Sleep: Limited Edition – Arrow Video (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Germany, 2020
Director: Michael Venus
Writers: Thomas Friedrich, Michael Venus
Cast: Gro Swantje Kohlhof, Sandra Hüller, August Schmölzer, Marion Kracht, Agata Buzek, Max Hubacher, Martina Schöne-Radunski, Katharina Behrens, Andreas Anke

Release Date: January 24th, 2022 (UK), January 25th, 2022 (USA)
Approximate Running Time: 101 Minutes 12 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 18 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 German, LPCM Stereo German
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A,B
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK) / $39.95 (USA)

"Tormented by recurring nightmares of a place she has never been, Marlene (Sandra Hüller, Requiem) cannot help but investigate when she discovers the place is real. Once there, she suffers a breakdown and is admitted to a psychiatric ward. Determined to discover what happened to her, Mona (Gro Swantje Kohlhof), her daughter, follows and finds herself in Stainbach, an idyllic village with a dark history. What is it that so tormented her mother, and the people of Stainbach? What is the source of the nightmares she suffers? And who is the mysterious Trude that lives in the forest?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "The High Definition master was provided by Global Screen, GMBH."

Sleep comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.9 GB

Feature: 26.1 GB

Image clarity, black levels, and compression look solid throughout.

Audio: 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 German), 4/5 (LPCM Stereo German)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in German and a LPCM stereo mix in German. Both audio mixes sound great; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. Also, the DTS-HD 5.1 mix sounds noticeably fuller than its stereo counterpart. Included with this release are removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release include image galleries: promotional stills and posters (23 images), and behind the scenes (19 images), theatrical trailer (1 minute 39 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with removable English subtitles), an image gallery of sketches that appear in the film titled Marlene's Sketches (83 images), four deleted scenes:   An Invitation to Normality (53 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with non-removable English subtitles), Pest Control (58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo), When Wolfram Rules the World (1 minute 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with non-removable English subtitles), and King Otto (55 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a behind the scenes featurette titled Making Dreams Come True (2 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with non-removable English subtitles), a compilation of film festival introductions created during lockdown by director Michael Venus and the cast of Sleep titled A Dream We Dream Together (16 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German with removable English subtitles), a conversation with Michael Venus and actress Gro Swantje Kohlhof titled Talking in their Sleep (26 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles), an introduction with Michael Venus and Gro Swantje Kohlhof titled This is no Dream (2 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles), an interview with anthropologist, dream researcher, and filmmaker Louise S. Milne titled Dream & Folktale in Sleep (11 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles), a visual essay by film critic Anton Bitel titled Sleepwalking through National Trauma (22 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles), a visual essay by film scholar Alexandra Heller-Nicholas titled A Strange Dark Magic (16 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with film critic and historian Kim Newman and author Sean Hogan, reversible cover art, a slipcover (limited to first pressing), a double-sided fold-out poster and a forty-eight page booklet (limited to first pressing) with cast & crew information, an essay titled The Interpretations of Dreams: Freud, the Unconscious, and the Horror Hotel in Sleep written by Alison Peirse, an interview with director Michael Venus, a fairy tale tilted Frau Trude written by Brothers Grimm, a list of books about fairy tales titled Further Reading and information about the transfer.

Summary:

What is the significance of dreams? Are they a remembrance of a past event, or do they foreshadow fears related to an unknown future?

At the heart of Sleep is a tale about a young woman named Mona whose mother ends up in the hospital in a comatose state. From there, Mona retraces her mother's steps, which led to the event that caused her trauma. Her mother was staying at a hotel that holds all the answers to what happened to her, and it also holds the key to a trauma from her family's past.

From its opening moments, dreams play a large role in sleep. And though most of the narrative takes place in the walking world, The narrative does a superb job of blurring the line between reality and dreams.

The heart and soul of Sleep is Gro Swantje Kohlhof’s portrayal of Mona, the young woman whose need to uncover the truth behind her mother's trauma puts her in harm's way. She delivers a phenomenal performance that puts you in her character's state of mind. The rest of the cast is excellent, particularly August Schmölzer's portrayal of Otto, the patriarch of a family who owns the hotel where Mona's mother suffered trauma.

From a production standpoint, Sleep takes full advantage of its resources. The premise is well-executed, and the narrative does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat. Also, the hotel's location is overflowing with a foreboding atmosphere. Another area where Sleep excels is its exquisite visuals that are filled with symbolism. Ultimately, Sleep is a well-made film that fans of psychological thrillers should thoroughly enjoy.

Although Arrow Video is most known for its cult cinema releases, In recent years, they have been adding more modern films into the mix and giving them the fully loaded releases that have become synonymous with Arrow Video. That said, though, not everyone of these new films is going to leave a lasting impression. In the case of Sleep, it is a film that deserves to be seen by a wider audience who will hopefully appreciate it.

Sleep gets an exceptional release from Arrow Video that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and an abundance of insightful extra content. Highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer