Sleepless (2001 film)


Sleepless is a 2001 Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento. The film stars Max von Sydow and Stefano Dionisi and marks Argento's return to the giallo subgenre. The film was another box office success when it opened in Italy, taking in over $5,019,733,505 lira by the end of its theatrical run.

Plot

Detective Ulisse Moretti is investigating a series of murders in Turin in 1983, known as The Dwarf Murders. The main suspect, a giallo novelist named Vincenzo de Fabritiis, a person with dwarfism, turns up dead and the case is considered closed. However, seventeen years later, a similar series of murders begin and draw the since-retired Moretti back into the case. Moretti teams up with Giacomo, whose mother was murdered in the 1983 spree, to determine if de Fabritiis is still alive or was actually innocent of the crimes for which he was accused. As the murders continue, the investigating duo discovers that the murderer is arranging their murder to an old nursery rhyme about the killing of animals.

Cast

Sleepless received a mixed response from critics. On movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 50% based on ten reviews, and is certified "rotten". BBC Online wrote, "If this movie commits one crime, it's that the rest of it is never quite as good as the bravura opening. Don't let your guard down, though, because there are some cruelly well executed set-pieces that are enrobed in a constant sense of dread." AllMovie gave the film a generally negative review, writing, "this feels like an Argento retread – the murder mystery recalls his 1971 Cat o' Nine Tails a little too much, and the overly familiar horrific elements have little impact."

Alternate versions

The original US video release from Artisan Entertainment was heavily edited for content. Every murder sequence in the film was trimmed down for less graphic violence, including the decapitation murder of the ballet dancer which omits the image of the head hitting the floor. In all over a minute worth of footage was cut.
European DVD releases of the film are completely uncut.
The German 2013 Blu-ray edition is heavily censored, nearly three minutes shorter than the director's cut.