Reviews (6)

¿None but the Brave¿ is an ANTI-WAR movie ¿ not a war movie!
>> 'None but the Brave' is an ANTI-WAR movie - not a war movie! This film was the Vietnam-era equivalent of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' - and an excellent anti-war movie at that. Yet so far, every review completely misses the deliberate, deeper meaning of this outstanding film. Additionally, everyone completely misses the context of the times that this movie was made under. Frank Sinatra - a well-known, active supporter of JFK, directed this movie - and as such this film speaks volumes for Sinatra's often misunderstood and wrongly maligned character - a character of true personal courage. This movie was released in 1965, after the death of JFK (who wanted to curtail US involvement in Vietnam in late 1963)...and it was released during the presidency of LBJ (who escalated the Vietnam War with pitiful, dishonorable results for the US).

>>In a W.W.II setting, small bands of both American and Japanese military forces are stranded on a small, insignificant Pacific island. The leaders of both deadly enemies quickly realize that the only way to survival is for both groups to cooperate, collaborate, care for each other - and renounce war at their level. When taken in total context, this film examines the inherent tragedy and the uncertainty of war for every soldier; as well as the unknown fortunes and misfortunes of war for every soldier. This film also probes the sad and useless mindsets that soldiers are forced go to war with - vs.- the reality of and the capacity for humanity within every soldier at war. The film drives home the undeniable point that the humanity of soldiers in war is a direct product of sage Leadership - no less than any inhumanity of in war is a direct product of despicable directives that fosters the fears and prejudices of every soldier in combat. True military leadership never wants war - true military leadership only desires to survive war as a surviving victor.

>> Just like its predecessor, 'All Quiet on the Western Front', this low budget production has the obvious faults of obvious acting, an obvious script, an obvious plot, and obvious special effects - none of which rate very high by technical filmmaking standards of yesterday or today. However, despite all of its technical shortcomings, this film portrays an anti-war philosophy in a highly intelligent manner. For just like its predecessor, 'None but the Brave' has a powerful, timeless message about innate humanity - vs.- the inherent, tragic, deeper meaning of war.

>>Ultimately, this film espouses the poignant anti-war message that there are no real winners in any war. War always produces a tragic, lose-lose outcome camouflaged by a motley combination of victorious survivors versus vanquished refugees.

Frank Sinatra's None But The Brave
Again Frank Sinatra gives another fine performance (he has always been underrated as an actor in my opinion) and he even directed this film! This is an interesting W.W.II film set on an island in the Pacific where small bands of both American and Japanese forces are stranded. This film examines the human sacrifices made in war and questions if there is justification for those sacrifices examined through the camaraderie and reminisces of fellow combatants on both sides. Sinatra, as director, gives Clint Walker a chance to demonstrate his acting abilities in a fine dramatic performance. The stalwart cast also includes Tatsuya Mihashi, Tommy Sands, Tony Bill, Brad Dexter,Takeshi Kato and Sammy Jackson. Listen for an early score composed by John (Johnny) Williams. I always liked this one.

None But The Brave
Again Frank Sinatra gives another fine performance (he has always been underrated as an actor in my opinion) and he even directed this film! This is an interesting W.W.II film set on an island in the Pacific where small bands of both American and Japanese forces are stranded. This film examines the human sacrifices made in war and questions if there is justification for those sacrifices examined through the camaraderie and reminisces of fellow combatants on both sides. I always liked this one. Listen for an early score composed by John (Johnny) Williams.

Well worth it
Frankie works his magic once again in his rendition of a WWII story, None But the Brave. He made, however, not a 'bang it up, shoot it up, run run run' movie, but one that leaves the viewer pondering the meaning of war. Is it really worth it? The final message of the movie is spelled out in the end for those viewers who weren't willing to seek the deeper meaning for themselves. "Nobody ever wins". Nice going, Frankie, this one deserves more recognition than it's getting.

