Sleepless - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Sleepless begins the way all of Dario Argento’s classic giallos begin: With a big, show-stopping introduction and a violent murder to kick things off. Angela, a sex worker, has just satisfied a creepy client, who groans and moans and sings about the many, many people that he’s gleefully murdered. Understandably, spooked, she makes her escape and, in doing so, accidentally grabs an envelope that doesn’t belong to her. It’s filled with the newspaper clippings of a madman, related to murders from decades ago. On a train, speeding far, far away from the psychopath, her phone rings: It’s him. It’s the killer. And he’s going to find her and kill her. But, little does she know, he’s already on the train with her!

The so-called “Dwarf Killer” from this era was presumed dead. When he died, the murders stopped. He was a writer of thrillers who also had dwarfism. All anyone ever saw of him was his silhouette, but all the evidence led back to him. As these murders begin again, is it a vengeful spirit from beyond the grave, a copycat killer, or someone else? In the classical way these macabre giallo stories are spun, we’ll be thrown red herrings galore, always kept on our toes as to the killer’s true identity.

Enter ex-detective, now-retired Ulisse Moretti (Max von Sydow), who investigated the original murders. He has a personal stake in the case, as he promised young Giacomo Gallo, who was a child when he saw the Dwarf Killer murder his mom, that he would get to the bottom of it and solve these crimes once and for all. Now, it seems, that promise seems to transcend reality as we know it, as ghosts from the past dig up old wounds, both physical and psychic.

Sleepless received mixed reviews upon its release, but time has been kind to it. While it’s not top-tier Argento, it’s solid entertainment from the master. He brings his visual mastery and his penchant for trickery and subversion, along with gruesome murders and kills—more than one scene features elaborate mechanical puppet heads to particularly gruesome effect. The story doesn’t break new ground, but it’s not trying to. It’s proudly old-fashioned, adhering to the formulas established by the sub-genre throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Von Sydow as Moretti brings a warmth to the story, and it’s hard not to see him as something of a surrogate for Argento himself, returning to the past for a final score to settle, something from his past he thought he was done with, but it wasn’t done with him. Moretti frowns and furrows his brow at modern forensics, preferring tried-and-true detective work the get to the heart of the matter, just as Argento eschews many modern filmmaking techniques in the way he directs Sleepless. By the end, both Moretti and Argento show that while you may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, those old tricks are just as good today as they were then.

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Sleepless won’t rest until it sees the light of day on 4K UHD Blu-ray, in a two-disc release featuring the film in both UHD and 1080p on a regular Blu-ray, housed in a standard case. The case features reversible cover art, with a gory scene on one side and more classical, moody artwork on the other. 

Even if you’re a fan of Argento, you can find a lot of faults with him as a filmmaker. Sometimes the plots to his films are needlessly convoluted, for what should be simple. Sometimes logic is left at the door, for better and for worse. Sometimes, let’s face it, the acting can stink, even in his most masterful features. But the one thing you can never fault him on is the visual appeal of his flicks. Argento is, if nothing else, a visual artist, a master of his domain, with a keen eye for framing, camera movement, and colors.

Sleepless is no exception. For its release on 4K UHD, Vinegar Syndrome has scanned and restored it from its original 35mm camera negatives, and it was graded in Dolby Vision HDR. It looks superb, from beginning to end. The sequence aboard a train, in its opening moments, is pitch-perfect all around, lit in a harsh green light, with the train cars themselves swallowed by an impenetrable, inky black. Some scenes, a few short sequences, have a kind of cheesy quality to them that I can’t quite put my finger on, but they feel like they belong in The Room—harshly lit, stagey, and artificial. These sequences are relegated to maybe three or four individual shots out of hundreds that comprise the entire feature. 95% of it looks as good as anything Argento has ever made.

Viewers have two audio options, both 5.1 surround options encoded in DTS-HD MA, one in English, one in Italian. In classical giallo fashion, both versions feature a lot of overdubbing, with each individual actor speaking whatever language they were most comfortable with, with the intent to basically re-dub everything in post, depending on what market it was released in. I favored the English mix because that’s the language Von Sydow recorded his dialogue in, and he’s got such an iconic voice; I preferred that over an Italian tongue that didn’t match his face.

Aside from spoken language, both mixes are identical, featuring terrific design throughout the soundstage. In the opening credits, the rockin’, totally badass theme from Goblin begins quietly in the front, then as it reaches a crescendo, it opens up to the satellite speakers, engulfing the listener. Frequent atmospherics make their way to the rear, and subtle effects of immersion are utilized to make us feel like we’re sitting in a car with our characters as they’re on their way to confront a murderer.

Vinegar Syndrome didn’t snooze when it came to cultivating a mass of supplemental features for Sleepless. It is packed to the gills with supplements, the majority of which are contained on the second Blu-ray disc. There is an audio commentary and tons of interviews, both new and old.

4K UHD Disc

• Audio Commentary - Film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth

Blu-Ray Disc

• Audio Commentary - Film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth
• Still Awake (HD 15:15) - New interview with actress Chiara Caselli
• The One Who Saw (HD 9:36) - New interview with actor Stefano Dionisi
• Behind the Smile (HD 16:59) - New interview with actor Roberto Zibetti
• The Invisible Work (HD 25:09) - New interview with editor Anna Napoli
• One Last Score (HD 21:39) - New interview with composer Claudio Simonetti
• Bloodwork (HD 19:54) – New interview with special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti
• He Never Sleeps (HD 18:31) - Archival interview with co-writer/director Dario Argento
• Don't Go to Sleep (HD 17:06) - Archival interview with actor Paolo Maria Scalondro
• The Cop and the Parrot (HD 11:11) - Archival interview with co-writer Franco Ferrini
• Blood on the Tracks (HD 15:48) - Archival interview with production designer Antonello Geleng
• Killed Three Times (HD 12:32) - Archival interview with actor Gabriele Lavia

While Sleepless isn’t necessarily Argento at his best, it’s him at his most pure. He feels at home in the giallo, and with good reason: He’s damn good at it. He knows the tropes and he knows the cliches, having invented half of them, so he knows which ones to exploit and which ones to subvert. The story almost feels like a best-of reel for the filmmaker, showcasing some visually impressive set pieces, along with some truly memorable sequences. Vinegar Syndrome’s release looks amazing, sounds terrific, and has a wealth of supplements to explore. Sleepless is Highly Recommended.