I just watched "The Bad Sleep Well," and finished reading the other viewers comments. So I will comment on both. "Seven Samurai" is perhaps my favorite film of all time, and I really like Kurasawa's work. Other than the brief plot summary, I didn't really know what to expect from "The Bad Sleep Well." The beginning can be somewhat confusing, as the reporters throw out lots of Japanese names and the viewer must struggle to understand what's going on and who is who. But as the film progressed, I found myself drawn in and completely absorbed by it. Don't worry if you don't get it at first, all will become clear. I found this to be an excellent film, and I would recommend it to any Kurasawa film. Sure, it's not action-packed like his samurai films. And yes, it is somewhat slow in pace. But I must say that I didn't really mind that. I found it quite engrossing. There are enough plot twists and turns to keep the viewer interested. I din't think that Toshiro Mifune did a bad job either, as some other viewers thought. He's not wild and crazy like in "Seven Samurai" or "Rashomon" but I didn't think he was badly cast. Sadly, I am not intimately familiar with "Hamlet," so I can't comment too much on the similarities. It seems to be the general opinion that this "The Bad Sleep Well" is loosely based on Hamlet, but I also agree that this won't detract from your enjoyment of the film in any way, and that knowing "Hamlet" doesn't mean that you will know what happens in this film. I agree with those who say that this is another underrated Kurarsawa masterpiece, and well worth seeing. Give it a chance!
65 Reviews
"Now all Japan has been hoodwinked"
Steffi_P20 February 2007
For his first film made by his own independent production company, Kurosawa decided to take advantage of his new creative freedom to make his most politically daring picture to date. He takes on the corruption rife in corporate Japan in a film noir of almost epic proportions.
This was Kurosawa's most stylised film so far. He takes a nasty, tragic film noir plot-line (and yes, there are elements of Hamlet, but not enough to call it an adaptation) but plays it at some times as if it was a farcical comedy, and at others like it was a horror. The villainous characters appear slightly ridiculous and even cartoonish. Only the most senior amongst them, Iwabuchi, is allowed to keep his dignity. While the others are just puffed-up minions, easily toppled, Iwabuchi seems truly immovable.
The establishing scenes are the film's strongest. It opens, like The Godfather, with a lengthy wedding scene which serves to introduce all the principle characters and set the tone. Everything about the way this scene is put together tells us this is not the happy occasion it should be the hall where the ceremony takes place echoes off-puttingly, a company official about to make a speech cringes as champagne corks go off behind him like gun shots. Add to this an interruption from the police, a gang of journalists and photographers waiting in the wings, and a best man's speech that turns from jokes to threats, and you can practically taste the corruption and decadence that is the focus for this story.
The wedding scene is followed by a montage of newspaper headlines and newsreel footage, reminiscent of similar devices used by Frank Capra and Raoul Walsh. Kurosawa brilliantly choreographs this sequence to music, a rather eerie little dirge more typical of a Japanese period piece than a modern thriller. It's the only example of this kind of montage I know of in Kurosawa's work (it was rare for him to expand the narrative to the bigger picture), but it's a highly effective one-off.
The central plot, of Nishi (Toshiro Mifune) orchestrating spectacular revenge against the men who killed his father, is full of amazing set-pieces. There are echoes of Hitchcock in the way Kurosawa shoves significant objects right up to the camera. The use of music is dazzling, combining upbeat music with unnerving moments to give a great sense of irony. Nishi is the last person the villains suspect, and he often appears innocently in the background with little more significance than an extra, although of course the audience knows better. It's a nice touch that Kurosawa has the character wear glasses, making Mifune almost unrecognisable to us as well.
Sadly, the film's pace slows down after the first hour, and rarely gets back to the same dizzying heights for the rest of its 145 minutes. The lengthy runtime does however allow Kurosawa to add a depth that is absent from your average 100-minute Hollywood Film Noir. Kurosawa could be bleak, but he never forgot the humanity in his films, and this is really the focus in the second half of the film. He takes time to put the spotlight on the innocent victims of revenge (Nishi's wife, Wada's family), and even show the arch-villain in moments of warmth and tenderness with his family. And this is perhaps where the story's biggest similarity with Hamlet is Nishi's revenge falls apart because he is unable to be totally ruthless and unfeeling.
As for the acting, Masayuki Mori is particularly good as Iwabuchi. Just look at his reaction when the second wedding cake pulls up behind him remaining calm, but clearly suppressing concern and annoyance. Kamatari Fujiwara and Akira Nishimura give great over the top performances as Wada and Shirai respectively. Unfortunately this is not one of Toshiro Mifune's great performances. Mifune had an incredible range, but somehow he doesn't quite work as Nishi. In particular, for me he doesn't quite get the emoting right when he begins to realise his feelings for his wife.
Kurosawa always liked to be making some kind of point with all his films, something which sometimes got in the way of decent storytelling. The Bad Sleep Well is a political soapbox picture if ever there was one, but luckily in this case that doesn't water it down quality-wise. True, it is perhaps a little too long, and there are a few dull stretches, but Kurosawa's direction was still at its peak and this stands as one of his best contemporary-set pictures.
This was Kurosawa's most stylised film so far. He takes a nasty, tragic film noir plot-line (and yes, there are elements of Hamlet, but not enough to call it an adaptation) but plays it at some times as if it was a farcical comedy, and at others like it was a horror. The villainous characters appear slightly ridiculous and even cartoonish. Only the most senior amongst them, Iwabuchi, is allowed to keep his dignity. While the others are just puffed-up minions, easily toppled, Iwabuchi seems truly immovable.
The establishing scenes are the film's strongest. It opens, like The Godfather, with a lengthy wedding scene which serves to introduce all the principle characters and set the tone. Everything about the way this scene is put together tells us this is not the happy occasion it should be the hall where the ceremony takes place echoes off-puttingly, a company official about to make a speech cringes as champagne corks go off behind him like gun shots. Add to this an interruption from the police, a gang of journalists and photographers waiting in the wings, and a best man's speech that turns from jokes to threats, and you can practically taste the corruption and decadence that is the focus for this story.
The wedding scene is followed by a montage of newspaper headlines and newsreel footage, reminiscent of similar devices used by Frank Capra and Raoul Walsh. Kurosawa brilliantly choreographs this sequence to music, a rather eerie little dirge more typical of a Japanese period piece than a modern thriller. It's the only example of this kind of montage I know of in Kurosawa's work (it was rare for him to expand the narrative to the bigger picture), but it's a highly effective one-off.
The central plot, of Nishi (Toshiro Mifune) orchestrating spectacular revenge against the men who killed his father, is full of amazing set-pieces. There are echoes of Hitchcock in the way Kurosawa shoves significant objects right up to the camera. The use of music is dazzling, combining upbeat music with unnerving moments to give a great sense of irony. Nishi is the last person the villains suspect, and he often appears innocently in the background with little more significance than an extra, although of course the audience knows better. It's a nice touch that Kurosawa has the character wear glasses, making Mifune almost unrecognisable to us as well.
Sadly, the film's pace slows down after the first hour, and rarely gets back to the same dizzying heights for the rest of its 145 minutes. The lengthy runtime does however allow Kurosawa to add a depth that is absent from your average 100-minute Hollywood Film Noir. Kurosawa could be bleak, but he never forgot the humanity in his films, and this is really the focus in the second half of the film. He takes time to put the spotlight on the innocent victims of revenge (Nishi's wife, Wada's family), and even show the arch-villain in moments of warmth and tenderness with his family. And this is perhaps where the story's biggest similarity with Hamlet is Nishi's revenge falls apart because he is unable to be totally ruthless and unfeeling.
As for the acting, Masayuki Mori is particularly good as Iwabuchi. Just look at his reaction when the second wedding cake pulls up behind him remaining calm, but clearly suppressing concern and annoyance. Kamatari Fujiwara and Akira Nishimura give great over the top performances as Wada and Shirai respectively. Unfortunately this is not one of Toshiro Mifune's great performances. Mifune had an incredible range, but somehow he doesn't quite work as Nishi. In particular, for me he doesn't quite get the emoting right when he begins to realise his feelings for his wife.
Kurosawa always liked to be making some kind of point with all his films, something which sometimes got in the way of decent storytelling. The Bad Sleep Well is a political soapbox picture if ever there was one, but luckily in this case that doesn't water it down quality-wise. True, it is perhaps a little too long, and there are a few dull stretches, but Kurosawa's direction was still at its peak and this stands as one of his best contemporary-set pictures.