No One Ever Wins
Interesting view of soldiers on both sides of the war, brought together on a remote Pacific island, to live out a truce while awaiting rescue. Clint Walker gives another manly performance...what else could he do? ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

As critic Roger Ebert observed in his original review of Ran, this epic tragedy might have been attempted by a younger director, but only the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa, who made the film at age 75, could bring the requisite experience and maturity to this stunning interpretation of Shakespeare's King Lear. It's a film for the ages--one of the few genuine screen masterpieces--and arguably serves as an artistic summation of the great director's career. In this version of the Shakespeare tragedy, the king is a 16th-century warlord (Tatsuya Nakadai as Lord Hidetora) who decides to retire and divide his kingdom evenly among his three sons. When one son defiantly objects out of loyalty to his father and warns of inevitable sibling rivalry, he is banished and the kingdom is awarded to his compliant siblings. The loyal son's fears are valid: a duplicitous power struggle ensues and the aging warlord witnesses a maelstrom of horrifying death and destruction. Although the film is slow to establish its story, it's clear that Kurosawa, who planned and painstakingly designed the production for 10 years before filming began, was charting a meticulous and tightly formalized dramatic strategy. As familial tensions rise and betrayal sends Lord Hidetora into the throes of escalating madness, Ran (the title is the Japanese character for "chaos" or "rebellion") reaches a fever pitch through epic battles and a fortress assault that is simply one of the most amazing sequences on film. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (135)

A rich experience worth viewing over and over again
This is a magnificent movie. It is visually beautiful - the colors and the way the shots are framed are stunning. The visuals are controlled in ways that add to the poetic power of the story. I do not speak Japanese, but the sound of the language combined with the musical score also adds to the intensity of this movie. The subtitles are good, but I am sure that those who understand Japanese get even more from this story.

This is not a film of Shakespeare's "King Lear". Rather, it is an adaptation and is based on the underlying themes of the play. It is not important for me to list the differences between the play and the movie, it is just important that a first time viewer not expect the Shakespearian story. If you know the play you will recognize aspects of the movie and enjoy the ways in which Kurosawa adapted the story to his own and Japanese sensibilities. It may nod to Shakespeare, but Kurosawa makes this his story.

The costumes, music, and acting are superlative. For me, the trademark Kurosawa battle scenes are more wonderful here than usual. This is a masterpiece by a filmmaking virtuoso who is also a sensitive enough artist to make a spectacular movie that is also poetic, humorous and heart breaking, tender and brutal as well images that are beautiful and others that are hideous.

This isn't light viewing or mind candy, but it has so much to offer that it is worth watching and learning from over and over again.

The Greatest Adaptation of Shakespeare to Film
"Ran" (Chaos) is the greatest cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare and a masterpiece in its own right. In adapting the broad scenario of "King Lear" to a setting in Sixteenth Century Japan, Akira Kurosawa felt free to manipulate it to his own purposes, leading to a film that is perhaps even more bleak than the play.

First and foremost "Ran" is a visually stunning film, unencumbered by the received tradition of Shakespearean language, which never translates well onto the cinema screen, he has allowed the scenario to develop into images that are beautiful and horrific. Filmed on the slopes of Mount Fuji there is a sense of unreality, or nightmare about the whole epic, as though it is taking place in a mythic space, at once recognisable and alien. For a director best known for his black and white movies ("Seven Samurai", "Rashomon"), Kurosawa surprisingly uses color to breathtaking virtuoso effect. The scenes of soldiers flooding in waves across the volcanic wasteland of Mount Fuji carrying vivid blue, red or yellow flags are amongst the most extraordinary ever filmed. The battle scenes shock and astonish, not least because Kurosawa's use of sound is so exquisite and original; many of the most horrendous images of battle are shown without sound effects with only an elegiac musical accompaniment. Far from sanitising them, the effect is to shock you out of the viewing habits formed watching so many other "war" movies.

Yet "Ran" is so much more than a broad epic, or war movie. The more intimate scenes are carried off with understated conviction, the sly hypocrisy hidden behind formality and convention is conveyed in highly poised and stylised interior shots. This film can be both visceral (prepare yourself for the beheading of Lady Kaede: as visually explosive as anything by Tarantino, and set within a film that is more than mere surface) and restrained, depending on the nature of the scene. There are moments of quiet and tenderness that resonate long after the film had ended.

It is odd that so few successful films have been made from Shakespeare. The pre-eminent playwright of the western canon has translated beautifully into opera and stage directors can continually find fresh things to say about the plays themselves, yet in general film had been hopelessly incapable of doing anything of note with Shakespeare. Think of the ghastly declamatory rhetoric of Laurence Olivier in "Henry V", or the inane pop video that Baz Lurmann made from "Romeo and Juliet", not to mention Kenneth Brannagh's tediously self-important "Hamlet". Somehow Kurosawa succeeds where all these others fail. His earlier "Throne of Blood" was a beautifully realised adaptation of "Macbeth" to the Samurai period in Japan: "Ran" builds on that achievement and surpasses it. Perhaps the fact that Kurosawa was Japanese allowed him more creative license to work with Shakespeare, able to approach it simply as valid material for film making, and not as the shibboleth that it is to western artists.

In Ran we have the late masterpiece of one of the greatest and most important film makers. It is a distilled and precise work, powerful, visceral, contemplative, epic and intimate. In short this is film making on a par with the greatest art. Ran shows us what mainstream film making can achieve, but so rarely does.

WHO WILL ENJOY THIS SENSATIONAL MASTERPIECE:
People who care about grandiloquent visuals yet a controlled palette accentuated by the immemorable use of sound -- or, in one major battle scene, the absence of the sounds of the battle, the horrors of war somehow magnified by the silent screams and the unheard bullets, only the quietly mournful dissonance of the haunting background score to be heard.

Castle gates close with resounding, hollow booms, shutting people out, shutting people in. A crescendo of cicadas. And the final anguished shriek of a flute lending a much more effective voice to the great tragedy that has been played out than closing words might have done.

If you're expecting flaming Gladiator-type fight scenes or Samurai action, you may be disappointed. That said, the battle scenes are magnum opus if you know how to appreciate visual splendor. The screenplay may be relaxed overall, sure, it takes a while to unfold a tale of filial destruction ("King Lear" adaptation) but when the forts crumble and arrows fly asunder, the pace of the film is unbridled.

Whether you're a film philistine or a major Kurosawa buff or simply someone who relishes tastefully done cinema, this is absolutely worth the ride. I highly recommend this as a rental, but the discerning types may also want to add it to their collections. It's among Kurosawa's best.

Not as good as all you people are making it out to be
This movie is terrible. I bought it expecting a good action epic with lots of battles and sword fights. There are no battles there are 2 massacres where all that happens is "samurai" with guns? shoot each other and women. samurai dont have guns. The story was good but they ruined it with 2 hours and 30 mins of talking on and on about the same topic over and over, yak yak yak. There is no drama the characters dont develope except for the old guy who just walks around starring and goes crazy. The perfomances are the same in everyone, yelling even when there happy, and they all sound the same even the women. No action, no drama, nothing except talk and fake blood from the stupid shooting, not swords, guns, What? Very bad movie, I was dissapointed, greatly. I would give 0 stars but they dont let me.

William Akira Shakespeare Kurosawa
This film is undeniable the most notable adaptation of any work of William Shakespeare to the movie. The insights in every detail, the superb cast, the overwheelming photography, the camera's handle makes us inevitably to remind that happy sentence of Orson Welles who said once:
"One film is really extraordinary , when the camera is an eye in the mind of a poet".
Casually this film is made in 1985, the same year of Welles'death.
Kurosawa was a truly master. Once upon a time a critical compared to Kenji Mizoguchi with Bach. If this methaphor is assumed valid, then Kurosawa would have his musical image in Ludwig van Beethoven.
The amazing scene of the castle in flames, with a remarkable red that invites us to reflect about the human condition, his hunger for power, the horror generated by that unthirsty ambition. The multiple readings that concern with the violence and the passion carrying the devasting facts that appear all along this film.
The opening sequences in which the three brothers are together with their father is filmed with such kind of perfection that I wouldn't wonder to know that this an obligated reference for all those students of direction. In this sense, this multiple exchange of points of view reveal us without affections of any kind,the essencial nature of the human being inmersed in the purest spirit shakesperian.
Kurosawa, like the great giants of th cinema handles the camera like Gods, includes the color and the nature's elements like adittional actors (Dreams). Just remember that Akira was the first filma maker who dared film against the sun in that glorius film Rashoman from 1950. His achievements all along his brilliant career are too many and certainly, would be beyond the reach of this shorts analysis.
This is one of these gems that you must see over and over, just when you admire this eternal masterpiece.
To be true the others Shakespeare's versions that deseve to be carried to the desert island would be in my opinion Titus 2000 (Julie Taymor), Othelo 1953 (Welles) , Richard III 1955 (Olivier), and Throne of blood 1957(Kurosawa).
But this movie is just several steps ahead all the titles above mentioned. ... Read more

Description

American and Japanese soldiers, stranded on a tiny Pacific island during World War II, must make a temporary truce and cooperate to survive various tribulations. Told through the eyes of the American and Japanese unit commanders, who must deal with an atmosphere of growing distrust and tension between their men. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

¿None but the Brave¿ is an ANTI-WAR movie ¿ not a war movie!
>> 'None but the Brave' is an ANTI-WAR movie - not a war movie! This film was the Vietnam-era equivalent of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' - and an excellent anti-war movie at that. Yet so far, every review completely misses the deliberate, deeper meaning of this outstanding film. Additionally, everyone completely misses the context of the times that this movie was made under. Frank Sinatra - a well-known, active supporter of JFK, directed this movie - and as such this film speaks volumes for Sinatra's often misunderstood and wrongly maligned character - a character of true personal courage. This movie was released in 1965, after the death of JFK (who wanted to curtail US involvement in Vietnam in late 1963)...and it was released during the presidency of LBJ (who escalated the Vietnam War with pitiful, dishonorable results for the US).

>>In a W.W.II setting, small bands of both American and Japanese military forces are stranded on a small, insignificant Pacific island. The leaders of both deadly enemies quickly realize that the only way to survival is for both groups to cooperate, collaborate, care for each other - and renounce war at their level. When taken in total context, this film examines the inherent tragedy and the uncertainty of war for every soldier; as well as the unknown fortunes and misfortunes of war for every soldier. This film also probes the sad and useless mindsets that soldiers are forced go to war with - vs.- the reality of and the capacity for humanity within every soldier at war. The film drives home the undeniable point that the humanity of soldiers in war is a direct product of sage Leadership - no less than any inhumanity of in war is a direct product of despicable directives that fosters the fears and prejudices of every soldier in combat. True military leadership never wants war - true military leadership only desires to survive war as a surviving victor.

>> Just like its predecessor, 'All Quiet on the Western Front', this low budget production has the obvious faults of obvious acting, an obvious script, an obvious plot, and obvious special effects - none of which rate very high by technical filmmaking standards of yesterday or today. However, despite all of its technical shortcomings, this film portrays an anti-war philosophy in a highly intelligent manner. For just like its predecessor, 'None but the Brave' has a powerful, timeless message about innate humanity - vs.- the inherent, tragic, deeper meaning of war.

>>Ultimately, this film espouses the poignant anti-war message that there are no real winners in any war. War always produces a tragic, lose-lose outcome camouflaged by a motley combination of victorious survivors versus vanquished refugees.

