Product Details

• Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Takashi Shimura
• Directors: Akira Kurosawa
• Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Eijirô Hisaita, Hideo Oguni, Ryûzô Kikushima, Shinobu Hashimoto
• Producers: Akira Kurosawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Criterion
• DVD Release Date: January 10, 2006
• Run Time: 135 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BR6QCI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,984 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Bad Sleep Well (The Criterion Collection)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Bad Sleep Well tells the story of corruption at the highest levels of Japanese business and its tragic consequences. Though flawed by a tedious introductory sequence and by an ending that seems out of sync with the story, it is a fascinating movie and the middle part is especially exciting.

Japanese legend Toshiro Mifune plays Koichi Nishi, the seemingly stoic bridegroom who is trying to get ahead by marrying the boss's daughter, Kieko (Kyoko Kagawa), who was crippled as a girl. The bride's brother, in a shocking display, exposes the groom's motives during his wedding toast and threatens his new brother-in-law with death if he disappoints his sister. But Nishi is not who we think. He was born the illegitimate son of the man who Kieko's father, Iwabuchi (Maysayuki Mori), manipulated into suicide. Now Nishi wants revenge for his father's death. As Nishi slowly destroys Iwabuchi's life, he makes the fatal error of falling in love with his wife, who already loves him. Their unconsummated marriage stands between these two like a palpable pillar of stone. But just when we think the stone has been tossed aside by love, Iwabuchi finds out who his son-in-law really is.

Shot in black and white, this film falls just short of being brilliant. Mifune is amazing in his portrayal of this complex man who lets his father's past destroy his own future, and Maysayuki Mori's performance as the evil Iwabuchi is understated but nonetheless chilling. --Luanne Brown

Product Description

Reflecting his fondness for American crime films and motifs, this Akira Kurosawa drama stars Toshiro Mifune as a young construction company executive who blames the company for his father's death and marries his boss's lame daughter in order to insinuate himself and expose their corrupt business practices. Based on a story by Ed McBain; with Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura. 150 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: Japanese Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; documentary; theatrical trailer. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Deceit and betrayal in the world of the salaryman October 31, 2001

By Zack Davisson HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:VHS Tape

"The Bad Sleep Well" is a great movie. Imagine taking the major characters of "Hamlet," and casting them in a new plot. Revenge for the death of a father is still the issue, but with very different methods. The world of the salaryman is dark and cold, and only a dark and cold man can succeed. I am reminded of Nietzsche: "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

This may be one of Kurosawa's best films. The mood is perfect. The scenes are perfect. Mifune is perfect. He wears a suit with the same danger as he wears his Kimono. His briefcase is no less deadly than his sword.

As a Kurosawa trademark, the ending is an exclamation point rather than a period. All the wrong people are dead, and all the wrong people walk away clean. This movie is not pleasant. It is, however, very good.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Kurosawa Film Noir of Corporate Exploitation and Corruption in Rebuilding Japan... January 29, 2006

By Kim Anehall VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Japanese artist, director, and writer Akira Kurosawa is undoubtedly one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. Tour de forces such as Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), and Red Beard (1965) on his repertoire have allowed him to gain a great number of dedicated viewers that still are mesmerized by his visual artistry. His work often finds itself being a source for other filmmakers from almost all the continents of the world. What Kurosawa has in common with these contemporary filmmakers is that he also frequently incorporated masterpieces into his work. On several occasions, he employed the works of William Shakespeare, but he also drew much from his own creative spirit. One of these, The Bad Sleep Well (1960), driven by his own inspiration to criticize the Japanese post-war corruption and hierarchical abuse shows his strong influence of Hamlet. Fortunately, Kurosawa could direct his own story, free of outside influences, as his own production company paid for the party.

The Japanese opening credits with white symbols on black background together with the opening score set a dark and frustrating tone to the film. At first, the hostile and angry mood in the opening score is a little perplexing. However, as the film unfolds, it makes much more sense. The introduction of the story takes place at the wedding party for two of the main characters Koichi Nishi (Toshirô Mifune) and Keiko Iwabushi (Kyôko Kagawa). It turns out that the press has sniffed a story within the wedding, but these press members are far more respectful than what La Dolce Vita (1960) portrayed through its celebrity chasing paparazzi.... Instead, this situation requires diplomacy, if these reporters want to have a chance to understand why this wedding has turned into the murky waters where the biggest sharks rest.