Kurosawa does Nippon Noir with style
Hanichi22 March 1999
The Bad Sleep Well is a great film, with excellent acting from all the actors, especially my favorite Japanese actor, Takashi Shimura as Moriyama. Kurosawa shows in this film that no one can or will ever top his skill at doing tableau shots. The wedding scene in the beginning of the film, where the reporters are standing just outside the doors of the reception hall, commenting on the goings on within, is fantastic. The ending seems very abrupt, almost as if they ran out of time while making the film, keeping this one out of the same league as other Kurosawa classics (7 Samurai, Stray Dog, Yojinbo).
The Bad do indeed sleep well in this overlooked Kurosawa...
vikramas110920 February 2006
"The Bad Sleep Well" is a forgotten gem from one of Japan's great masters, Akira Kurosawa. His other two Shakespeare adaptations, "Throne of Blood" (Macbeth) and "Ran" (King Lear), are much more famous and well-regarded, justifiably so if you have seen them ("Ran" is particular is my favorite of all Kurosawa films). However, this sharp and caustic adaptation of Hamlet deserves an equal amount of praise and recognition. It may be the most bleak subject matter that Kurosawa ever tackled - the corruption in the highest levels of government in post-war Japan.
The film begins with a long but funny wedding sequence that illustrates Kurosawa's great skill as a director. We (and the camera) are among a group of reporters discussing the numerous convenient reasons for the marriage; the bride is lame and the daughter of Iwabuchi, the head of corporation, and the bridegroom, Nishi, has aspirations to elevate his status in the business. We see the comedy of manners play out in this sequence in increasingly humorous situations as the various parties deny the rumors and reporters continue comment to each other, culminating in the panicked looks on the faces of the corporate higher-ups as the wedding cake arrives - in the shape of their office building, Public Corp., with a red X marking a spot in one of the windows where one of their former partners committed suicide. It's a virtuoso sequence that perfectly sets up the tone of the rest of the film.
The newspapers have a field day with this, especially when various members of Public Corp. are investigated for fraud and embezzlement, yet they stoically remain silent and the case goes nowhere. Then it heats up again as a few of them commit suicide; the rumors are that they were goaded into doing so (n fact, they were). However, without any substance to press the matter, the case is dropped. And that's when the real story begins - one of the Public Corp executives, Wada, survives and is rescued by Nishi and his shadowy accomplice, Itakura.
This is followed by a brilliant scene in which Wada is taken to his own funeral and observes the farce - all the while, Nishi plays him a tape with Moriyama and Shirai, his former partners, plotting his murder. The way Kurosawa stages this is masterful; the sublime music emanating from the funeral is contrasted dramatically with the cold-blooded words of Public Corp, as Wada listens on. One of the ways Wada contributes is to scare the living hell out of Shirai - Wada poses as a ghost of himself in order to freak him out (a clever method of adding in the ghost in Hamlet). As the plot progresses, Nishi reveals his reasons for saving Wada and exacting a very personal revenge on Iwabuchi and his cohorts; and the story's pace becomes more frantic and exciting with a dramatic but sudden conclusion.
Technically, Kurosawa is at his best here. The wedding and the funeral are both marvels of observational behavior and they contrast each other perfectly. He uses a lot of intriguing mise-en-scene compositions for his interiors that serve to highlight his characters' inner thoughts but very little movement of the camera in order to manipulate his audience; the dark nature of the story is enough to suck you in. One of the fascinating observations in "The Bad Sleep Well" is that nearly all of the characters are morally bankrupt and filled with secrets - even Nishi, the protagonist. His wife, the Ophelia character, is the only one that Kurosawa allows us to feel sympathy for, and even then in the end she is not fully spared her grief. Taken in this context, Kurosawa's Hamlet becomes a study in the morality and pragmatism of revenge but also an incisive jab at the fat cats in modern Japan.
If there is a flaw in the film, it is that the overall pacing is not always brisk enough to sustain the long running time (2 1/2 hours). The wedding, despite being absolutely essential, is protracted; the rest of the film is much quicker but still drags in parts. Also, Kurosawa seems unsure about his ending; the film ends quite abruptly but appropriately in terms of his larger point about the hopelessness of fighting the rampant corruption, I would argue. However, despite these flaws, overall "The Bad Sleep Well" is a masterful and dark excursion into the seedy side of corporate crime, using Shakespeare Hamlet brilliantly but not completely as it's core. Toshiro Mifune in particular gives one of his most unique low-key performances; instead of his usual fiery exterior we get a performance full of internalized anger throughout. Highly recommended.
The film begins with a long but funny wedding sequence that illustrates Kurosawa's great skill as a director. We (and the camera) are among a group of reporters discussing the numerous convenient reasons for the marriage; the bride is lame and the daughter of Iwabuchi, the head of corporation, and the bridegroom, Nishi, has aspirations to elevate his status in the business. We see the comedy of manners play out in this sequence in increasingly humorous situations as the various parties deny the rumors and reporters continue comment to each other, culminating in the panicked looks on the faces of the corporate higher-ups as the wedding cake arrives - in the shape of their office building, Public Corp., with a red X marking a spot in one of the windows where one of their former partners committed suicide. It's a virtuoso sequence that perfectly sets up the tone of the rest of the film.
The newspapers have a field day with this, especially when various members of Public Corp. are investigated for fraud and embezzlement, yet they stoically remain silent and the case goes nowhere. Then it heats up again as a few of them commit suicide; the rumors are that they were goaded into doing so (n fact, they were). However, without any substance to press the matter, the case is dropped. And that's when the real story begins - one of the Public Corp executives, Wada, survives and is rescued by Nishi and his shadowy accomplice, Itakura.
This is followed by a brilliant scene in which Wada is taken to his own funeral and observes the farce - all the while, Nishi plays him a tape with Moriyama and Shirai, his former partners, plotting his murder. The way Kurosawa stages this is masterful; the sublime music emanating from the funeral is contrasted dramatically with the cold-blooded words of Public Corp, as Wada listens on. One of the ways Wada contributes is to scare the living hell out of Shirai - Wada poses as a ghost of himself in order to freak him out (a clever method of adding in the ghost in Hamlet). As the plot progresses, Nishi reveals his reasons for saving Wada and exacting a very personal revenge on Iwabuchi and his cohorts; and the story's pace becomes more frantic and exciting with a dramatic but sudden conclusion.
Technically, Kurosawa is at his best here. The wedding and the funeral are both marvels of observational behavior and they contrast each other perfectly. He uses a lot of intriguing mise-en-scene compositions for his interiors that serve to highlight his characters' inner thoughts but very little movement of the camera in order to manipulate his audience; the dark nature of the story is enough to suck you in. One of the fascinating observations in "The Bad Sleep Well" is that nearly all of the characters are morally bankrupt and filled with secrets - even Nishi, the protagonist. His wife, the Ophelia character, is the only one that Kurosawa allows us to feel sympathy for, and even then in the end she is not fully spared her grief. Taken in this context, Kurosawa's Hamlet becomes a study in the morality and pragmatism of revenge but also an incisive jab at the fat cats in modern Japan.
If there is a flaw in the film, it is that the overall pacing is not always brisk enough to sustain the long running time (2 1/2 hours). The wedding, despite being absolutely essential, is protracted; the rest of the film is much quicker but still drags in parts. Also, Kurosawa seems unsure about his ending; the film ends quite abruptly but appropriately in terms of his larger point about the hopelessness of fighting the rampant corruption, I would argue. However, despite these flaws, overall "The Bad Sleep Well" is a masterful and dark excursion into the seedy side of corporate crime, using Shakespeare Hamlet brilliantly but not completely as it's core. Toshiro Mifune in particular gives one of his most unique low-key performances; instead of his usual fiery exterior we get a performance full of internalized anger throughout. Highly recommended.
Possibly The Darkest, Bleakest & Most Cynical Of All Akira Kurosawa's Films
CinemaClown12 June 2020
Arguably the darkest, bleakest & most cynical of all Akira Kurosawa films, The Bad Sleep Well is an impressive amalgamation of assured direction, excellent writing & solid performances that not only works as an effective & engaging revenge drama but also serves as a sharp critique of corporate corruption.
The story begins with a masterly curated wedding sequence that aptly introduces all the relevant characters, and paves its foundation by letting the news reporters provide background details about each through their gossips. The revenge plan is already in motion when the film starts, and that scene does well to bring us up to date.
The set pieces are refined, detailed & beautifully lit while the fluid camerawork & crisp greyscale photography provide the imagery its rich intensity & timeless flair. Editing is carried out well for the most part but pacing does slip a little before the third act. All the actors play their roles responsibly, plus it's got Takashi Shimura in a rare villainous role.
Overall, The Bad Sleep Well finds Akira Kurosawa in complete control of his craft, and is yet another quality addition to the legendary auteur's oeuvre. Maintaining its firm grip on audience, the film is tense, captivating & thrilling for the majority of its 151 mins runtime before culminating with an ending that hits close to real-life. In short, an underrated & underseen gem.