Frank Sinatra's None But The Brave
Again Frank Sinatra gives another fine performance (he has always been underrated as an actor in my opinion) and he even directed this film! This is an interesting W.W.II film set on an island in the Pacific where small bands of both American and Japanese forces are stranded. This film examines the human sacrifices made in war and questions if there is justification for those sacrifices examined through the camaraderie and reminisces of fellow combatants on both sides. Sinatra, as director, gives Clint Walker a chance to demonstrate his acting abilities in a fine dramatic performance. The stalwart cast also includes Tatsuya Mihashi, Tommy Sands, Tony Bill, Brad Dexter,Takeshi Kato and Sammy Jackson. Listen for an early score composed by John (Johnny) Williams. I always liked this one.

None But The Brave
Again Frank Sinatra gives another fine performance (he has always been underrated as an actor in my opinion) and he even directed this film! This is an interesting W.W.II film set on an island in the Pacific where small bands of both American and Japanese forces are stranded. This film examines the human sacrifices made in war and questions if there is justification for those sacrifices examined through the camaraderie and reminisces of fellow combatants on both sides. I always liked this one. Listen for an early score composed by John (Johnny) Williams.

Well worth it
Frankie works his magic once again in his rendition of a WWII story, None But the Brave. He made, however, not a 'bang it up, shoot it up, run run run' movie, but one that leaves the viewer pondering the meaning of war. Is it really worth it? The final message of the movie is spelled out in the end for those viewers who weren't willing to seek the deeper meaning for themselves. "Nobody ever wins". Nice going, Frankie, this one deserves more recognition than it's getting.

No One Ever Wins
Interesting view of soldiers on both sides of the war, brought together on a remote Pacific island, to live out a truce while awaiting rescue. Clint Walker gives another manly performance...what else could he do? ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This semi-comic 1961 film by legendary director Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon, Ran) was inspired by the American Western genre. Kurosawa mainstay Toshirô Mifune (The Seven Samurai) plays a drifting samurai for hire who plays both ends against the middle with two warring factions, surviving on his wits and his ability to outrun his own bad luck. Eventually the samurai seeks to eliminate both sides for his own gain and to define his own sense of honor. Yojimbo is striking for its unorthodox treatment of violence and morality, reserving judgment on the actions of its main character and instead presenting an entertaining tale with humor and much visual excitement. One of the inspirations for the "spaghetti Westerns" of director Sergio Leone and later surfacing as a remake as Last Man Standing with Bruce Willis, this film offers insight into a director who influenced American films even as he was influenced by them. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (90)

Immaculate, Quiet Comedy.
Although it's not a popular opinion I actually prefer Yojimbo to Kurosawa's epic Seven Samurai. It is funnier, it is smaller scale, and the music is some of the best you will hear - one part John Barry James Bond, to one part Japanese. The plot is so good, they remade it twice. Once as Fistful of Dollars, and once as Last Man Standing, but neither of those later films capture the story as well as Kurosawa.

With gentle humour and a gradual building of tension, Kurosawa really gets you into the movie. Mifune (a regular in Kurosawa films) is wonderful, very understated, very comical and quietly moving.

Although not as widely known as Seven Samurai, or Rashomon, this represents some of Kurosawa's greatest work. The attention to detail is incredible.

It is entirely accessible to Western audiences. Kurosawa's films travel extremely well. The picture on the DVD could be better, but that's a minor quibble. This film is immaculate. You need this.

Stunning
Oh, in the first 3 minutes I knew this was going to be great. From the gloomy intro with the wonderful music playing, to the suspenseful finale, this film never lets up. Masterful directing and a clever plot is what this piece of cinema offers you. This type of film is known as a Jidaigeki western. Oh, and the swordfights don't happen until the last 45 minutes of the movie, just so you know. I recommend watching this before watching Seven Samurai. This film is known as "The Bodyguard" in Japan.

