Insomnia

In this elegantly unsettling murder mystery, Stellan Skarsgård plays an enigmatic Swedish detective with a checkered past who arrives in a small town in northern Norway to investigate the death of a teenage girl. As he digs deeper into the facts surrounding the heinous killing, his own demons and the tyrannical midnight sun begin to take a toll. The success of Erik Skjoldbjærg’s chilling procedural anticipated the international hunger for Scandinavian noirs and serial- killer fictions, and the film features one of Skarsgård’s greatest performances.

Film Info

  • Norway
  • 1997
  • 97 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • Norwegian, Swedish
  • Spine #47

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • New conversation between director Erik Skjoldbjærg and actor Stellan Skarsgård
  • Two short films by Skjoldbjærg: Near Winter (1993) and Close to Home (1994)
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Jonathan Romney

New cover by Fred Davis

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
  • New conversation between director Erik Skjoldbjærg and actor Stellan Skarsgård
  • Two short films by Skjoldbjærg: Near Winter (1993) and Close to Home (1994)
  • Trailer
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Jonathan Romney

New cover by Fred Davis

Insomnia
Cast
Stellan Skarsgård
Jonas Engström
Sverre Anker Ousdal
Erik Vik
Bjørn Floberg
Jon Holt
Gisken Armand
Hilde Hagen
Maria Bonnevie
Ane
Kristian Figenschow
Arne Zakariassen
Thor Michael Aamodt
Tom Engen
Bjørn Moan
Eilert
Marianne O. Ulrichsen
Frøya
Frode Rasmussen
Chief of police
Guri Johnson
Mia Nikolaisen
Maria Mathiesen
Tanja
Credits
Director
Erik Skjoldbjærg
Screenplay
Nikolaj Frobenius
Screenplay
Erik Skjoldbjærg
Executive producers
Petter Borgli
Executive producers
Tomas Backström
Executive producers
Tom Remlov
Director of photography
Erling Thurmann-Andersen
Editor
Håkon Øverås
Composer
Geir Jenssen
Production designer
Eli Bø

Current

Stellan Skarsgård and Erik Skjoldbjaerg on Insomnia
Stellan Skarsgård and Erik Skjoldbjaerg on Insomnia
For our new special edition of the Norwegian thriller Insomnia, director Erik Skjoldbjærg and star Stellan Skarsgård sat down for a casual and candid conversation about the making of the film. In this excerpt, Skjoldbjærg&nbs…
Insomnia: Unbearable Lightness
Insomnia: Unbearable Lightness

Erik Skjoldbjærg’s sun-drenched noir follows a detective trying to conceal his amoral actions amid unforgiving daylight.

By Jonathan Romney

Insomnia
Insomnia

Those who felt that Scandinavian cinema had passed into retirement along with Ingmar Bergman should be startled by Insomnia. This immaculately constructed psychological thriller sets a benchmark for other Scandinavian directors to match, and is one o

By Peter Cowie

Dennis Lehane’s Top 10
Dennis Lehane’s Top 10

Dennis Lehane is best known for his novel Mystic River, made into the acclaimed film by Clint Eastwood. When we discovered his love for Criterion, we asked him to write for us, and he did, contributing a terrific essay to our rerelease of The Wages o