Good movie but grossly overrated

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Akira Kurosawa's lambasting of Japan's post-war corporate culture, The Bad Sleep Well, is one of many collaborations with actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura and one of several of his film's rooted in the work of William Shakespeare. It's been somewhat unfairly overshadowed by the brilliance of those other films, but given the near-perfection of those movies, many of which regularly make those awful, generic 'top 100 movies' lists created by various magazines and websites, it's hardly surprising. But The Bad Sleep Well is one of Kurosawa's most ingeniously paced, clinically filmed and potently pessimistic movies.Beginning with one of the most exceptional opening sequences in cinema, a crowd of journalists gather at the wedding reception of Nishi (Mifune) and Yoshiko (Kyoko Kagawa) attended by a host of corporate high-flyers. Yoshiko is the daughter of Corporation Vice President Iwabuchi (Masyuki Mori), whose company is facing scrutiny over suspected bid rigging and corruption. The press have gathered to witness the awkward toasts given by the various sweaty workers, delivered on a podium reminiscent of a witness stand. As the speeches are given, the wedding cake is wheeled in and revealed to be in the form of the corporate office building, with a single red rose protruding from the window in which Assistant Chief Furaya committed suicide from years earlier.As a couple of higher-ups are arrested, Nishi steps in to reveal his plan of revenge. He has donned the disguise of a eager hopeful looking to marry himself up the corporate ladder, but is actually Furaya's son and has uncovered the trail of greed and corruption that led to his forced suicide. And all roads lead to Iwabuchi. Loosely based on Hamlet, The Bad Sleep Well is less faithful to the source material than Kurosawa's other Shakespeare adaptations. Working for the first time with his own production company, Kurosawa instead took the chance to voice his disgust at Japan's post-war capitalist takeover, where underlings are expected to take their own lives to save their boss's skin and back-hand dealings are less suspected than expected.The title suggest something noir-ish, a genre Kurosawa is not unfamiliar with. But this has only brief shades of noir, and the title only serves as a warning of the grim pessimism smeared on thick throughout. At over two hours, the film is perhaps too long, becoming muddled at the points in which it should be tight and thrilling. But this is certainly a display of the director's formidable talent. The aforementioned opening wedding section is an expert mixture of comedy, tense drama and mystery, and was almost certainly paid homage to in The Godfather (1972). Mifune too, delivers a powerhouse performance as Nishi, stepping out of the shadows to become the beast he seeks to destroy. The climax may be too overtly bleak for some, but for the most part this is beautifully filmed, riveting stuff.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

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.

Watched this as part of BFI's Kurosawa Crime Collection. It states on the packaging that it's 105 mins, but ran for 145. Every film listing has it running at a different length. Amazon list it at 135m, IMDb at 151m and Radio Times on-line at 127m. Whichever way you look at it, it's a pretty long feature.There's plenty of twists and turns to fill that length and whilst one thinks one's keeping up with the plot, it twists again. I couldn't help muttering "leave it at that!" as it turns yet another corner.Toshiro Mifune, as always, gets top billing but he's not the main character. It's generally older actors, one being the chief inspector in Kurosawa's earlier Stray Dog, that play various businessmen and corporate bigwigs. The corruption and legal wranglings seemed largely feasible and often fascinating. At most times it's engaging as well as involving and thus enjoyable. It did remind of the sort of U.S dramas of the '50's, where say, Henry Fonda would have been the lead.I understand that The Bad Sleep Well flopped in its native country and whilst accomplished and well directed (& requiring 5 screenwriters), this departure from his usual fare was a mistake for Kurosawa.

Starkly melodramatic, THE BAD SLEEP WELL is a fascinating look at corruption rampant among large corporations--this time in Japan. It takes its time to get to the heart of the story--a man who seeks revenge for his father's suicidal death by assuming another identity and marrying the corrupt official's daughter solely to get inside the criminal structure and carry out his plan.Told in stark B&W in modern day Japan of the 1960s, it offers a compelling story that begins with exposition told through newsmen and photographers who have come to the wedding of TOSHIRO MIFUNE. The script is taut even though the tale takes far too long to tell. Once you start watching the story unfold, it's difficult to turn away despite the overlong running time.All the performances are excellent, if a bit over-the-top at times, and there are flaws--such as some of the important events happening off screen and recited by others in order to move the plot forward.Summing up: An intricate and intriguing study of revenge on a grand scale.