In an amazing act of marketing stupidity, Artisan has named this set the "Indie Collector's Pack" even though they *ALREADY HAVE* a title with that same name (which has Pi and Permanent Midnight). I've already seen one online retailer confuse the two.

And, I'll also add my praise for INSOMNIA. This was a spontaneous purchase of mine (found it really cheap) and I was amazed at how good it was. One of those wonderful foreign films that makes you forget that you are reading subtitles about 10 minutes into it. I only wish that Hollywood cop thrillers would have this degree of sophistication.

sfsdfd · 08-24-00, 02:41 PM

Anyway, back on topic

...

I wasn't terribly thrilled by Insomnia. It just didn't seem to go anywhere, really... the plot twists made me just think, WTF are you doing?!

Great acting and interesting atmosphere, but the plot was too shallow for my tastes.

- David Stein

------------------
"You face... The Tick!"
"No, I face a zebra. You face The Tick!"

eXcentris · 08-24-00, 06:43 PM

quote:
Originally posted by bboisvert:
Breaking the Waves is coming out in November as part of the INDIE COLLECTOR'S PACK, which includes Matewan (1987), Traveller (1997), and Breaking The Waves (1996). This is a great bargain (Reel has it for $27).

"Breaking the Waves", although not my favorite Von Trier film, is a fine film. So is John Sayles "Matewan". Never heard of
Traveller. Can anyone comment?

Gil Jawetz · 08-24-00, 06:52 PM

Although I don't have this three set, many people have comented on the crummy quality of the discs in it. Some are not in OAR, have terrible transfers, etc...

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strusinsk · 08-24-00, 10:09 PM

Let's not forget Stellan Skarsgard as the math professor in Good Will Hunting. He's an excellent actor.

I too enjoyed this movie. It's funny, I was trying to remember the exact wording of a repeated line in the movie... something like "I don't f*(king understand Swedish", which was (I thought) very funny. But, I can't remember the exact line because it was given in Subtitles... which I'd forgotten. Which can only say good stuff about the movie.

Tony Block · 08-24-00, 10:54 PM

Skarsgard also is very good in John Frankenheimer's "RONIN." I thought "INSOMNIA" was a great film also.

------------------
Tony Block

08-24-00, 06:43 PM	#8
eXcentris DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 22,909	quote: Originally posted by bboisvert: Breaking the Waves is coming out in November as part of the INDIE COLLECTOR'S PACK, which includes Matewan (1987), Traveller (1997), and Breaking The Waves (1996). This is a great bargain (Reel has it for $27). "Breaking the Waves", although not my favorite Von Trier film, is a fine film. So is John Sayles "Matewan". Never heard of Traveller. Can anyone comment?

10-06-99, 02:20 PM	#1
BearFan DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Flower Mound, TX Posts: 4,152	The disc: This disc, by criterion, had a good trasfer (16x9!), the colors were outstanding and really showed off the great cinematography of this film. and DD 2.0 soundtrack ( Norweigian/Sweedish) with English subtitles was fine, the sound effects in the movie were minimal. Not speaking any Scandanavian languages, i can not comment on the accuacy of the subtitles. Extras: tralers and TV spots (with English subititles) and the usual Criterion color bars constitute the extras on this disc. Plot Summary from DvdExpress: Insomnia (1997) Disgraced Swedish detective Jonas Engstrom (Stellan Skarsgard) travels to northern Norway to solve a brutal murder in Insomnia. Unable to sleep through the night of the midnight sun, Engstrom quickly loses his grip on the case and his mind. Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s debut feature is a deft amalgam of psychological thriller, morality play, and police procedural. My take (very mild spoilers): This movie was really good. The main character, the detective, was played very well, you could see him slowly "degrade" throughout the movie both pysically and mentally as the case and other pressures turned against him. the supporting actors rangedfrom quite good to a bit shallow, but this story is about the lead detective, so some of the weaker characters can be forgivven. The plot had a few nice twists and was very interesting. I would highly recommend seeing this movie if you like psychological thrillers.

