The Bad Sleep Well (Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru)
February 27, 2003 (Thursday)
Note: This program was originally scheduled for February 17.
Film: The Bad Sleep Well (Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru)
Director: Akira Kurosawa (1960, b/w, 151 min.)
Altschul Auditorium (417 International Affairs Building), Columbia University (118th St. and Amsterdam Ave.)
7:45 PM
| Akira Kurosawa’s The Bad Sleep Well adopts the American gangster-film style to weave a fascinating tale of corporate greed. Toshiro Mifune stars as a young executive who marries his boss’s daughter to infiltrate “the family,” expose their corrupt business dealings, and avenge his own father’s murder. With echoes of Hamlet, the chilling film opens as the couple is wed in an elaborate, strangely ominous celebration. As Mifune falls in love with his wife, his plans for revenge fall apart. Meanwhile, another executive (Takashi Shimura) plots his downfall. The Bad Sleep Well is filled with exciting twists and turns—bribery, kidnapping, and killings—as well as Kurosawa’s sardonic humor and rich irony. |
Photo: Cowboy Pictures |
Part of “Exacting Revenge: A Series of Eight Japanese Films”
