不眠

This is a classic of the Egyptian cinema, directed by Salah Abouseif (also spelled Salah Abu Said, Salah Abou Seif, Salah Abu Seif) in 1958. The stars are Faten Hamama, one of the great stars of the Egyptian cinema, and a very young and beautiful Omar Sharif. It was voted among the top 100 Egyptian films: link 　　It's also known as "No Tomorrow" or "Sans lendemain" but the DVD from which this is taken is titled "Sleepless" (supposedly the title translates to "I Can't Sleep" or "I Do Not Sleep"). The DVD is from the Rutana label out of Cairo. The image quality is not fantastic, but frankly it's a lot better than most DVDs released of Arabic/Egyptian titles. In fact, I think it looks pretty good. You can decide for yourself based on the screengrabs below. Extra material is mostly in Arabic, although there's a visual "restoration demo" which actually seems to compare a VHS of the film with a DVD transfer (so not really a restoration at all). 　　It's a melodrama set among the Westernized upper class of Cairo, and has many similarities with (and stands up alongside) American 1950s melodramas by Sirk and Minnelli. This film is similar to theirs in its bold mise-en-scène, with many striking uses of color, modern decor, deep staging, and costuming. And, of course, the deeply perverse family relationships at the drama's core. "Sleepless" is about a girl in love with her father, who destroys everybody's life because of her jealousy and spitefulness. If you like "Written on the Wind," "Some Came Running," etc., you HAVE to see this. It is, in my opinion, equally beautiful and startlingly powerful.