The movie Fistful of Dollars was a good remake of this film, so you might want to check that out after you've watched Yojimbo. But be warned - Last Man Standing was a very bad remake of Yojimbo so stay away from it. Unosuke has got to be one of the coolest villains ever. This was much better than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai's performances are unforgettable. And in case you're wondering, Ryo means "Gold coin" in Japanese. And so, with a mix of action, suspense and dark comedy, Yojimbo is hands down, the best film of the '60's.

save for a few scratches in the print, this is a great DVD
I myself am one with those who wonder how on earth this Criterion version of Yojimbo ended up having that huge, ugly scratch mark on the print. It just stops me from giving it a full 5-star mark.

But that aside, this DVD is still a great DVD. It's actually my favorite among the Kurosawa-Mifune movies, simply because it is so much fun. the Mifune swagger, perfectly timed with the catchy beat of the soundtrack, is unforgettable. his huge confidence, his arms still drawn in, his shirt sleeves hanging limp and empty while his enemies menacingly surround him, is almost too funny. The lines I like the most come from the "coffins" chapter, where Mifune tells the wannabes "you have such cute faces", then proceeds to tear through them with ease, then with typical panache, tells the cooper (coffin maker) to make two coffins, no, make that three. I don't think I have seen any Hollywood actor, except perhaps the young Paul Newman, act so cool under stress. Even Clint Eastwood's turn in "A Fistful of Dollars" pales in comparison.

Then of course, the twists and turns as he manipulates both gangs. Even the way he mocks the boss' wife by calling himself a "nobody", taking the name of some vegetable he saw in the garden through the window.

Then his low moments. The way he recovers his strength, the way he prepares to neutralize the enemy's pistol by mastering knife-throwing. You'd think he doesn't stand a chance, until it happens. Those harrowing death scenes. And finally, the sight of Yojimbo leaving town, arms drawn in, sleeves empty and limp on his sides, swaggering to the beat of the soundtrack as the movie ends.

It's worth it. And you can always trade-in that crappy "Last Man Standing" to pay off some of the cost of "Yojimbo". It's a trade I would make anytime.

Criterion does it again!
This edition of Yojimbo is the best out there. Just as they do with all digital transfers, Criterion takes only the best transfers from the original films and polishes them to make them look much much better. For a single layered DVD, though, this disc should've been a little cheaper. Great disk!

Do You Feel Lucky Kurosawa?
Toshiro Mifune's silk clothes must stink, but don't mess with this guy. He's a killer with a bad hair-do. I loved the hired killers of the village with their brag and weird swordplay stances. There's a 19th Century Japan feel to a village that might as well have been Dodge City in the American West. Kurosawa is a funny guy. How he adapted Dashel Hammet's California gangster story of waring gangs is Asian alchemy. ... Read more

Description

Akira Kurosawa's (Rashomon, Stray Dog) exquisitely crafted adaptation of an Ed McBain mystery is one of the greatest suspense films ever made.Featuring two of Japan's greatest stars, Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai) and Tatsuya Nakada ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Decisions, decisions.
Does a wealthy Japanese industrialist care enough about his chauffer's son to pay the kidnapper's ransom? Could he live with himself if he didn't? I found this to be a rather interesting film. I first saw it in a philosophy class I was taking at my local community college a couple of years ago. It captured my interest. Toshiro Mifune hardly smiles throughout the whole film but can you blame him? If he pays, he's out of a large sum of cash. If he doesn't pay, the kidnappers will kill the boy hostage and Mifune will be the scourge of society. Everyone will detest him for his selfish act. And what would his son think? It's been awhile since I saw the movie but if my memory serves me correctly, were not Mifune's boy and the chauffer's son friends? That's another dilemma. It was a nice experience seeing something like this come out of Japan. It's clear that the Japanese film industry is more than competent enough to go beyond Godzilla movies and anime. Akira Kurosawa has proven that for years.

GRAND-DADDY OF THE COP MOVIE GENRE
And I thought Kurosawa was big on Samurai movies. This is a stunning cop thriller grounded in real-life Japan of the 60s.

Toshiro Mifune is an honest and hugely successful businessman who loves his job as a shoe factory exec and is in a battle for corporate control against a pack of hyenas. He has mortgaged and borrowed and scraped to raise the money for a surprise coup to takeover the firm. Until his son is kidnapped.

