This giallo is NOT perfect in any way and when listening to the interviews
in the extras that seem to be the opinion of most.
Apparently Dario Argento lost the backing from producers after shooting
the elaborate and impressive train murder Set Piece
scene and he had to make things work on the cheap after that. But, the
result was a decent enough Giallo film, and I liked this
film a whole lot better than when i watched it the first time 20 years
ago.
And especially if you measure it against the CRAP movies he has made after
this one. Why I didn't like it then? Maybe because
back then i compared every new Argento film with the one's he made in
the 1970's and 1980's.
Why I like it much more when watching it today ? Maybe because the films
made today are so crappy and with too much
boring political propaganda in them ?
What's Good then ? 1. Max
von Sydow, the legendary actor. He didn't only make artmovies
with Ingmar Bergman but also a
hundred other films with different director's and in different genres
as he loved to make films. He also loved to work with
more obscure director's and I could've listened to him talk about these
more unknown films of his for hours. BUT, no-one
did that interview .... Zzzzz .... and now he's dead - R.I.P. Max von
Sydow. Every cineaste bore would only talk to him about his
Ingmar Bergman films .... every damned fucker of them.
But, hey, he was Sweden's equivalent to Donald Pleasance, they both acted
in .... everything, from celebrated art movies to
unknown horror films. They just loved Film. My favourite film with Max
von Sydow could be the role as the killer Salem who
commits impossible crimes in the atmospherical 1970 crime mystery "The
Night Visitor" (Papegojan) by Laslo Benedek.
A probably totally obscure film that almost no-one have ever heard of.
Even though it was a Swedish co-production it isn't
released there and no-one mentioned it after his death either. He was
great also in 1975 "Three Days of the Condor" as a killer
and he seemed to greatly enjoy himself as the evil Emperor Ming in the
fun sci-fi action adventure 1980 "Blixt Gordon".
2. The soundtrack
by rock legends Goblin and
3. The long opening
train murder scene was good too. But otherwise this
giallo wasn't that exciting, and with many not very good or inspired actors.
The gore by Sergio Stivaletti was OK, not more.
Non Ho Sonno takes place in Turin, Italy and it starts
with a really long Set Piece murder scene when the prostitute Angela
(Barbara Lerici) meets a john who's a sadist and who scares the wits out
of her. Shee flees from him in a scene that ends on a
train (but she should know better, she's in a Argento set-piece and will
be slaughtered at the end of it, no-one could stop that).
The murder looks like the one's committed in 1983 by the "Dwarf Killer"
and today it's 2000, is the Dwarf Killer alive ?
The Turin Police commissioner Manni (Paolo Maria Scalondro) contacts the
old ex-inspector who handled the investigation
of the killings in 1983 - Ulisse Moretti (Max von Sydow).
Moretti starts sleuthing by himself even though he's old
and suffers from Alzheimers dementia, and as a crime solving buddy
he's joined by the son of one of the women that was murdered (ultra-brutal
by an English Horn) in 1983, and he's Giacomo Gallo
(Stefano Dionisi). A Nursery Rhyme and Pulp Fiction novels could've something
to do with the killings.
Rossella Falk was pretty good too as Mrs. Fabritis, and von Sydow had
a Parrot both in this film and in "The Night Visitor".
The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1
and with the English audio 5.1 DTS-HD MA or an Italian dub with
english subtitles, REGION A. Max von Sydow's own voice can be heard on
the english audio dub.
The Scorpion Releasing bluray looks better than ever
Extras: an audio commentary by Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson, an
interview with Dario Argento: "He Never Sleeps"
(18 minutes in italian with english subs, 2018), an interview with actor
Paolo Maria Scalondro: "Don't Go to Sleep" (17 minutes
in italian with subs, 2019), an interview with screenwriter Franco Ferrini:
"The Cop and the Parrot" (11 minutes in italian with
subs, 2019), an interview with set designer Antonello Geleng: "Blood
on the Tracks" (16 minutes in italian with subs, 2019)
and an interview with Gabriele Lavia: "Killed Three Times" (12
minutes in italian with subs, 2018)
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