10-07-99, 12:08 AM	#2
DVDer DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Apr 1999 Posts: 2,944	Thanks for the review, BearFan, this is now the next DVD I plan to rent. --Heather

10-07-99, 12:18 AM	#3
Ford Prefect Senior Member Join Date: Apr 1999 Posts: 844	Thanks for the review, I'll definitely have to check it out (the star, unsure of name spelling, was great in DEEP BLUE SEA and RONIN). ------------------ __________________ Visit my Godzilla fan page: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2063 My DVD Tracker http://www.dvdtracker.com/~prefect.asp

10-07-99, 12:24 AM	#4
Gamblor187 DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Saint Clair Shores, MI, USA Posts: 2,611	I'll second Bearfan's recommendation of this film. It was a fascinating film with a great performance from Stellan Skarsgard (By the way, will "Breaking The Waves" ever make it to DVD?). Although there are no real extras, the transfer is excellent...another great addition to the Criterion library. jim ------------------ http://www.dvdtracker.com/~gamblor187.asp

10-07-99, 12:28 AM	#5
DVDer DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Apr 1999 Posts: 2,944	Jim-- I don't know where I read it (dvdfile, possibly) but "Breaking the Waves" is supposedly going to be released as part of a three DVD-pack (it won't be available separately, as far as I know, and I don't have any release date information, either). Regardless of whether the other two films in the pack are any good, I'll buy it just to have "Breaking the Waves" on DVD. --Heather

10-07-99, 10:15 AM	#6
bboisvert DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Apr 1999 Location: Docking Bay 94 Posts: 14,216	Breaking the Waves is coming out in November as part of the INDIE COLLECTOR'S PACK, which includes Matewan (1987), Traveller (1997), and Breaking The Waves (1996). This is a great bargain (Reel has it for $27). BE CAREFUL! In an amazing act of marketing stupidity, Artisan has named this set the "Indie Collector's Pack" even though they ALREADY HAVE a title with that same name (which has Pi and Permanent Midnight). I've already seen one online retailer confuse the two. And, I'll also add my praise for INSOMNIA. This was a spontaneous purchase of mine (found it really cheap) and I was amazed at how good it was. One of those wonderful foreign films that makes you forget that you are reading subtitles about 10 minutes into it. I only wish that Hollywood cop thrillers would have this degree of sophistication.

08-24-00, 02:41 PM	#7
sfsdfd Moderator Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: \|-\|@><0r L@n\|) Posts: 17,214	Anyway, back on topic ... I wasn't terribly thrilled by Insomnia. It just didn't seem to go anywhere, really... the plot twists made me just think, WTF are you doing?! Great acting and interesting atmosphere, but the plot was too shallow for my tastes. - David Stein ------------------ "You face... The Tick!" "No, I face a zebra. You face The Tick!"

08-24-00, 06:52 PM	#9
Gil Jawetz DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: I was here but I disappear Posts: 8,407	Although I don't have this three set, many people have comented on the crummy quality of the discs in it. Some are not in OAR, have terrible transfers, etc... ------------------ My DVDs You know you want buskerdog.com -- T-shirts and stuff

08-24-00, 10:09 PM	#10
strusinsk Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Sacramento Posts: 585	Let's not forget Stellan Skarsgard as the math professor in Good Will Hunting. He's an excellent actor. I too enjoyed this movie. It's funny, I was trying to remember the exact wording of a repeated line in the movie... something like "I don't f*(king understand Swedish", which was (I thought) very funny. But, I can't remember the exact line because it was given in Subtitles... which I'd forgotten. Which can only say good stuff about the movie.

08-24-00, 10:54 PM	#11
Tony Block DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Olympia, WA Posts: 2,421	Skarsgard also is very good in John Frankenheimer's "RONIN." I thought "INSOMNIA" was a great film also. ------------------ Tony Block