Kurosawa rather loaded the film on the side of social significance, while neglecting to capitalise on the noir aspects that underlie it. Even so, his use of the 'scope screen is masterly.
Comment
01/26/06
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
100
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:14
Fresh:14
Rotten:0
Average Rating:7.8/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 32 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Synopsis: Something is rotten in Japan in this engaging drama by acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa. Toshirô Mifune stars as Koichi Nishi, the secretary to the president of a housing corporation, who seeks... [More]
Reviews for The Bad Sleep Well
1 - 14 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Top CriticIt's still as visually striking as anything you will see by this director.
06/22/04
Top Critict is almost an anti-thriller, but viewers who are willing to steep themselves in the intricacies of Japanese ceremonies and the banal details of evil will find the experience highly rewarding.
06/19/08
Opening with a bravura wedding sequence and ending with a sycophantic bow to a replaced telephone receiver, the film has its longueurs, but Mifune's buttoned-down avenger is a compelling portrait of righteous obsession foundering on unpredictable reality.
06/19/08
One of Kurosawa's finest achievements.
06/19/08
There just seemed to be a missing ingredient to raise this intense psychological drama to the level of a Rashomon.
07/24/06
Despite having been made more than 45 years ago and in a postwar Japanese setting, in the age of Enron, it may be more relevant than ever.
03/18/06
A freestyle homage to Hamlet that does away with the costumed faithfulness of Kurosawa's other Shakespeare adaptations.
01/09/06
A startlingly relevant 'social problem film' (shakai-mono)--of its time and our own--and an existential melodrama by way of Hamlet.
12/29/05
No review available.
07/07/05
This is a powerful and interesting picture that Kurosawa has made -- a bit tedious and mawkish in the last reels, but exciting enough along the way to satisfy audiences that know the subject.
05/10/05
Top CriticNo review available.
08/22/03
No review available.
07/30/02
A well-done thriller with Kurosawa's usual social overtones.
01/01/00
1 - 14 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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