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Information

A.k.a.
The Bad Sleep Well
Year
1960
Runtime
151 min.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Genres
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rating *
8.1
Votes *
5,611
Checks
1,947
Favs
224
Dislikes
14
Favs/checks
11.5% (1:9)
Favs/dislikes
16:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. MoutardedShroom's avatar

    MoutardedShroom

    What a movie. What a fucking gorgeous movie. And what an ending! 9 years 2 months ago
  2. Siskoid's avatar

    Siskoid

    Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well is apparently lumped in with his Shakespearean adaptations Ran and Throne of Blood, but it doesn't follow Hamlet's plot so much as it remixes its elements. It echoes Hamlet, but does not retell it. It IS a revenge tragedy, starring an unrecognizable Toshiro Mifune (if he's not in samurai garb, I just don't see it) as business executive Nishi who has infiltrated a corrupt corporation to avenge his father's death, a man pushed to suicide by the board. Now he's making them pay, forcing them into disgrace and suicide themselves. Kurosawa has essentially taken "The Mouse-Trap" and made it the core of his film, with false ghosts haunting board members, and a blasted post-war Japan as a stand-in for rotten Denmark. Nishi is more a figure from Film Noir than he is Hamlet, however, having little of the Danish Prince's introspection, though he retains his doubts. Journalists as a kind of opening chorus from another era of theater, a hellish scene in the mouth of a volcano, the way the plot is slowly revealed to the audience even to the point of not showing important events against all narrative sense - I admire Kurosawa's craft and bravery a great deal. But while corporate corruption isn't a problem unique to 1960 Japan, it's also not that engaging as Kurosawa's chanbara films, and will never feel as rewatch-worthy as the director's better known classics in that genre. 8 years 6 months ago
  3. Dieguito's avatar

    Dieguito

    Very good thriller! 11 years 8 months ago
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In 3 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #360 in The Criterion Collection
    The Criterion Collection's icon

    The Criterion Collection

    360
  2. This movie ranks #411 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films: 1001-2500
    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films: 1001-2500's icon

    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    411
  3. This movie ranks #744 in TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films
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    TSPDT's 1,000 Noir Films

    744
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