Insomnia [Blu-ray] | ![Insomnia [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Ysy%2Bls0NL._SL160_.jpg)
| Director: Christopher Nolan
Actors: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Oliver 'Ole' Zemen, Martin Donovan
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.98
Buy New: $14.89
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Rating:  285 reviews
Sales Rank: 6,117
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: Blu-ray
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 5.3 x 0.5
MPN: 883929108985
UPC: 883929108985
EAN: 0883929108985
ASIN: B003ELMR9E
Release Date: July 13, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 07/13/2010 Run time: 118 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com
As a more conventional follow-up to his innovative thriller Memento, Christopher Nolan's Insomnia offers ample proof that his skills are genuine. A superbly crafted remake of the 1997 Norwegian thriller, this moody police procedural is transplanted to a remote Alaskan town, where a veteran Los Angeles detective (Al Pacino) arrives to investigate the murder of a teenaged girl. Professional tragedy collides with psychological turmoil as the detective suffers from sleeplessness under the region's perpetual daylight, and a local rookie cop (Hilary Swank) begins to suspect that truths are being hidden as the disturbing case unfolds. While the Alaskan setting intensifies the atmospheric mystery, Pacino's bleary-eyed disorientation adds a rich layer to his character's erratic behavior, and the casting of Robin Williams as the killer was a risk that pays off nicely. In many respects better than the original, Insomnia is a Hollywood remake that's refreshingly free of compromise. --Jeff Shannon
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 285
 Insomnia (Blu-ray) September 8, 2010
Tony Khamvongsouk (Frisco, TX)
Movie - 4.5
When I first saw the trailer for this some years ago, I thought it would turn into something along the lines of a cold and calculated murder mystery, a genre I'm sure Nolan would excel at if he took another shot at making one (a la Memento). Instead, I was presented with a complex character drama in addition to a back and forth trade-off of psychological mind games between the most unlikely duo I would ever have thought possible. Al Pacino is a given with his extensive track record and undeniable screen presence. His tact, detail to the little things, and natural vigor has always made him a great actor to watch on screen. But my biggest surprise was in Robin Williams. I've not seen his work in One Hour Photo, but his character in this film is definitely the darkest and most poignantly disturbing role I've seen him do to date. At times he's like a ticking time-bomb of undistilled rage and mounting frustration just waiting to explode. And yet, for a very good majority of his screen time he displays an almost creepy sense of control that manages to keep him aloof just when you think it's over. His character's natural ability of observation and the twisted kind of logic he possesses make for a great game of cat and mouse that keeps you suspended till the very end. The parallels between their personalities, the circumstances that brought them together, and the raw tension that propels them both to the point of breaking are all part of another finely-woven web that has a little bit of everything I like in a detective story. And while in somewhat of a limited role, Hilary Swank provides for a great sense of conscience and perspective in opposition to the insomniac behaviors of both Pacino and Williams' characters. I was surprised at how brisk the movie progressed having only seen it for the first time as of this review. It's a dark and very well-written piece of psychological thriller with just the right balance of drama and emotion.
Video - 4.5
As mentioned above, this BD is actually my first-ever viewing of the film. And while I don't have any theatrical or DVD experiences in mind for comparison, I still have to say the film looks wonderful. Wally Pfister's photography gets an excellent transfer, with bold, bold colors being the highlight of the video. From the very beginning of the movie when Pacino's character is flying over the mountains of Alaska (or wherever they filmed in British Columbia), we get a crystal clear image full of depth and detail. The aforementioned colors look especially lush throughout the countryside showcasing an array of greens, browns, and grays for that very laid-back Alaskan outdoorsy look. Black levels are deep and inky, while contrast is proportioned perfectly to give certain scenes ample dramatic and photographic effect. Skin tones remain very natural exposing a good deal of facial features from the wrinkles of a worn-down Pacino to the eerie smile on Williams' face when we get that side shot of him on the ferry. Overall image detail maintains a faithful and accurate level of sharpness for a lot of the indoor settings and is marred by little bit of edge enhancement, but isn't too distracting. My only gripe for an otherwise perfect picture is the period of frame-shaking during the funeral scene, but everything else is relatively flawless.
Audio - 4.5
Much like the video, I found the audio to be excellent as well. While a good majority of the film is dialogue, what few instances there are of surround usage via background noise, ambient town activity, running water, shuffling footsteps, or creaking wood, do their fair share of creating a deceptively buoyant DTS-HD track. Separation of said noises does a great job panning across the screen just as you'd see/hear them from the perspective of the camera. Directionality doesn't get a whole lot of work, but does so admirably when given the opportunity. A lot of it is done mainly through the sounds of nature and in combination with a tense, and sometimes haunting, score by David Julyan. But perhaps my favorite element, though to no surprise considering its rudimentary requirement, is the dialogue. Pacino, in conjunction to his unique acting, also has that very distinct raspy voice, which I have to say couldn't sound more perfect, especially for this type of movie. Meanwhile, Williams with a much more low-key performance, voice-wise, sounds equally impressive be it on screen or over the phone (again, it's creepy to hear him be.. so creepy). And for as good as the track sounds, the one detractor would have to be the LFEs. They're not bad, by any means, but for the limitations of what the movie is, their just isn't a whole lot of instances where strong bass is required outside of music and the occasional dramatic boom effect for the insomnia kicking in.
