The Bad Sleep Well Director: Akira Kurosawa Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-12-02 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.0 "Truely a 'great' movie" This represents Kurosawa at the height of his game. Everything 'works' in this movie! The acting as usual is fabulous. The cinematography is great. The music fits perfectly. And the story is just gripping. This is another of the many collaberations between Kurasawa and Mifune. It was Brando of all people who said of Mifune when he died, 'he was the best'. If you want to understand this level of praise, watch this movie. "One of AK's best" It is unfortunate that Luanne Brown's editorial review of The Bad Sleep Well is so negative. The beginning is no more "tedious" or "flawed" than the ending is "out of sync." In fact, both the beginning and end of the film are quite brilliant, as is the body of the film. Few, if any, directors could have told such a complex story in a such a clear and gripping way. Many people first become aware of Kurosawa through his samurai films, especially Yojimbo and Seven Samurai. If you haven't seen his contemporary films, The Bad Sleep Well is one of the best, along with Stray Dog and High and Low. "Deceit and betrayal in the world of the salaryman" "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. "Japanese artfilm-false buy??" I thought-someone told me that-Ed McBain was the writer of the short story,where the movie was based on.That's why I bought it. I did not find any confirmation or clue on this. Can anyone help me,I am intriged. Thanks. P.S.Movie is OK. if you like this japanese form of art. "Not so sweet revenge!" It amazes me how contempory Kurosawa's movies are. The plot and characters in this film are as believable today as they were forty years ago. Boy, does this film run hot and cold! One moment is chillingly serious and the next is incredibly funny. The best scene in the movie is when Mifune takes the "dead" official to his own funeral. Mifune's whistle is wonderfully diabolical! Mori cooking dinner is a riot! There is a very funny moment when Mifune plants the five million yen in the unsuspecting officials briefcase. As with most Kurosawa films this one hasn't a wasted moment. The acting is superb and the script is so well written that what could have been a very confusing story is clear as a bell. The moral of this movie.....Be careful what you ask for you might get it!