| NONHOSONNO MEDUSA; ITALY dvd specification |
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| [video][sound][extras][conclusion] |
| Dario Argento’s second most recent film, Non Ho Sonno (which translates as “I Can’t Sleep” and is usually referred to as Sleepless by English speakers) has been marketed as a “return to form”, whatever that might mean. This highly assumptive description seems to signify that (a) Argento has a singular unique “form”, when in fact he has many, and (b) that his recent work was of a poor standard, which is certainly not entirely true by a long shot, unless only Il Fantasma dell’Opera is counted as a “recent” film. The most accurate description of the film would be to say that it returns to many of the elements that Argento used back in his first decade of filmmaking – the elements which made the likes of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Profondo Rosso instantly recognizable as Dario Argento films. |
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| The truth is that, as time has gone by, Argento’s style has evolved and he has tried new things. Over the past three decades, his resume has covered everything from slashers to supernatural horror to feminist character studies. Now into his fourth decade as a filmmaker, it is only to be expected, unless he retires, that he will continue to revise his techniques. In that respect, Non Ho Sonno, whilst fine from a nostalgic standpoint, feels like something of a regression and a repackaging of past successes. At times, the film feels like a “greatest hits” package - a self-aware study of Argento-esque conventions. Fans will no doubt recognize the repetition of a number of familiar themes from the director’s previous films, including the animal metaphor from his first three films, the giallo writer turned killer from Tenebre, and the idea of a child witnessing a brutal murder from Profondo Rosso, to name but a few. That said, the film is most definitely not the cop-out that a number of people have claimed it to be, and with that in mind I feel the need to devote more space than normal to providing a rebuttal for this often-maligned film. |
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| The film opens in Turin in 1983, at the scene of a particularly brutal murder. A woman, Maria Gallo, has been stabbed to death through the mouth with an English horn, leaving her young son, Giacomo, traumatized and confused. Giacomo witnessed his mother’s death but was unable to make out the identity of the killer. Maria’s murder is just one of a string of such killings that have been taking place throughout the city. Detective Ulisse Moretti (Max Von Sydow) promises Giacomo that he will find his mother’s killer, even if it takes him all his life. Flash forward 17 years, and giallo novelist Vincenzo de Fabritiis, the man thought to be responsible for the Turin murders, is believed to be long dead… that is until the killing begins again. Gradually it becomes apparent that Vincenzo might not be dead, or might in fact have been innocent all along. Moretti, now in retirement, teams up with the now adult Giacomo (Stefano Dionisi) to try and track down the killer once and for all.
This is one of Argento’s most complicated stories, attempting two cover the events of two different time periods while only showing the more recent one on-screen. Almost everything we know about the earlier set of murders is ascertained through the characters’ conversations, and it is a tribute to Argento and his frequent collaborator Franco Ferrini that they are able to avoid making their dialogue seem too expositional. The banter between Moretti and Giacomo is quite well-done, although the two actors have little chemistry and Dionisi resembles a wooden plank when placed next to an experienced thespian like Von Sydow. As usual, the rest of the performers are, by and large uninteresting, although Italian beauty Chiara Caselli comes across as a strong actor (at least in the Italian dub), and Argento buffs will be pleased to see a familiar face in Gabriele Lavia, who also featured in Profondo Rosso and Inferno. Many of the participants look too young to be portraying characters who should, judging by the timeline of events, be in their 30s, but a brief glance at their IMDB biographies reveals that both Dionisi and Caselli were in their early 30s at the time of shooting. |
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One aspect of the film that many people have criticized is the fact that the murders are almost always telegraphed, to the extent that you are never in any doubt as to who is going to die next. With very few exceptions, anyone who is about to die is clearly labelled as a victim from the moment they first appear. This is problematic to some extent, but the death scenes are handled superbly and with a wicked stroke of gleefulness. Argento’s favourite motif of voyeurism returns here, since we know of the victims’ fates before they happen, but are powerless to intervene. He manages to create a great deal of tension by drawing out the moments before each victim’s demise to breaking point, through creepy subjective photography, music and sound effects.
This time round, Argento chooses to portray a decidedly modern and realistic setting. The cinematography, while technically superb, continues the more understated style he began to introduce during the late 1980s. He still finds time to throw in some crazy movement, rapid cutting and bizarre angles, though, and the way the opening stalk sequence aboard an empty train is shot is quite possibly some of the best photography of his career. There is also a lengthy panning shot that recalls the Luma camera sequence from Tenebre. Non Ho Sonno marks the third time Argento worked with the Oscar-winning Ronnie Taylor – more times than any other cinematographer. Indeed, I read somewhere that Non Ho Sonno is in fact the first of three animal-themed (metaphorically, that is) films that the pair plan to do together. The single biggest surprise, however, and possibly the film’s biggest selling point, is the return of progressive rock group Goblin, who scored all of Argento’s biggest hits (Profondo Rosso, Suspiria, Tenebre, and elements of Phenomena). The group split up in the early 1980s, and it’s great to see them come back to score the film. The music is superb, and while not up to the standards of Suspiria, it fits the tone of the film extremely well, combining 70s nostalgia with a more modern sound. Another familiar name is that of special effects man Sergio Stivaletti, who has worked with Argento on a number of times, often with widely varying results. In Non Ho Sonno, the vast majority of his animatronic creations are realistic... barring a particularly bad-looking decapitated head that shows up later on in the film. |
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After a string of films with female leads (barring the Argento-directed segment of Two Evil Eyes, all his films from Phenomena to Il Fantasma dell'Opera have had female protagonists), Argento returns to a rather male-dominated film. Almost all of the victims are female, and Gloria (Chiara Caselli) seems to be the only woman in the film to appear to be a developed character. She is clearly labelled as a potential victim on a number of occasions, particularly in her guise as a swan, which recalls the poem Leda and the Swan. A lot of people have a hard time justifying her presence in the film, but I view her as symbolic of Giacomo's old life: a past that he cannot escape, no matter now hard he tries. She provides him with a reason to return to it, as well as representating what he risks endangering in his quest for answers. I should also add that her lovemaking scene with Giacomo, later in the film, is probably the single most erotic thing Argento has ever shot.