Extras - 4.0
There actually isn't a big abundance of production features aside from the set design and cinematography pieces, but they're informative enough about a lot of the technical side of things: locations chosen, things they had to build for said locations, types of filming techniques used to counteract elements of nature, and so on. There's also a quaint face-to-face conversation between Nolan and Pacino where Pacino basically gives pointers and little lessons he learned throughout his years of acting to Nolan, who seems very interested in the veteran's words. However, the real meat lies in the very informative commentaries: one by Nolan for the film itself and then one mishmash of selected scenes/commentaries by Hilary Swank and other members of the production crew. By far amongst the more interestingly arranged commentaries I've seen to date, Nolan gives insight for the entire project by going in the order of shooting, rather than the order of editing. What the production features lack in depth, Nolan more than makes up for it by explaining various aspects such as shooting, writing, casting, editing, and a wealth of other very informative tidbits relevant to the film. The scene-specific commentaries add some extra depth and perspective, mostly from a writing and shooting point, but are worth giving a listen to as well. Personally, though, I would've loved to have see a longer, more candid interview with Williams and hear the kinds of things he did to prepare for the role, as well as what he thought of his character, etc.
Overall - 4.5
I have to admit, as widely known as he is for his more mainstream titles (like The Prestige, Batman, and Inception), I have to say I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed Insomnia. It's an excellent combination of the calculated thriller aspects most people know him for, but also for, in my opinion, an equally excellent amount of character and psychological elements. For what handful of movies I've seen him in (still need to catch up on his classics), I never get tired of Al Pacino. And for always being the funny guy, I'm shocked at how good of a performance Robin Williams provided as well. With near-reference A/V quality and a great set of extras heralded by a very hearty Nolan commentary, Insomnia comes highly recommended.
Suspense, Suspense and more suspense August 22, 2010
Catherine Wienckowski (Smithtown NY)
I bought this movie on blu ray thinking it was new only to realize I had seen it many years ago. As you know, you think you remember the movie but you forgot all the important little things. I enjoyed it as much as the first time I saw it. The beauty of the alaskan prarie, makes me want to go there.
 Great Sleep Aid July 27, 2010
Shadow Breaker (Between the worlds)
This movie was very slow moving, the plot was okay if you could stay awake. However this proved to be too much for me. I managed to fall asleep two times while trying to watch it on two different occasions. The third time was the charm, I did manage to stay awake. For me it wasn't worth it, love Robin Williams and Al Pacino but even that didn't really save the movie in my eyes. All that being said it did have an interesting twist at the end.
One of my favorites, top 20!, Just get the DVD, the blu ray is pointless here. July 15, 2010
W. freeman (fairmont, wv)
0 out of 8 found this review helpful
This movie is great, as one of Al Pacinos last great memorable films, other than the recruit which was enh, ok, this was a landmark film. As detective dormer he and his partner as many know go to Alaska where for the most part its very dark(during the six months of spring/summer) to go on a dark journey through lies and deception, and basically what is good and what is evil? Robin Williams does a stellar job as usual being the nasty perhaps psycho on the island, named Brody, a local book writer. When he is accused of killing a young admirer of his book, a young teen age girl, this start to spin out of control. Also as Al Pacino's partner gets gunned down there is also a very dark secret behind it as well. So most people have probably seen this film i can't really spoil it, but i will desist anyway. Its not really worth getting on Blu-Ray, i've had the original for many years and it suits me fine. There are no explosions, no car chases, no CGI, just a good psychological thriller from beginning to end that will keep you on the edge of your seat. So just get the DVD, or rent it, the blu ray doesnt nothing for it.
 Solid Cop Drama, But Not Spectacular July 6, 2010
Zachary Koenig (Fergus Falls, MN)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was originally drawn to this film because of director Christopher Nolan. After viewing his Batman re-boots (Batman Begins & The Dark Knight) and enjoying them immensely, I was hopefully that Nolan's other works would provide some of the same. In the case of Insomnia, he makes a much more "traditional" film, shrouded in a bit of false advertising to make it seem a bit more mysterious than it really is.
For a basic plot summary, the film centers on policeman Will Dormer (Al Pacino), who travels to an Alaskan town to try and solve a murder case. With an Internal Affairs investigation breathing down his neck back home, Dormer is under intense pressure to succeed in this new arena. While teaming with local cop Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), Dormer not only struggles to solve the case, but also gets mixed up with mysterious writer Walter Finch (Robin Williams).
On the whole, this movie functions pretty well as a traditional cop drama. It has the murder mystery, the gun shootouts, and the intrigue plotline which questions the integrity of pretty much everyone involved. Without looking for anything more, this would be a very solid film.
However, the film is advertised/promoted as so much more than just a cop drama. The title itself indicates that the condition of insomnia will play a big role in the film, but it does not (Dormer not sleeping doesn't seem to add anything to the plot). Robin Williams's role is billed as a taut, psychological thrill-ride, but he doesn't make an appearance until an hour into the movie and even after that point is severely underutilized. Also, Swank's character is introduced as a potential key part in the film, but she (like Williams) just isn't given anything interesting to do.
Thus, I can only give this film an "average" rating due to its inability to rise above a simple cop drama.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 285
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