The bad sleep well does a wonderful job of showing the festering corruption that is an inevitable consequence of the profitoriented corporate mindset that slacks off public responsibility, and the particularly japanese obsession with falling on the sword, so to speak, for ones superiors. Yojimbo, yojinbo, bodyguard is a 1961 japanese samurai film directed by akira kurosawa. Region 2 the worse you are, the better you sleep toho 2003. It was the first film made by kurosawas own production company, although it was still distributed by toho. Everything worth discussing in the bad sleep well is a potential spoiler.
Devoid of swords, japanese samurai film legend, toshiro mifune, who wears thick eyeglasses, is hardly recognizeable in his role as nishi. The smashed car at the films dramatic climax is a studebaker. Available formats bluray, dcp screenplay hideo oguni, eijiro hisaita, akira kurosawa, ryuzo kikushima, shinobu hashi. In this article, i understand the bad sleep well according to a schema of content, genre and context. Jul, 2019 the secret movie club continues their 12 months of kurosawa series with a 35mm presentation of akira kurosawas adaptation of hamlet, the bad sleep well. He was an actor, known for rashomon 1950, the bad sleep well 1960 and the idiot 1951. It has its roots in shakespeares hamlet,while also doubling as a critique of corporate corruption. The bad sleep well is a modern tale with japanese executives in western dress. If youre in the mood for a rich, deeply textured crime drama, you could certainly do a lot worse than kurosawas 1960 the bad sleep well, with its icy cool antihero, subversive revenge flick plot, and nonetoosubtle hamlet overtones. While the characterization of the press does contain slight ambiguity, kurosawa takes a much harder line with the company officials. This episode is about the japanese thriller the bad sleep well. The bad sleep well is a loose adaptation of hamletvery loose, actually, being less faithful to the source than kurosawas other shakespeare adaptations throne of blood and ran.
The traditional european bridal march plays at the wedding of keiko iwabuchi. He also sends forth socially important messages of the time when the film was shot, and he leaves the audience with much to ponder after the film has. While it may be a potent treatise on japanese corporate culture of the late 1950s, it is also universal enough to stand as a prescient commentary on current instances of white. A vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his fathers suicide. A young executive hunts down his fathers killer in director akira kurosawas scathing the bad sleep well. The two bosses each try to hire the newcomer as a bodyguard. Jan 05, 2006 a gray flannel ghost story in which the living haunt the dead, the bad sleep well 1960 remains the least appreciated of akira kurosawas midperiod collaborations with toshiro mifunea fate for which we have only the other kurosawamifune films to blame. Released january 22nd, 1962, the bad sleep well stars toshiro mifune, takeshi kato, masayuki mori, kyoko kagawa the movie has a runtime of about 2 hr 24 min, and received a score of out of 100. The bad sleep well is one of his best looking films. It tells the story of a ronin, portrayed by toshiro mifune, who arrives in a small town where competing crime lords vie for supremacy. The message that haunts us is that everything will be. Akira kurosawas 1960 black and white film, the bad sleep well warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru, is often compared to william shakespeares hamlet, but its an inapt comparison for, while shakespeares play has a higher sense of poetry, kurosawas film has far more relevance, realism, and complexity, even if, like hamlet, its a high.
Some will be classic films, others obscure and occasionally fun bad bmovies. The bad sleep well is not akira kurosawas most memorable film, yet it augments many scenes with artistic brilliance. It was entered into the 11th berlin international film festival the film stars toshiro mifune as a young man who gets a prominent position in a corrupt postwar japanese. The bad sleep well wasnt just a fun project for kurosawa. And with the bad sleep well, kurosawa continues this trend with a damning indictment of corporate malfeasance at the expense of the individual and japanese traditions. He wanted to make a movie of some social significance and decided to target the culture of corruption he saw pervading postwar japanese society. Rereading akira kurosawas the bad sleep well, a japanese film. The bad sleep well is not kurosawas most memorable film, yet it augments many scenes with artistic brilliance. The bad sleep well is a daring film revealing the existence of. The bad sleep well 1962 stream and watch online moviefone.
The bad sleep well, kurosawas 1960 film, a guide to the. It was the first film to be produced under kurosawas own independent production company. A fitting place, perhaps, for a film whose bitter intentto throw open the windows of japanese corporate corruption and air out the stenchis. Its a gripping parablerevenge story about one honorable mans toshiro mifune attempt to expose the contemporary japanese business corruption responsible for the death of his father. Akira kurosawas 1960 corporate corruption drama stars the filmmakers favorite leading man, toshiro mifune, who gets to display the full range of his acting chops as a whitecollar worker bent on revenge. Continuing his legendary collaboration with actor toshiro mifune, kurosawa combines elements of hamlet and american film noir to chilling effect. It opens on a wedding, first as a traditional japanese wedding party enters, then a flood of. Akira kurosawa shows his skilled ability to frame a scene into perfection in the film. Its a film noir, and kurosawa makes no attempt to hide his influences. The bad sleep well is a daring film revealing the existence of corruption and scandal within any high financing enterprise in any society. The bad sleep well is an americanstyle movie criticizing the corruption that came along with postwar americanization of industry. Based on the success of yojimbo, kurosawas next film, sanjuro 1962, was altered to incorporate.