The story begins with a masterly curated wedding sequence that aptly introduces all the relevant characters, and paves its foundation by letting the news reporters provide background details about each through their gossips. The revenge plan is already in motion when the film starts, and that scene does well to bring us up to date.
The set pieces are refined, detailed & beautifully lit while the fluid camerawork & crisp greyscale photography provide the imagery its rich intensity & timeless flair. Editing is carried out well for the most part but pacing does slip a little before the third act. All the actors play their roles responsibly, plus it's got Takashi Shimura in a rare villainous role.
Overall, The Bad Sleep Well finds Akira Kurosawa in complete control of his craft, and is yet another quality addition to the legendary auteur's oeuvre. Maintaining its firm grip on audience, the film is tense, captivating & thrilling for the majority of its 151 mins runtime before culminating with an ending that hits close to real-life. In short, an underrated & underseen gem.
One of Kurosawa's best
maurazos11 February 2007
I am watching Kurosawa's full collection and the more I watch, the more I love the art of "The Emperor". And unlike many Kurosawa's fans, my preferred films are those that talk about the time Kurosawa lived, not about the samurai ages. Again, Kurosawa uses the literature classics (for this film, Shakespeare's "Hamlet") as a source for his stories, proving that the subjects they talked about are still modern. Anyway, the genius of Kurosawa is quite big to make their film be not just a cinema remake of those texts, but an original, exciting plot. And again, Kurosawa gives us a film with a clear and worrying social message, a denounce to a serious problem (company and state corruption that even today still darkens the image of a "100% legal" Japan). A film to enjoy and film to learn about Japanese society and life in a general way.
Under appreciated Kurosawa masterpiece
Tequila-1813 October 1999
At the start of this film I didn't know what to expect. I thought it might be a mediocre Kurosawa film. By the end of the film I realized it was one of his best. This film about familial discord and corporate manipulation is breathtaking. Its filled with irony, double crosses, cynicism, manipulation and revenge. In short, its endlessly interesting and captivating. Definitly a must see.
A tale of executives, executions... and bureaucratic Omerta!
ElMaruecan827 December 2019
"The Bad Sleep Well" is Akira Kurosawa's second handling of the film noir genre after "Stray Dog" in 1949 and three years before "High and Low" in 1963. These two films were gripping documentary-like police procedurals. In contrast, "The Bad Sleep Well", with its intriguing title and loosely Hamletian undertones, shows the way these procedurals can be made useless by the sheer power of bureaucratic Omerta... and I'm not using the word in vain.
The film is perhaps the most noirish of the three in its vitriolic depiction of corporate corruption, showing us the other side of modern Japan's coin where hierarchy governs not most but all of its institutions, family included. In fact, what the film accomplishes through the precise and uncompromising eye of Kurosawa's camera and a tight (if not somewhat tedious) script, reminds me of a classic among the classics: "The Godfather" and Coppola must have loved "The Bad Sleep Well".
The film is about a bunch of corporate executives in the Construction and Land Development business using their influence, wealth and occasionally disguised threats to hide a kickback scheme that occurred seven years ago. There's the Vice President Iwabushi, the Administrative Officer Moriyama, the Assistant-to-the-Chief Wada, the Contract Officer Shirai, each man representing a stratus protecting the upper layer from collapsing the higher you are, the safer you get, which plays exactly like the Mafia vertical organization with soldiers and "buffers" ... some execute and some are executed. The bad indeed sleep well.
"Ikiru", which is certainly Kurosawa's most acclaimed modern movie, hid behind its existential message an assertive comment against public bureaucracy. "The Bad Sleep Well" goes even further by subverting the clichés about Japanese's discipline with some employees going as far as sacrificing their lives. There's a moment where the accountant receives a message that says grossly "we'll take care of you, everything will be all right", and then he ultimately throws himself under a passing bus.
It's not often that you have two "Godfather" references in one, the message reminded me of the last talk between Tom Hagen and Frank Pentangeli in "Part II" and the sound of the truck coming with the close-up on the ma n's" face echoed the climax of the restaurant scene. And if the "Godfather" trilogy was about gangsters posing as respectable men, "The Bad Sleep Well" is about respectable men acting like gangsters. And I'm not done with the comparisons, the most notable one is the opening sequence with a wedding that makes the exposition elements flow without feeling too forced.
Snarky reporters are covering the wedding between the daughter of Iwabushi, played by Masayuki Mori (I couldn't believe it was 9 years after his youthful appearance in "The Idiot") and Nishi, a quiet and discreet secretary played by Toshiro Mifune. The girl has a lump and rumor has it that Nishi married her out of interests (they're half right actually). And so the wedding allows us to place names in face and a few incidents set up the action: an untimely arrest, Ibawushi's son Tatsuo (Tatsuya Mihashi) makes a speech where he threatens to kill Nishi if he ruins his sister's life but the icing of a cake is the wedding cake itself. In place of the real one, a cake representing the company's building is served, a rose placed in the seventh floor from which an employee jumped to his death, ending an investigation for corruption. "This marks the end of a one-act play," says a reporter "are you kidding?", retorts his colleague, "this is only a prologue".
And so the prologue ends and the action takes off through a series of incidents suggesting that there's a mole in the company who know about the events that occurred seven year ago, who ordered the cake to send a message and who's up to something. The film features one of the most elaborate schemes, a strategy of destruction whose many tactics include the disguise of Wada's disappearance into suicide. In a later scene, the man is allowed to assist his own funeral and hear his employees gloating at his death. Shirai is then gaslighted to the point that you almost feel sorry for him. Finally, Moyamari (Takashi Shimura) is forced to reveal where the dirty money by simply being starved. I had often wondered why no one thought of extorting money with a simple glass of water, glad a film thought of it.
Of course, it doesn't take long to reveal the perpetrator of all these actions, but more importantly his motive. It's obviously Nishi, the central protagonist, and it's easy to make the parallel with the seventh floor's death and his thirst for revenge but the best thing about the film is how conflicted Nishi is. He has obviously married the daughter to approach a man who is his enemy and with time, his sentiments grow. Moreover, even Wada starts to empathize with his actions and advise him against not becoming like the men he fight. The problem of Nishi is that his actions destroy the father of a person he cares for and ironically turns him into a character who, if not morally bad, uses the same tools than his enemies. It doesn't make him worse but his own morality is put in the film's equation.
Nishi's playful whistling is the film's musical leitmotif, suggesting that he's "enjoying" what he does to a limit. We do "enjoy" the way he toys with these serious men's sanity and sense of immunity and the film while two hours and half long, finds a way to draw us in Nishi's action. But the game stops near the third act, when his intentions are revealed, and the enemies fight back.
Now, I'm still puzzled by the ending, to the point I wondered whether it's the best or the worst thing about the film. One thing for sure, when it ended with that head being bowed and the title appeared, I was nodding mine.
The film is perhaps the most noirish of the three in its vitriolic depiction of corporate corruption, showing us the other side of modern Japan's coin where hierarchy governs not most but all of its institutions, family included. In fact, what the film accomplishes through the precise and uncompromising eye of Kurosawa's camera and a tight (if not somewhat tedious) script, reminds me of a classic among the classics: "The Godfather" and Coppola must have loved "The Bad Sleep Well".
The film is about a bunch of corporate executives in the Construction and Land Development business using their influence, wealth and occasionally disguised threats to hide a kickback scheme that occurred seven years ago. There's the Vice President Iwabushi, the Administrative Officer Moriyama, the Assistant-to-the-Chief Wada, the Contract Officer Shirai, each man representing a stratus protecting the upper layer from collapsing the higher you are, the safer you get, which plays exactly like the Mafia vertical organization with soldiers and "buffers" ... some execute and some are executed. The bad indeed sleep well.
"Ikiru", which is certainly Kurosawa's most acclaimed modern movie, hid behind its existential message an assertive comment against public bureaucracy. "The Bad Sleep Well" goes even further by subverting the clichés about Japanese's discipline with some employees going as far as sacrificing their lives. There's a moment where the accountant receives a message that says grossly "we'll take care of you, everything will be all right", and then he ultimately throws himself under a passing bus.
It's not often that you have two "Godfather" references in one, the message reminded me of the last talk between Tom Hagen and Frank Pentangeli in "Part II" and the sound of the truck coming with the close-up on the ma n's" face echoed the climax of the restaurant scene. And if the "Godfather" trilogy was about gangsters posing as respectable men, "The Bad Sleep Well" is about respectable men acting like gangsters. And I'm not done with the comparisons, the most notable one is the opening sequence with a wedding that makes the exposition elements flow without feeling too forced.
