Product Details

• Actors: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney, Martin Donovan
• Directors: Christopher Nolan
• Writers: Hillary Seitz
• Producers: Paul Junger Witt, Edward L. McDonnell, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, George Clooney
• Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 ES Matrix)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 13, 2010
• Run Time: 118 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (331 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003ELMR9E
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,652 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Insomnia [Blu-ray]" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

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

Product Description

A thriller to keep you wide awake in mesmerizing hi-def from the director of The Dark Knight and Inception. Invited to Nightmute, Alaska, to head a murder case, a veteran LAPD detective finds his investigation disrupted by an ever-shining midnight sun that wreaks sleep-depriving havoc on him – and by personal guilt over a second crime that may be real...or a figment of his increasingly unstable consciousness. Director Christopher Nolan (whose other credits include Memento and Batman Begins) crafts another jolting psychological thriller to remember, guiding Academy Award winners* Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank in Insomnia. In the season of the midnight sun, no one – and no secret – can forever hide.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A stylish, harrowing suspense thriller June 9, 2002

By Michael J. Mazza HALL OF FAME

In "Insomnia," directed by Christopher Nolan, Al Pacino plays Will Dormer, a Los Angeles police detective. While a controversy swirls around him and his partner, Dormer travels to a small town in Alaska to help with a murder investigation. This assignment leads him into a tension-filled cat-and-mouse game with creepy mystery writer Walter Finch (played by Robin Williams). As an added twist, the story takes place during the Alaskan summer, when there is endless daylight; amidst this inescapable light, Dormer suffers from the malady of the film's title.

"Insomnia" is a gripping, stylishly made film. The gritty action sequences have a low-tech realism that is a welcome change from the typically overdone Hollywood action thing. The performances are outstanding. Williams gets a lot of mileage out of his effectively low-key interpretation of Finch. Veteran character actor Paul Dooley brings warmth and subtle authority to his role as a small town cop, and Hilary Swank is a superb foil for Pacino in her role as an eager young cop. Pacino is excellent as the film's flawed protagonist. His performance is truly harrowing.

"Insomnia" succeeds as a suspense drama. The motif of endless daylight is well used throughout the film, and is weighted with potential symbolic meaning. More than just a good thriller, "Insomnia" also raises some relevant moral and ethical issues.

132 of 158 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy follow up to Memento May 4, 2002

By Joseph Andrew Bono

Insomnia, director Chris Nolan's second full length feature, doesn't have the same gut-wrenching and mind-bending plot twists that his feature length debut, Memento, had, but does an excellent job telling an original and gripping detective mystery.

The pleasure of Insomnia is to be found in its rich cinematography, beautiful landscapes, and excellent performances. The movie is one of the most visually compelling pieces of filmmaking I have seen in years, creating surreal juxtapositions with the vast, harsh Alaskan landscape and with close-up shots of crime scene evidence. The amazing visual landscapes (both large and small) are used effectively by director Nolan to emphasize the films themes of isolation and overpowerment, of losing oneself within ones environment and in ones choices.

Insomnia's plot will disappoint those looking for a new Memento, in that it does not have the sort of turns of action and motivation that Memento does. Insomnia works well without elaborate plot twists, however, it's mood benefits from a certain lack of ambiguity of action, although the ending is perhaps a little to predictable and cliched. Insomnia would have benefited, however, from more ambiguity of motivation - while the acting is top notch, especially on the part of Robin Williams, the connections between the characters actions and their motivations and decisions is too closely drawn by the script.

Overall Insomnia is an excellent movie, and a good entry into the detective/suspense movie cannon. It suffers slightly from a couple of bad edits (in a movie filled with amazing editing and shooting) and from its desire to clearly spell out the principle characters motivations, but these minor flaws are more than redeemed by the director's excellent camerawork and sense of pacing, a strong script, and very solid acting performances. Insomnia is a must see movie, and a welcome change from the "blockbuster" summer movie scene of 2002.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprising Quality from a Quad Pack! February 24, 2011

By Ray Gray

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Update: Not sure why my review has been moved to the movie Insomnia, but the review I wrote below is for a Quad Pack DVD package that includes Insomnia, Heat, The Devil's Advocate, and Seven. Unless you are considering a purchase of the Quad package, the review below will not be much help because it deals with the transfer quality of the movies, not the movies themselves.

Okay, you probably know the movies, so no need to review them. Chances are you have interest in one or more of the movies but aren't quite sure whether to pull the trigger due to the Quad Pack packaging. I wanted The Devil's Advocate plus Heat and it was less expensive to get them packaged like this than separately. I was just suspicious of what kind of quality transfer I'd get, but what the heck, I took the risk and ordered it.

As soon as I get a blu-ray or DVD movie I pop it my HD system to see the quality of the transfer. Then I rate it from 1 to 5, 1 being perfect, 2 digital sharp, 3 marginal, 4 poor, and 5 unwatchable. I'm always suspicious of Double-Triple-Quad movie packs because the quality of the transfer to DVD is generally a lower quality. That isn't the case with this quad pack. Granted, my rating scale is subjective but I have a discerning eye. All four movies in this pack rated as a 2 for digital sharp. One of the DVD movies, Seven, even came with the DTS sound option. The other 3 were Dolby 5.1.

There are two double sided DVDs in the quad pack, a movie on each side. The only criticism of the discs is you have to have a magnifying glass to read the center rim label to see which movie you're popping in the player. Thankfully each movie is just as nice as a single disc, keepcase DVD.

Overall, this DVD quad pack is definitely worth the price.