A lot of the criticisms of the film’s acting, I suspect, come from people who have only watched the English dub, which is almost comical in its vocal exaggerations. It is also inconsistent, with a wild mix of different accents, not to mention the fact that some characters are given caricatured voices whereas others are played straight. Several people have pointed out that, as the final act begins, Gloria becomes uncharacteristically short and bitchy towards Giacomo. In the Italian dub, however, she is given a choking sob rather than an angry snap: her reaction to Giacomo’s announcement that he plans to leave again. As a result, what seems like an obnoxious attack in the English version is in fact a forlorn and bitter outburst. The weak English dubbing transforms Chiara Caselli’s controlled performance into an inconsistent and caricatured mess, and in my mind the Italian dub is simply the only way to watch the film. It transforms it into a much better and more sincere experience, and the only downside to this is that it means losing out on Max Von Sydow’s impressive vocal performance. At one point Moretti comments on how much the world of detection has changed, with the advent of DNA, tapped phones and the like. I would interpret this as a comment from Argento about the fact that these new developments make it harder and harder for him to tell a story within the traditional framework of the giallo. Yet Argento delivers, creating a competent, intriguing and logical thriller that recalls his output from his Golden Age in the 1970s. Non Ho Sonno may not have the depth and symbolism of the likes of The Stendhal Syndrome or Opera, but if this is a “return to form” then it definitely works, and plays like a loving and reassuring throwback to the “good old days” of the giallo’s heyday. |
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| video |
| Non Ho Sonno is presented anamorphically in a ratio that works out at approximately 1.70:1, which is neither the film’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 nor the 1.77:1 ratio that the packaging lists. Still, it works out as being reasonably close, so let’s not split too many hairs.
The detail levels are quite good, although a fair amount of filtering and edge enhancement has been done. The grain structure seems to be reasonably intact, and the colour and contrast levels are strong, despite the rather sombre palette Argento chose to paint this film with. The blood, at least, is as red and juicy as ever, the flesh tones all seem accurate, and a more garish scene, set in a nightclub, even reveals Suspiria-like colours. Compression artifacts are infrequent, and when they occur they are reasonably unobtrusive. However, the image had a somewhat overly-digitized look at times, with a mild stair-stepping effect on a number of edges. Moiré effects also show up on occasions, the most common instances appearing on the brick or tile structures of buildings, and in one scene on Max Von Sydow’s jacket. Problems aside, though, this is the best looking available version of the film on dvd. It certainly blows the pan & scan US release out of the water. |
| sound |
| Non Ho Sonno includes Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes in both English and Italian, as well as Italian DTS 5.1. The latter of these three tracks is most definitely the way to go, partly because of the superior Italian dubbing and also due to the fact that, in terms of channel separation, bass and volume, it is clearly the best of the available tracks. And what a track it is too! Goblin’s thunderous score is the main beneficiary, but the whole thing sounds great overall, with no distortion and drop-outs whatsoever. The English track, by contrast, has been set at a much lower volume, and the only real reason to listen to it is to hear Max Von Sydow’s real voice being used for his character, or perhaps to get a chuckle or two out of the awful voice acting given to a number of the characters.
Subtitles are included in English and Italian, and they are for the most part accurate, barring a handful of slip-ups which imply that they were transcribed by a non-native speaker. |
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| extras |
| Medusa’s dvds of Argento’s films have always tended to be a little light in terms of bonus material. Argento certainly doesn’t seem anxious to record audio commentaries for his films – probably as a result of his bad experiences creating commentaries for Anchor Bay’s Tenebre and Phenomena releases, where he had to use his rather faltering English to convey what he wanted to say. Nonetheless, Medusa has thrown in a couple of supplements. Both are in Italian with no English subtitles.
On the set of Non Ho Sonno – A rather by-the-numbers TV featurette which briefly interviews Dario Argento, Stefano Dionisi, Chiara Caselli and Gabriele Lavia, as well as showing some behind-the-scenes footage and rehashing part of the theatrical trailer. Theatrical trailer – A generic but reasonably effective trailer. |
| conclusion |
| Non Ho Sonno is a fun thriller and one that should please fans of Argento’s earlier work. Viewers who have only seen the English dub, either on the UK dvd or the hideous pan & scan US dvd, are advised to give the film another chance with the superior Italian version included on this release. |
| reviewed by Michael Mackenzie
(review originally posted at dvd times) |
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