Snarky reporters are covering the wedding between the daughter of Iwabushi, played by Masayuki Mori (I couldn't believe it was 9 years after his youthful appearance in "The Idiot") and Nishi, a quiet and discreet secretary played by Toshiro Mifune. The girl has a lump and rumor has it that Nishi married her out of interests (they're half right actually). And so the wedding allows us to place names in face and a few incidents set up the action: an untimely arrest, Ibawushi's son Tatsuo (Tatsuya Mihashi) makes a speech where he threatens to kill Nishi if he ruins his sister's life but the icing of a cake is the wedding cake itself. In place of the real one, a cake representing the company's building is served, a rose placed in the seventh floor from which an employee jumped to his death, ending an investigation for corruption. "This marks the end of a one-act play," says a reporter "are you kidding?", retorts his colleague, "this is only a prologue".
And so the prologue ends and the action takes off through a series of incidents suggesting that there's a mole in the company who know about the events that occurred seven year ago, who ordered the cake to send a message and who's up to something. The film features one of the most elaborate schemes, a strategy of destruction whose many tactics include the disguise of Wada's disappearance into suicide. In a later scene, the man is allowed to assist his own funeral and hear his employees gloating at his death. Shirai is then gaslighted to the point that you almost feel sorry for him. Finally, Moyamari (Takashi Shimura) is forced to reveal where the dirty money by simply being starved. I had often wondered why no one thought of extorting money with a simple glass of water, glad a film thought of it.
Of course, it doesn't take long to reveal the perpetrator of all these actions, but more importantly his motive. It's obviously Nishi, the central protagonist, and it's easy to make the parallel with the seventh floor's death and his thirst for revenge but the best thing about the film is how conflicted Nishi is. He has obviously married the daughter to approach a man who is his enemy and with time, his sentiments grow. Moreover, even Wada starts to empathize with his actions and advise him against not becoming like the men he fight. The problem of Nishi is that his actions destroy the father of a person he cares for and ironically turns him into a character who, if not morally bad, uses the same tools than his enemies. It doesn't make him worse but his own morality is put in the film's equation.
Nishi's playful whistling is the film's musical leitmotif, suggesting that he's "enjoying" what he does to a limit. We do "enjoy" the way he toys with these serious men's sanity and sense of immunity and the film while two hours and half long, finds a way to draw us in Nishi's action. But the game stops near the third act, when his intentions are revealed, and the enemies fight back.
Now, I'm still puzzled by the ending, to the point I wondered whether it's the best or the worst thing about the film. One thing for sure, when it ended with that head being bowed and the title appeared, I was nodding mine.
absorbing drama
cherold1 September 2005
I haven't been that thrilled with the previous non-period piece movies of Kurusawa, so I was pleasantly surprised by this one. While it lacks the high style of films like Rashomon and Yojimbo, this is a compelling story . This movie is very Japanese. It is hard for me to comprehend the Japanese corporate structure shown in this movie, and it made me think of an American I met who has lived in Japan for years and says the more you see of the Japanese the more you realize that you don't understand them.
This creates an interesting dilemma in terms of analyzing the movie, because a lot of the actions and motivations are so odd that if I saw them in an American film I would consider them examples of a poorly thought-out screenplay. But I accept most things in this movie as simply being very Japanese.
This isn't to say that everything in the movie is nuts. Human nature is human nature, and the themes of corruption and revenge work in any culture. The story itself is well laid out and intriguing, and the acting is excellent throughout. My only real objection is to something that happens near the end, more for the way it was presented than for what happens, but perhaps once again this is something that would seem perfectly sensible if you were Japanese.
This movie might deserve an 8. My enjoyment of it was somewhat spoiled because I've developed cataracts in both eyes and reading subtitles is difficult, meaning I was less able to immerse myself in the movie. But definitely worth watching.
This creates an interesting dilemma in terms of analyzing the movie, because a lot of the actions and motivations are so odd that if I saw them in an American film I would consider them examples of a poorly thought-out screenplay. But I accept most things in this movie as simply being very Japanese.
This isn't to say that everything in the movie is nuts. Human nature is human nature, and the themes of corruption and revenge work in any culture. The story itself is well laid out and intriguing, and the acting is excellent throughout. My only real objection is to something that happens near the end, more for the way it was presented than for what happens, but perhaps once again this is something that would seem perfectly sensible if you were Japanese.
This movie might deserve an 8. My enjoyment of it was somewhat spoiled because I've developed cataracts in both eyes and reading subtitles is difficult, meaning I was less able to immerse myself in the movie. But definitely worth watching.
wonderful and often overlooked
planktonrules25 May 2005
While the Seven Sumarai and Rashomon are wonderful Kurasawa flicks, too few people are aware that he made other great films that are NOT samurai films because they are rarely seen in the United States. Only osscasionally, they are shown on Turner Classic Movies or other channels and should not be missed.
One of the best examples of this is this movie. The Bad Sleep Well is extremely well-written and acted and keeps your attention from start (the cake scene) to finish (the final showdown). I love how Kurasawa does NOT follow the expected path in this and his other pictures. Anyone wanting something DIFFERENT should give Kurasawa a try. In addition, I would strongly recommend Kurasawa's Madadayo ("Not Yet") or Shubun ("Scandal") as among his lesser-known flicks you MUST see. Among his slightly more famous, try Throne of Blood (a GREAT remake of MacBeth) or Yojimbo.
FYI--this story is a slight re-working of Hamlet, though you might not notice it unless you are looking.
One of the best examples of this is this movie. The Bad Sleep Well is extremely well-written and acted and keeps your attention from start (the cake scene) to finish (the final showdown). I love how Kurasawa does NOT follow the expected path in this and his other pictures. Anyone wanting something DIFFERENT should give Kurasawa a try. In addition, I would strongly recommend Kurasawa's Madadayo ("Not Yet") or Shubun ("Scandal") as among his lesser-known flicks you MUST see. Among his slightly more famous, try Throne of Blood (a GREAT remake of MacBeth) or Yojimbo.
FYI--this story is a slight re-working of Hamlet, though you might not notice it unless you are looking.
Intense and gripping noir classic
LouE1514 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
One of the world's great directors (Akira Kurosawa ) paired again with one of the world's great actors (Toshiro Mifune) in a noir attack on corporate corruption. Kurosawa is a consummate storyteller, with a genuinely all-seeing eye. I don't know enough about film theory to tell you exactly why it is his films work or are great; I can only compare them to my other experiences watching a wide variety of films, and his are entertaining, morally complex, living things, that fed from, and into, western cinema, bringing a something very Japanese in terms of both storytelling and acting style. He seems to elicit emotional responses, without seeming to try. All the best acrobatic feats have this effect, and this, I think, is one reason why Kurosawa is a great director. Mifune has an intensely charismatic presence: you feel he really gives of himself in every performance. Actors today who remind me of him are Tony Leung ("In the Mood for Love") and Christian Bale. This probably isn't his best showcase, though: check out "The Seven Samurai" and "Yojimbo", among his best.
In "The Bad Sleep Well", Nishi seeks revenge for his father's 'suicide'. Hiding behind thick horn-rimmed glasses and a formal, reserved image, he mercilessly hunts down the 'Corporation' leaders responsible, and no target is too great, or price too high, to pay. Apparently this takes the 'Hamlet' model for its story, but I don't really care about that. Any story, however old and continually retold, can be invigorated by an entirely new, and skillful perspective.
The wedding scene is absolutely extraordinary; the way the tension is slowly ramped up, the vague (and not so vague) feelings of unease, the differing perspectives on it, the silence. In such a charged atmosphere, the smallest detail the bride, who limps and has to wear a specially raised shoe, stumbles, and the groom is notably not the first to rush to assist her takes on significance and high drama. The journalists who crowd the edges of the scene act like a Greek chorus, with their sardonic comments about the proceedings.
The other amazing scene, showing skillful use of sound, is when Nishi forces a worker who was ordered to commit suicide to watch his own funeral, and to listen to a recording of his callous bosses in a nightclub. The louche bossa nova plays swooningly out over scenes of the man's wife and daughter at the ceremony, seen through a car window, bowing repeatedly as a succession of mourners pay tribute. The chanting of the monks can be heard in the background, and at the moment when his bosses are before him, bowing to his family, their heartless voices can be heard on the nightclub recording. The man's desperation at the climax of this scene is very moving. It's masterfully done. All Kurosawa's films, but particularly "High and Low", exhibit his extraordinary use of sound, music and dialogue. The savage, dismal end of the film and the bomb-devastated surroundings seem to reflect strongly the sense of moral dismay, of waste and shame and corruption.