The lengthy opening that stretches for about 20 minutes develops the story line, which allows for intrigue and suspense to take form. There are several captivating facts that surface during this opening such as a suicide five years ago. The viewers also learn that Koichi's brother Tatsuo (Tatsuya Mihashi) promises to kill Nishi if he hurts his sister. There are also rumors of how Nishi marries the handicapped Keiko in order to gain status and wealth. The police arrest one of the guests without any resistance while a number of significant characters provides congratulatory speeches to the newlyweds. Amidst all of this, slowly the story begins to take form, as the weeding party becomes a reunion place for a large number of businessmen and characters that hold public office in high-ranking places. The reporters that cover the wedding keep the audience informed about who and what these suspicious characters have done. It is a remarkably clever set up by Kurosawa, which gets its crescendo when an enormous cake appears resembling the ministry building. The cake even marks the window from which the man committed suicide five years ago. To which one of the reporters consequently states, "Best one-act I've ever seen.", as another reporter responds, "This is just the prelude."

The duration of the other two hours of the film switches direction to the plotting and scheming Nishi who seeks vengeance for his dead father. In order to achieve his revenge Nishi wants to reveal the corruption within his father-in-laws business, but to do so he must apply the tactics of his enemies. The film also portrays the unwritten rules under which the companies exploit their obedient employees. Besides the revenge, the film seeks to see the issue of the murder on Nishi's father from different viewpoints such as from within the family, from the victim's near and dear, and from a third and independent perspective. The Bad Sleep Well also plays strongly with the notion of guilt, as the title so eloquently and ironically points out. Meanwhile, love shows that it also does not take any prisoners, as Nishi truly falls in love with Keiko.

The Bad Sleep Well is not Kurosawa's most memorable film, yet it augments many scenes with artistic brilliance. Kurosawa shows his skilled ability to frame a scene into perfection in the film. He also sends forth socially important messages of the time when the film was shot, and he leaves the audience with much to ponder after the film has reached its end. However, it does not reach the same heights as his Rashômon (1950), Ikiru (1952), or Kagemusha (1980). This is not to say that this is not an excellent film, because Kurosawa once again proves to the audience why he is one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. The Bad Sleep Well presents a film noir with hints of Hitchcock and clear influences of Shakespeare in it, but it also leaves the audience with an original touch of Kurosawa that lets the viewer submerged into a very good film about the corrupt and dark world of corporate sharks. Read more ›

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What can I say? See It! June 25, 1999

By Hitoshi Noguchi

Format:VHS Tape

There really were cover-up suicides by government officials at the time this movie was made. So this movie is also a sort of social commentary; the only such movie by Kurosawa. Yet, it is both art and entertainment at its best. A rare mix.

Mifune does not get good reviews in modern outfits. He does not look as good as when he is in a kimono. But when he appears out of the smoke in a suicide scene on top of a vulcano, you might think he was the inspiration for Darth Vader. This complex hero, motivated by vengence but softened by love, is a mix of good and evil in a transition between boy and man. Greek myths were never made better.

Too bad the title, which is so catchy, poetic and ironic in Japanese, does not translate very well. Don't let that be a turn-off. This movie will be engraved in your memory for the rest of your life.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars More than noir, and actually quite different from Hamlet March 21, 2004

By John F. Isham

Format:VHS Tape

This film is really unique (even for Kurosawa) in that it captures all of the mystery, suspense, and angst of a noir while maintaining the very same majestic gravitas as *Seven Samurai*, *Throne of Blood*, *Ran* or any of Kurosawa's other great medieval epics.

Indeed much of Kurosawa's best work carries a highly distinctive and supremely confident muscular swagger which can be found here in the stirring (and rather addictive) musical motif, the altogether patient and very deliberate pacing, and the seemingly effortless transitions he makes between the tragic and the comic.

*The Bad Sleep Well* often gets described as a variation on *Hamlet*. The key word here is "variation" (rather than "version" or "adaptation"), for while Kurosawa might have begun with Shakespeare, the final products really don't turn out to be in any sense all that similar. There is no Gertrude, no Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, let alone any gravediggers (just to name a few), and there is very little structural resemblance between the stories (inasmuch as *Hamlet* can be said to have any sort of structure). For example, the finale doesn't conclude with virtually *everybody* getting killed--after all, in Kurosawa's framework the bad sleep well (and consequently live happily ever after). Also, Nishi's character is far less ambiguous than Hamlet's; while he may at certain junctures fail to take his plan for revenge the entire way, he doesn't come close to sharing the overall indecision and confusion of Hamlet. But these sorts of differences actually make the complex interrelationship between the two works all the more intriguing and thought-provoking.

The film's story may eventually become "clear as a bell," but it certainly does not start out that way.... Don't get discouraged if during the first twenty minutes (or even half hour) you're having trouble figuring out what's going on, or who's who, esp. during the opening wedding sequence. But I think such initial confusion might be intended, because it really does set your mind aworking to help put the pieces of the puzzle together and to understand the various characters' motivations. (It should be noted, by the way, that the selfless and straightforward acting in Kurosawa's films is amongst the best you will ever see.)

I wouldn't recommend this as someone's first or (God forbid!) only Kurosawa. But if you've been struck by something you've seen of his already, then you most certainly will not want to miss *The Bad Sleep Well*. Read more ›