The bad sleep well toshiro mifune takeshi kato masayuki mori 1962 japanese police and a tycoons masayuki mori soninlaw toshiro mifune discover deadly corporate corruption. The bad sleep well contains one audio track, which is a 1. A tale about corruption in the corporate world as seen through the eyes of a rising executive. The bad sleep well, warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru is a 1960 japanese movie directed by akira kurosawa. The bad sleep well a young executive hunts down his fathers killer in director akira kurosawas scathing the bad sleep well. New, restored highdefinition digital transfer a 33minute documentary on the making of the bad sleep well original theatrical trailer new and improved english subtitle translation new essays by film critic chuck stephens and director michael almereyda. The bad sleep well, the first film made by kurosawas own, newly founded production company, was also the first over which he had complete control. Akira kurosawa directed the bad sleep well, a modernday crime drama starring toshiro mifune, in 1960. It was the first film to be produced under kurosawas own independent production.
The visual sensibility matches kurosawas later film high and low, being clinical and calculated, like a. The bad sleep well also plays strongly with the notion of guilt, as the title so eloquently and ironically points out. Continuing his legendary collaboration with actor toshiro mifune, kurosawa combines elements of hamlet and american film noir to chilling effect in exposing the corrupt boardrooms of. The japanese opening credits with white symbols on black background together with the opening score set a dark and frustrating tone to the film. Aki kaurismakiprovided a more provocative influence with his hamlet goes business 1987, a caustic farce concerning the hostile takeover of a rubberduck factory in modernday finland, but as the merest tribute to kurosawa, i wanted to include a clip from the bad sleep well 1960, the japanese masters littleknown modern. The bad sleep well dvd akira kurosawa japanese film. The bad sleep well 1960 directed by akira kurosawa. In 19thcentury japan, a roughtempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
Continuing his legendary collaboration with actor toshiro mifune, kurosawa combines elements of hamlet and american film noir to chilling effect in exposing the corrupt boardrooms of postwar corporate japan. The bad sleep well japanese, 1960 loosely based on shakespeares hamlet, this movie revolves around vengeance and corruption tset in modernday japan. Also, if you want it on dvd, the bad sleep well criterion collection is excellent, notably including fluent accurate english subtitles, and using the original japanese names of the characters. The secret movie club continues their 12 months of kurosawa series with a 35mm presentation of akira kurosawas adaptation of hamlet, the bad sleep well. With toshiro mifune, masayuki mori, kyoko kagawa, tatsuya mihashi. Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru, the bad sleep well, akira kurosawa, trailer, japanese, japan, cinema, promotional, aaaaaac a promotional trailer for the film warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru the bad sleep well by akira kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under kurosawas own independent production comp. New, restored highdefinition digital transfer a 33minute documentary on the making of the bad sleep well. The visual sensibility matches kurosawas later film high and low, being clinical and calculated, like a crime scene investigation. The bad sleep well is a 1960 japanese movie directed by akira kurosawa.
The warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru the bad sleep well 1962. It was entered into the 11th berlin international film festival. The warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru the bad sleep well. How kurosawas the bad sleep well helped me to finally. Waru yatsu hodo yoku nemuru 1960japanese variation of the 1940 warner bros. Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru the bad sleep well trailer. This film is a great drama, even if, ultimately and in the real world, the bad really do sleep well. And with its deviously critical eye toward corporate culture, its just as relevant today as ever before.
The movie itself, loosely based on hamlet, deals with a young man nishi who marries the daughter of the corporate executive iwabuchi who was. Kurosawa 19101998 and mifune 19201997 collaborated on 16 features, most notably drunken angel 1948, rashomon 1950, seven samurai. By then he had already made some of his most celebrated films, including the samurai pictures rashomon 1950, seven samurai 1954, and throne of blood 1957. Toshiro mifune and ko nishimura in the bad sleep well 1960 the bad sleep well. His camera is calm and steady, as this is a film often of long takes. The bad sleep well 1960 if youre in the mood for a rich, deeply textured crime drama, you could certainly do a lot worse than kurosawas 1960 the bad sleep well, with its icy cool antihero, subversive revenge flick plot, and nonetoosubtle hamlet overtones. The overall quality is good, with the dialogue all being crystal clear and there being no noticeable distortions. Meanwhile, love shows that it also does not take any prisoners, as nishi truly falls in love with keiko.
Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru, behemot, the rose in the mud. The bad sleep well warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru trigon. Masayuki mori was born on january, 1911 in sapporo, hokkaido, japan as yukimitsu arishima. Kurosawa shows his skilled ability to frame a scene into perfection in the film. His movies of the 1940s and 1950s all relied on outside financing, however, and as the debut project of his own company, kurosawa. If you havent seen the movie, i recommend you skip down to the next horizontal line divider before reading further.
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