Don't get caught up or put off - by the whole 'great director' thing; likewise, don't let the subtitles or that it's black and white make you glassy-eyed. If you can strip your mind of the need for modern day filmic tics, you'll find this an engrossing and intelligent drama.
In "The Bad Sleep Well", Nishi seeks revenge for his father's 'suicide'. Hiding behind thick horn-rimmed glasses and a formal, reserved image, he mercilessly hunts down the 'Corporation' leaders responsible, and no target is too great, or price too high, to pay. Apparently this takes the 'Hamlet' model for its story, but I don't really care about that. Any story, however old and continually retold, can be invigorated by an entirely new, and skillful perspective.
The wedding scene is absolutely extraordinary; the way the tension is slowly ramped up, the vague (and not so vague) feelings of unease, the differing perspectives on it, the silence. In such a charged atmosphere, the smallest detail the bride, who limps and has to wear a specially raised shoe, stumbles, and the groom is notably not the first to rush to assist her takes on significance and high drama. The journalists who crowd the edges of the scene act like a Greek chorus, with their sardonic comments about the proceedings.
The other amazing scene, showing skillful use of sound, is when Nishi forces a worker who was ordered to commit suicide to watch his own funeral, and to listen to a recording of his callous bosses in a nightclub. The louche bossa nova plays swooningly out over scenes of the man's wife and daughter at the ceremony, seen through a car window, bowing repeatedly as a succession of mourners pay tribute. The chanting of the monks can be heard in the background, and at the moment when his bosses are before him, bowing to his family, their heartless voices can be heard on the nightclub recording. The man's desperation at the climax of this scene is very moving. It's masterfully done. All Kurosawa's films, but particularly "High and Low", exhibit his extraordinary use of sound, music and dialogue. The savage, dismal end of the film and the bomb-devastated surroundings seem to reflect strongly the sense of moral dismay, of waste and shame and corruption.
Don't get caught up or put off - by the whole 'great director' thing; likewise, don't let the subtitles or that it's black and white make you glassy-eyed. If you can strip your mind of the need for modern day filmic tics, you'll find this an engrossing and intelligent drama.
Classic film-noir - spoilers herein
synicalsaint14 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
I have just started watching Kurosawa's film-noirs, and this is the second one I've seen so far. The first one I saw was Stray Dog which I believe is slightly better paced than this one which gets a bit too slow in some parts.
The photography is simply magnificent, the depth and the contrasts really bring the characters to life, Kurosawa's directing is at its best with many great shots. The acting is also very good, especially Toshiro Mifune, but not only him, the other characters, both the "bad" and the "good" are very well portrayed.
The plot is quite complex to understand at the beginning. The reporters in the opening scene of the movie who comment the marriage act like a classic theatrical chorus, it's quite confusing because they mention many names and events. But as the story unfolds the pieces start to fit together and everything starts to appear clearly until the revelation of Nishi's true identity. From then on the movie turns into a revenge-story. The ending is so shattering that all that's left to say is "The Bad Sleep Well".
I give this movie an 8/10 because I don't give 10's and as I said it's slightly too slow at times. The best thing about the film is that it simply DOES NOT compromise.
The photography is simply magnificent, the depth and the contrasts really bring the characters to life, Kurosawa's directing is at its best with many great shots. The acting is also very good, especially Toshiro Mifune, but not only him, the other characters, both the "bad" and the "good" are very well portrayed.
The plot is quite complex to understand at the beginning. The reporters in the opening scene of the movie who comment the marriage act like a classic theatrical chorus, it's quite confusing because they mention many names and events. But as the story unfolds the pieces start to fit together and everything starts to appear clearly until the revelation of Nishi's true identity. From then on the movie turns into a revenge-story. The ending is so shattering that all that's left to say is "The Bad Sleep Well".
I give this movie an 8/10 because I don't give 10's and as I said it's slightly too slow at times. The best thing about the film is that it simply DOES NOT compromise.
A bit too long even though it's good.
sibleybridges26 November 2021
During a wedding reception, several story lines are revealed by the attending paparazzi about corporation executives doing shady deals with the government. After the wedding, several police investigations are helped by a corporate insider who is trying to take down the company form the inside.
Plot, plot, plot. This movie is very thick on lots of woven plots. I enjoyed the story of revenge, but it's obvious that by 1960, Akira Kurosawa was being allowed to do whatever he wanted with no editor. This kind of meanders to an end during the last 40ish minutes after having a great beginning and several great scenes of the setup, but definitely needed about 45-50 minutes cut out that just didn't matter.
This story would actually make a great tv series because you could have each episode focus on one of the 6-8 main characters and then another 5 or so episodes of how the plots all come together. Season 2 of True Detective feels like it has a lot of similarities.
Coppola must have designed the opening wedding scene of The Godfather after what is shown here. Even though it's a totally different story, the wedding that opens the movie lasts 20 minutes and you learn lots of info concerning at least a dozen characters both on and off screen to go along with symbolic gestures that will play out during the rest of the movie. You are learning this info in a variety of ways as well from the paparazzi, to the police, to the participants of the wedding. The Godfather did it better, but I definitely see parallels in pacing and shot selection.
Watched on dvd from Criterion.
Plot, plot, plot. This movie is very thick on lots of woven plots. I enjoyed the story of revenge, but it's obvious that by 1960, Akira Kurosawa was being allowed to do whatever he wanted with no editor. This kind of meanders to an end during the last 40ish minutes after having a great beginning and several great scenes of the setup, but definitely needed about 45-50 minutes cut out that just didn't matter.
This story would actually make a great tv series because you could have each episode focus on one of the 6-8 main characters and then another 5 or so episodes of how the plots all come together. Season 2 of True Detective feels like it has a lot of similarities.
Coppola must have designed the opening wedding scene of The Godfather after what is shown here. Even though it's a totally different story, the wedding that opens the movie lasts 20 minutes and you learn lots of info concerning at least a dozen characters both on and off screen to go along with symbolic gestures that will play out during the rest of the movie. You are learning this info in a variety of ways as well from the paparazzi, to the police, to the participants of the wedding. The Godfather did it better, but I definitely see parallels in pacing and shot selection.
Watched on dvd from Criterion.
My least favorite Kurosawa
ninecurses6 July 2018
The themes are all there. The actors are wonderful. The story comes with built-in drama and suspense. And it's directed by Akira Kurosawa!
But, for me, it doesn't work. Sadly, I say this, because he is one of favorite directors.
For a start, it's just too long (150 min.). The story is slowed down and dragged out, where it should have been tightened. In those rare moments where I did feel the tension start to build, another over-long scene came along and deflated the suspense.
I thought the opening was ridiculous. Too many members of the press at a wedding that will introduce the audience to the story and its players. But the press, about 10 of them, watching the wedding and commenting along the way, when they should/would never have been allowed into such a private function. Like a Greek chorus, but ineffective and obvious. The master started his movie poorly.
Biggest offense of the film: Too much telling, not enough showing. Characters let us know everything: Not only their own backstories, but everyone else's. Not only their own emotions, but also those of others. Instead of showing us these people in their world, we the audience are told everything. And I do mean everything. How can you have intrigue and suspense when you don't give your audience the opportunity for discovery. It's all laid out for us, with too much on-the-nose telling.
I give it 5/10 because there are a few nice scenes, and Mifune is awesome...as always! But this is definitely my least favorite of ALL Kurosawa's films.
For a start, it's just too long (150 min.). The story is slowed down and dragged out, where it should have been tightened. In those rare moments where I did feel the tension start to build, another over-long scene came along and deflated the suspense.
I thought the opening was ridiculous. Too many members of the press at a wedding that will introduce the audience to the story and its players. But the press, about 10 of them, watching the wedding and commenting along the way, when they should/would never have been allowed into such a private function. Like a Greek chorus, but ineffective and obvious. The master started his movie poorly.
Biggest offense of the film: Too much telling, not enough showing. Characters let us know everything: Not only their own backstories, but everyone else's. Not only their own emotions, but also those of others. Instead of showing us these people in their world, we the audience are told everything. And I do mean everything. How can you have intrigue and suspense when you don't give your audience the opportunity for discovery. It's all laid out for us, with too much on-the-nose telling.
I give it 5/10 because there are a few nice scenes, and Mifune is awesome...as always! But this is definitely my least favorite of ALL Kurosawa's films.
Something's Rotten in the State of Japan
gvb090717 September 2002
Akira Kurosawa's "The Bad Sleep Well" is too dense and frankly too slow a film to qualify as a thriller in the usual sense. Although the elements are there - intrigue, double crosses, revenge, and crimes both naked and invisible - the pacing is too deliberate and there is little real suspense.
Yes, it's "Hamlet," though in a subtle, understated, Japanese way. Some of the characters are left out, but you'll eventually spot the Prince, Horatio, Ophelia, and Claudius. However, unlike his "Macbeth" ("Throne of Blood"), this is only a partial transposition and Kurosawa wisely does not carry the parallels too far.
Although it takes patience, the picture has its rewards. The performances are good, especially Masayuki Mori as the reptilian manipulator Iwabuchi, Kamatari Fujiwara as the hapless accountant Wada, and, as always, Takashi Shimura as master bureaucrat Moriyama. The sharp black-and-white cinematography gives the film a photo-journal aura of authenticity. And Masaru Sato's wonderful opening theme, heavy with menace and unease, certainly sets an appropriate tone.
Toshiro Mifune as Nishi/Hamlet is unusually restrained here, his normal fire largely internalized. He's adequate, but this casting against type doesn't really suit him.
"The Bad Sleep Well" is Kurosawa's attack on Japan's post-war business corruption that apparently was endemic by 1960 and perhaps still is today. His critique is harsh and unsparing, though one can't help but get the feeling that he's shooting at fish in a barrel.
Beyond the corruption of the corporate scandal, which the film literally headlines, is a strong sense of inner decay. Nearly everyone, regardless of their position, is uncomfortable. Even Iwabuchi, for all his power, must answer awkwardly to greater, unseen forces. Only the jackal-journalists who cover the opening wedding banquet seem immune to the pervasive uneasiness.
Yet all, save Nishi, are prepared to accept this state of affairs in return for their security. Ironically, Nishi himself seems most comfortable in an old air raid shelter in the ruins of a munitions plant, his own "castle", as it were, where he fights for honor as he understands it.
Recommended for Kurosawa fans and anyone interested in Japanese psyche, culture, or style. Those expecting a slam-bang 1940s Warner Brothers treatment will be extremely disappointed and probably won't last an hour.
Yes, it's "Hamlet," though in a subtle, understated, Japanese way. Some of the characters are left out, but you'll eventually spot the Prince, Horatio, Ophelia, and Claudius. However, unlike his "Macbeth" ("Throne of Blood"), this is only a partial transposition and Kurosawa wisely does not carry the parallels too far.
Although it takes patience, the picture has its rewards. The performances are good, especially Masayuki Mori as the reptilian manipulator Iwabuchi, Kamatari Fujiwara as the hapless accountant Wada, and, as always, Takashi Shimura as master bureaucrat Moriyama. The sharp black-and-white cinematography gives the film a photo-journal aura of authenticity. And Masaru Sato's wonderful opening theme, heavy with menace and unease, certainly sets an appropriate tone.
Toshiro Mifune as Nishi/Hamlet is unusually restrained here, his normal fire largely internalized. He's adequate, but this casting against type doesn't really suit him.
"The Bad Sleep Well" is Kurosawa's attack on Japan's post-war business corruption that apparently was endemic by 1960 and perhaps still is today. His critique is harsh and unsparing, though one can't help but get the feeling that he's shooting at fish in a barrel.
Beyond the corruption of the corporate scandal, which the film literally headlines, is a strong sense of inner decay. Nearly everyone, regardless of their position, is uncomfortable. Even Iwabuchi, for all his power, must answer awkwardly to greater, unseen forces. Only the jackal-journalists who cover the opening wedding banquet seem immune to the pervasive uneasiness.
Yet all, save Nishi, are prepared to accept this state of affairs in return for their security. Ironically, Nishi himself seems most comfortable in an old air raid shelter in the ruins of a munitions plant, his own "castle", as it were, where he fights for honor as he understands it.
Recommended for Kurosawa fans and anyone interested in Japanese psyche, culture, or style. Those expecting a slam-bang 1940s Warner Brothers treatment will be extremely disappointed and probably won't last an hour.
Great drama - Kurosawa in Shakespearean mode
grantss29 April 2018
It is a high-profile wedding: the daughter of Mr Iwabuchi, a wealthy businessman, is marrying Mr Nishi, a car salesman. However, Mr Iwabuchi and other senior members of his company are suspected of corporate malfeasance and the wedding becomes a bit of a farce, with the press swarming all over it. To add to the discord, the company officials are rather publicly reminded of an ignominious event which occurred a few years ago - a senior employee committed suicide by jumping from the 7th floor of their offices. Now other senior officials are committing suicide and it looks like it is related to that death of a few years ago.
Directed, and co-written, by Akira Kurosawa, and he is in fine form. Great revenge plot that is quite Shakespearean in its flow and "no good deed goes unpunished" modus operandi. Reminded me a lot of Hamlet though it is not a clear adaptation - the characters don't exactly map to characters in Hamlet, and the plot, while feeling Hamletesque, is not exactly the same. Not that Kurosawa didn't adapt Shakespeare's plays - Throne of Blood was an adaptation of MacBeth and Ran was an adaptation of King Lear.
Plot and tension build well. Things start off rather innocently, with a wedding, and disjointedly as the relevance of certain characters and connections between different characters aren't always obvious. But as time goes the strands all start to coalesce and everything starts to come together.
By the end the tension and intrigue are ramped up to the max, leaving you glued to the screen. The ending is poetic, but I felt that something more positive and definite was in order.
Solid performances all round. Toshiro Mifune is there, of course - it wouldn't be a Kurosawa movie without him - and does a great job.
Directed, and co-written, by Akira Kurosawa, and he is in fine form. Great revenge plot that is quite Shakespearean in its flow and "no good deed goes unpunished" modus operandi. Reminded me a lot of Hamlet though it is not a clear adaptation - the characters don't exactly map to characters in Hamlet, and the plot, while feeling Hamletesque, is not exactly the same. Not that Kurosawa didn't adapt Shakespeare's plays - Throne of Blood was an adaptation of MacBeth and Ran was an adaptation of King Lear.
Plot and tension build well. Things start off rather innocently, with a wedding, and disjointedly as the relevance of certain characters and connections between different characters aren't always obvious. But as time goes the strands all start to coalesce and everything starts to come together.
By the end the tension and intrigue are ramped up to the max, leaving you glued to the screen. The ending is poetic, but I felt that something more positive and definite was in order.
Solid performances all round. Toshiro Mifune is there, of course - it wouldn't be a Kurosawa movie without him - and does a great job.
American setting with Japanese story.
bobsgrock23 December 2008
Warning: Spoilers
There is no doubt that Akira Kurosawa had great affection for the rich history of his native Japan. Watching films like Rashomon and Seven Samurai show his attention to detail and his desire to make those stories as authentic as possible. However, Kurosawa also thoroughly enjoyed American novels and stories as well as anything Western-related. In this film, he borrows heavily from American dramas of the time using similar costumes, set pieces and locations to showcase a story that some say is reminiscent of Hamlet, though I don't know.
As the story opens, we know very little and through the first ten minutes or so we know even less as we see all the events happen through the media's point of view. Then, we follow Nishi, a hardworking secretary who married his boss' daughter in the opening credits. As the story unfolds, we learn Nishi's father was forced to commit suicide and he is after revenge on the men responsible. Kurosawa masterfully keeps us in the dark for practically the entire time so that the only time everything really comes together is at the end. Toshiro Mifune does a good job of playing someone who keeps most of his emotions bottled up despite having played very extrovert characters before. I would say if you like Kurosawa to give this a chance. It isn't one of his best, but the plot is intriguing, the acting is convincing, and the films looks great as well. It may be a little long, but that is small potatoes to what is going on here.
As the story opens, we know very little and through the first ten minutes or so we know even less as we see all the events happen through the media's point of view. Then, we follow Nishi, a hardworking secretary who married his boss' daughter in the opening credits. As the story unfolds, we learn Nishi's father was forced to commit suicide and he is after revenge on the men responsible. Kurosawa masterfully keeps us in the dark for practically the entire time so that the only time everything really comes together is at the end. Toshiro Mifune does a good job of playing someone who keeps most of his emotions bottled up despite having played very extrovert characters before. I would say if you like Kurosawa to give this a chance. It isn't one of his best, but the plot is intriguing, the acting is convincing, and the films looks great as well. It may be a little long, but that is small potatoes to what is going on here.
Great watch but a tad too long
eddax27 May 2009
I enjoyed Akira Kurosawa's medieval adaptations of Shakespeare (Ran, Throne of Blood), as well as his contemporary thriller, High and Low, but I have to say this contemporary thriller adaptation of Hamlet is the weakest of the bunch.
Not to say it's bad - it was still a great watch, just that it was way too long at 151 minutes. It's pretty amazing how Kurosawa made such a contemporary movie back in 1960 that it still feels fresh today. His direction is mostly tight and suspenseful and the movie is further augmented by an effective score and good acting all around, especially by Kurosawa stalwart, Toshiro Mifune.
But overly long it is, and less interesting scenes had my attention wandering. Maybe I should blame Shakespeare instead. Gawd knows I already find him long-winded and boring.
Not to say it's bad - it was still a great watch, just that it was way too long at 151 minutes. It's pretty amazing how Kurosawa made such a contemporary movie back in 1960 that it still feels fresh today. His direction is mostly tight and suspenseful and the movie is further augmented by an effective score and good acting all around, especially by Kurosawa stalwart, Toshiro Mifune.
But overly long it is, and less interesting scenes had my attention wandering. Maybe I should blame Shakespeare instead. Gawd knows I already find him long-winded and boring.
Fighting the faceless powerful
gbill-7487730 December 2018
I think it's ironic that this film critiques corruption and the loss of honor in the corporate world, yet it's a strict code of honor that has middle managers committing suicide to ensure their superiors aren't implicated in scandals. It's also ironic that the guy seeking revenge to right a wrong (Toshiro Mifune) uses some pretty evil techniques in his quest to do so. I loved seeing Mifune wearing glasses and in a more understated role that many of his others, and he's as great as always. Masayuki Mori is also strong as the big boss, and it's interesting that we find out that even he answers to someone higher up the chain. The bad sleep well at night because they aren't bothered by their consciences, yes, but also because they have someone else closer to the front line than them. The individual can fight the good fight, but it's tough against the faceless powerful, even if Mifune tells us nothing will ever change if we don't. Along those lines, the hideout being at the ruins of an old munitions factory that was firebombed by the Americans made me think of the obedience to hierarchy that's part of any war, with those at the top far removed, and those in the line of fire sacrificing themselves. Kurosawa gives us a sober look at these things, and does so in an entertaining story. It may have been better pared down just a teeny bit though.
Who, disguised as a mild-mannered executive secretary
patherto26 September 2004
In 'The Bad Sleep Well', Kurosawa tries to tear the lid off corporate corruption in Japan. Unfortunately, this is a premise that doesn't hold much power as a plot device. If you watch, you get to see Mifune wearing spectacles, and many of the other members of Kurosawa's band of actors as well. They don't have much to do but grit their teeth and scream a lot. I have a feeling that a lot of the plot (and there's lots and lots of plot to go around) gets lost in the minimalist subtitling and maximalist shouting. If you watch and you're not Japanese, you are likely to find a sleepy feeling coming on yourself. If so, are you 'the Bad?' No, you're just bored.
Master piece
kusagami9420 October 2013
''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
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
The Bad Sleep Well
rajdoctor6 May 2007
With drought of good movies running in Amsterdam, because I have seen most of the good ones I had to search of something that I would be interested in and I found this one. Why this one is interesting for me is because I am a BIG fan of Akira Kurosawa. I have heard a lot about him, read a lot about him, and seen his movie trailers but never got to see a full feature film of his. I never wanted to see one on a small screen because Akira brings a magical life on big canvass. With special screening of classics, I was really fortunate to see the first movie of my life of Akira The Bad Sleep Well.
The story is a revenge drama the man to revenge his father's death, marries a disabled daughter of a corrupt industrialist and works bottom up the system to expose and destroy the industrial empire the only problem is he falls in love with the daughter.
From Indian context the story sound very familiar, but remember this movie was made in early 1960s, it is an epic drama, the ending is also unusual and it is made by Akira Kurosawa. All this things made the movie different. It is not one of the best known movies of Akira, but even though it is a very good one.
For someone like me who is seeing the first movie of Akira, it is a huge learning experience in movie making. The immense effort in the script and characters is evident, and the coverage of cinema frame is enormous. The placement and movements of characters, the emotional range within a scene, the interplay of light and dark shadows and the expressiveness of events are full of surprises.
I hear the Akira likes to repeat his cast and I see two of them here - Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. Both have acted excellently. The musical score is aptly played only when necessary.
With an awe I came out from my first lesson of Akira and hear from a husband to his Japanese wife "This was not as good a movie as Akira makes " If this was not, what would be the real good ones Ran, Rashomon, Seven Samurias etc. I wait eagerly to see them all (Stars 7.5 out of 10)
The story is a revenge drama the man to revenge his father's death, marries a disabled daughter of a corrupt industrialist and works bottom up the system to expose and destroy the industrial empire the only problem is he falls in love with the daughter.
From Indian context the story sound very familiar, but remember this movie was made in early 1960s, it is an epic drama, the ending is also unusual and it is made by Akira Kurosawa. All this things made the movie different. It is not one of the best known movies of Akira, but even though it is a very good one.
For someone like me who is seeing the first movie of Akira, it is a huge learning experience in movie making. The immense effort in the script and characters is evident, and the coverage of cinema frame is enormous. The placement and movements of characters, the emotional range within a scene, the interplay of light and dark shadows and the expressiveness of events are full of surprises.
I hear the Akira likes to repeat his cast and I see two of them here - Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. Both have acted excellently. The musical score is aptly played only when necessary.
With an awe I came out from my first lesson of Akira and hear from a husband to his Japanese wife "This was not as good a movie as Akira makes " If this was not, what would be the real good ones Ran, Rashomon, Seven Samurias etc. I wait eagerly to see them all (Stars 7.5 out of 10)
Kurosawa's unforgettable tale of corruption
patryk-czekaj18 September 2012
In times of increasing significance of the corporate underworld and its impact on the society, Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well (Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru) proves to be a gritty and compelling achievement, able to spur further the ongoing, controversial debate about the 'big business' corruption in post-war Japan. Even though it marks the director's yet another allusion to Shakespeare's works (this time it's Hamlet), and looks as though it's been deeply affected by the American crime films from the 40's and 50's, it still indisputably reveals Kurosawa's auteur approach to his own works.
It starts off with a very long, more confusing than inviting, scene of a wedding. Even before the newlyweds shop up on screen, the audience sees a couple of policemen barging in, and a group of nosy reporters trying to spot a scandal in this seemingly uneventful ceremony. And for their own great amusement, a distressing tension soon begins to develop, because of a sudden reminder - a cake that looks like the Public Corporation's main headquarters, with a mysterious X placed in one of the windows - of a terrible accident that took place some time ago. The distressing atmosphere makes way for some shocking revelations, which in fact turn out to be a sufficient introduction of all the main guests. Yoshiko (Kyoko Kagawa), the crippled daughter of Iwabuchi (Masayuki Mori), vice president of the aforementioned powerful corporation, is getting married to a man named Nishi (Toshiro Mifune), Iwabuchi's personal assistant. The reports take a suitable position of social commentators, making open and derisive remarks about the past events, and one man's (known as Furuya) suicide that actually postponed the thorough investigation of the company's wrongdoings five years ago. Possessing a bitter, melodramatic touch, this scene is definitely one of the most explicit ways of presenting sheer emotional terrorism in film history. With subsequent talks of corruption, and next wave of interrogations, one of the corporation's employees commits suicide, and another one – Wada - is on his way to do the same on top of a volcano. However, he encounters Nishi, emerging from a murky mist. In this visually stunning, tranquil scene, Nishi shows his deep anger and ferocious nature. While everyone thinks that Wada died atop of the mountain, he is forced to join Nishi in what soon proves to be a revenge plot. Wada's shady persona is cleverly used as a mean to scare other high-ranked workers, and make them literally go mad. First on the list is Shirai (Ko Nishimura). Being mentally abused by Wada's 'ghost' appearances, he becomes a fall guy in the masterfully crafted plan. The film's greatest mystery is revealed in the exact same room, from which Furuya jumped five years ago – Nishi happens to be his son, and now seeks bloody revenge for what was done to his father. One of the movie's recurring themes is hidden in the corporate culture, which boldly states that lower workers should willingly die rather than expose their superiors' secrets.
An ingenious turning point in the movie's storyline shows its true face when Iwabuchi, and his closest companion Moriyama (Takashi Shimura), discover that all of the mysterious signs (the cake, a letter in a deposit box, the room where Shirai went mad) point to a dangerous conclusion: someone close to Furuya is plotting a revenge. At the same time, Nishi, who never loved his wife and married her only to get closer to her evil father, gradually begins to have feelings for Yoshiko. And even though he initially wanted to see all the 'bad' men dead, he decides that driving them insane will be just enough. Unfortunately, his avenger-like attitude proves to be his own demise, as he soon finds himself trapped in the risky game of cat-and- mouse. While Nishi tortures one corporate officer after another, Iwabuchi's clever instincts make him realize that his own poor daughter is the key to unraveling the whole mystery. His cunning plan to make Kyoko expose her husband's hideout quickly comes to fruition. And then, after an intense and strictly emotional finale, Nishi's death is announced. Silenced, just as his father, he won't be able to tell the whole world about the corrupted life and cruel actions of the Public Corporation's officials. Yet again, the bad may sleep well in their comfortable beds.
With its conspicuous noir overtone and huge emphasis put on the steady black-and-white cinematography, The Bad Sleep Well is both a straightforward critique of the corruption in contemporary Japan, and an engaging tale of one man's impossible journey to avenge his parent's death. While it might seem a bit too long and uneventful at times, it is a highly rewarding film with insightful social commentary and powerful message displayed in its vivid images and clever dialogues, strengthened by Toshiro Mifune's bewildering performance as the withdrawn, yet ostentatiously explosive, protagonist.
It starts off with a very long, more confusing than inviting, scene of a wedding. Even before the newlyweds shop up on screen, the audience sees a couple of policemen barging in, and a group of nosy reporters trying to spot a scandal in this seemingly uneventful ceremony. And for their own great amusement, a distressing tension soon begins to develop, because of a sudden reminder - a cake that looks like the Public Corporation's main headquarters, with a mysterious X placed in one of the windows - of a terrible accident that took place some time ago. The distressing atmosphere makes way for some shocking revelations, which in fact turn out to be a sufficient introduction of all the main guests. Yoshiko (Kyoko Kagawa), the crippled daughter of Iwabuchi (Masayuki Mori), vice president of the aforementioned powerful corporation, is getting married to a man named Nishi (Toshiro Mifune), Iwabuchi's personal assistant. The reports take a suitable position of social commentators, making open and derisive remarks about the past events, and one man's (known as Furuya) suicide that actually postponed the thorough investigation of the company's wrongdoings five years ago. Possessing a bitter, melodramatic touch, this scene is definitely one of the most explicit ways of presenting sheer emotional terrorism in film history. With subsequent talks of corruption, and next wave of interrogations, one of the corporation's employees commits suicide, and another one – Wada - is on his way to do the same on top of a volcano. However, he encounters Nishi, emerging from a murky mist. In this visually stunning, tranquil scene, Nishi shows his deep anger and ferocious nature. While everyone thinks that Wada died atop of the mountain, he is forced to join Nishi in what soon proves to be a revenge plot. Wada's shady persona is cleverly used as a mean to scare other high-ranked workers, and make them literally go mad. First on the list is Shirai (Ko Nishimura). Being mentally abused by Wada's 'ghost' appearances, he becomes a fall guy in the masterfully crafted plan. The film's greatest mystery is revealed in the exact same room, from which Furuya jumped five years ago – Nishi happens to be his son, and now seeks bloody revenge for what was done to his father. One of the movie's recurring themes is hidden in the corporate culture, which boldly states that lower workers should willingly die rather than expose their superiors' secrets.
An ingenious turning point in the movie's storyline shows its true face when Iwabuchi, and his closest companion Moriyama (Takashi Shimura), discover that all of the mysterious signs (the cake, a letter in a deposit box, the room where Shirai went mad) point to a dangerous conclusion: someone close to Furuya is plotting a revenge. At the same time, Nishi, who never loved his wife and married her only to get closer to her evil father, gradually begins to have feelings for Yoshiko. And even though he initially wanted to see all the 'bad' men dead, he decides that driving them insane will be just enough. Unfortunately, his avenger-like attitude proves to be his own demise, as he soon finds himself trapped in the risky game of cat-and- mouse. While Nishi tortures one corporate officer after another, Iwabuchi's clever instincts make him realize that his own poor daughter is the key to unraveling the whole mystery. His cunning plan to make Kyoko expose her husband's hideout quickly comes to fruition. And then, after an intense and strictly emotional finale, Nishi's death is announced. Silenced, just as his father, he won't be able to tell the whole world about the corrupted life and cruel actions of the Public Corporation's officials. Yet again, the bad may sleep well in their comfortable beds.
With its conspicuous noir overtone and huge emphasis put on the steady black-and-white cinematography, The Bad Sleep Well is both a straightforward critique of the corruption in contemporary Japan, and an engaging tale of one man's impossible journey to avenge his parent's death. While it might seem a bit too long and uneventful at times, it is a highly rewarding film with insightful social commentary and powerful message displayed in its vivid images and clever dialogues, strengthened by Toshiro Mifune's bewildering performance as the withdrawn, yet ostentatiously explosive, protagonist.
solid film, but not Kurosawa/Mifune's best
funkyfry23 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Director Akira Kurosawa and star Toshiro Mifune collaborated on many of the 20th Century's most acclaimed and appreciated films, including "The Seven Samurai," "Rashamon" and "Red Beard." In my opinion this particular collaboration isn't quite as impressive as these films or "Stray Dog," but it is a solid dark melodrama that explores its characters even while it follows them on a fatal journey. Mifune plays Koichi Nishi, a man who marries into the family of the vice president (Matsayuki Mori) of the Public Corporation in order to get revenge on the executives who caused the suicide death of his father.
There's several problems for me with the story. First of all I never really believed that Nishi was in love with his wife (Tatsuya Mihashi). Yes, I can believe that he can recognize the quality of her spirit and I find the melodrama of the conflict between his revenge death-wish and his personal feelings compelling, but I don't think it was established well enough beyond the simple fact of Nishi stating that it was so. Also I think there's an insurmountable cultural difference that tends to take at least a modern American audience (if not very possibly a modern Japanese audience) out of the movie to some extent there's an assumption built into the story that we will accept that these suicides were the natural consequence of the corporate misdeeds perpetrated by Iwabuchi and his underlings. However in our culture you would be more likely to go talk to a federal watchdog agency than to jump out of a window if you discovered that your superiors were grafting the public coffers. That makes the whole melodrama feel a bit overwrought and Nishi's anger somewhat misplaced.
However these relatively unconvincing elements are made up for to a great extent by a variety of really astonishing setpeice scenes. Probably the most memorable is when Nishi takes Wada (Kamatari Fujiwara) to watch his own funeral, even providing a soundtrack of his superiors gloating over his death as broadcast by 2 track tape device! The inter-cutting between the horrified Wada and the solemn attitudes of the pallbearers and mourners is truly striking and bizarre. I also thought the scenes where Wada was presented as a "ghost" in the alleyway were very well done. The film starts to bog down in the extended sequences where the kidnapped Moriyama (Takashi Shimura) is starved into confessing his corporate secrets. But the ending is suitably dark and offers no escape from the decisions made at whatever point in the past.
Perhaps I will have more comments on this one if I watch it again in the future, but for now this is all I really have to say.
There's several problems for me with the story. First of all I never really believed that Nishi was in love with his wife (Tatsuya Mihashi). Yes, I can believe that he can recognize the quality of her spirit and I find the melodrama of the conflict between his revenge death-wish and his personal feelings compelling, but I don't think it was established well enough beyond the simple fact of Nishi stating that it was so. Also I think there's an insurmountable cultural difference that tends to take at least a modern American audience (if not very possibly a modern Japanese audience) out of the movie to some extent there's an assumption built into the story that we will accept that these suicides were the natural consequence of the corporate misdeeds perpetrated by Iwabuchi and his underlings. However in our culture you would be more likely to go talk to a federal watchdog agency than to jump out of a window if you discovered that your superiors were grafting the public coffers. That makes the whole melodrama feel a bit overwrought and Nishi's anger somewhat misplaced.
However these relatively unconvincing elements are made up for to a great extent by a variety of really astonishing setpeice scenes. Probably the most memorable is when Nishi takes Wada (Kamatari Fujiwara) to watch his own funeral, even providing a soundtrack of his superiors gloating over his death as broadcast by 2 track tape device! The inter-cutting between the horrified Wada and the solemn attitudes of the pallbearers and mourners is truly striking and bizarre. I also thought the scenes where Wada was presented as a "ghost" in the alleyway were very well done. The film starts to bog down in the extended sequences where the kidnapped Moriyama (Takashi Shimura) is starved into confessing his corporate secrets. But the ending is suitably dark and offers no escape from the decisions made at whatever point in the past.
Perhaps I will have more comments on this one if I watch it again in the future, but for now this is all I really have to say.
The biggest sleeper Kurosawa did
Atavisten30 March 2006
I tried three times to watch this, but never succeeded to pass the 40 minutes mark. It is a Kurosawa movie, I know, but for all that I adore his movies this is so dry I just couldn't take it. Probably it is good if you're interested in the subject of corporate corruption (I am) and can understand all the underlying gradations(?). For all non-Japanese however, this is so slow and boring you'll start thinking about watering the plants.
And I didn't like to hear Wagner in a Japanese movie, but that's my problem. I know he was accused for being too westernized in his time. Here I think they were right.
And I didn't like to hear Wagner in a Japanese movie, but that's my problem. I know he was accused for being too westernized in his time. Here I think they were right.
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