But then there is a major plot twist: it is not his own son who was taken but his son's friend, the chauffeur's kid, and the ransom demanded is atrocious. If he forks the dough, he stands to lose everything he has worked so hard for, but can he simply sacrifice the chauffeur's child because it is not his? From here on High and Low (perhaps better translated as Heaven and Hell) is a riveting "police procedural."

Watching Kurosawa's maestro camerawork is a rare, almost unique experience, he is a man in complete control of his visuals and his subject matter. The DVD is letterboxed and the print B&W. This not only lends beautifully to a cinematically compelling human drama, but it also draws you into the theme emotionally.

A superb film, captivating from start to finish. Highly recommended!

This Is An Extraordinarily Good Film
Watched this a few days ago for about the fifth time and have been thinking about it ever since. I think it probably is my favorite Kurosawa film.

Toshiro Mifune plays a top executive in a shoe company who is secretly planning to take over the company. He wants to keep making quality shoes and gradually expand the market. The other executives want to make cheaper shoes and take advantage of the company's reputation. Mifune has raised every yen he can, including using his house, for the buyout, but his son is kidnapped. For the ransome he'll need all the money he's raised. He's prepared to do this for the sake of his son.

Then he finds out that the kidnappers made a mistake. They kidnapped his driver's son, who is the same age as his own. What a terrible moral dilemma. Would you or I give up every dime we had to save a neighbor's or an employee's son? Mifune does, and this act has a great effect on the police and the public.

The first half of the movie takes place in his house on a hill while all this unfolds. The second half is the chase to find the boy before he's killed and to capture the kidnapper. We move from the intensity of the dilemma unfolding in Mifune's home to the gritty business of the search which takes us into some of the lowest parts of the Japanese underworld.

Mifune is powerful in the role of the father, at first torn by the decision he has to make, then commited to finding his driver's son. Tatsuya Nakadai plays the detective, handsome, smooth, professional, and ultimately deeply touched by Mifune's integrity. Years later Nakadai played the leads in Kurosawa's Kagemusha and Ran. And it was good to see Mifune out of samurai costume.

High and Low is the work of a master. The DVD has the quality and extras one has come to expect from Criterion

Delivers the excellence we expect from Kurasawa
Those from high and low positions in modern industrial Japanese society clash in this drama. While I don't easily commit to watch a long subtitled movie, this one kept my eyes glued to the screen through an effective suspense that grabs early and never lets go. The main story line comprises related subplots that are realistic and gripping without overwhelming. The acting is consistently excellent in portraying a full gamut of human emotions and difficult situations. Select this when you're ready for real entertainment from masters of their craft.

a great movie and one of Kurosawa's best.
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD version of the film.

This film is well written and based on the Novel "King's Ransom" by Ed McBain. Having not read the novel, I cannot determine how faithful the film is to the book.

In the film a wealthy man's son is the target of a kidnapping and ransom. The ransom is ¥30 million (Yen) which in those days was a lot of money, but today is little over a quarter million US dollars.

The movie itself has some cinematography that has been imitated or is an imitation of. Most of the first 30 minutes of the film take place exclusively in a single house, similar to the film "12 angry men" and it having taken place almost exclusively inside a jury room.

The film is in black and white with a single scene in where part of the film is hand colored. I would go into further details, but it might be considered a spoiler. This scene immediately reminded me of the scenes in Schindler's list involving the girl in the red coat.

The film has some well photographed scenes and is impressive.

The Criterion DVD has no special features which is a bit dissappointing. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

The Bad Sleep Well tells the story of corruption at the highest levels of Japanese business and its tragic consequences. Though flawedby a tedious introductory sequence and by an ending that seems out of sync with the story, it is a fascinating movie and the middle part is especially exciting.

Japanese legend Toshiro Mifune plays Koichi Nishi, the seemingly stoic bridegroom who is trying to get ahead by marrying the boss's daughter, Kieko(Kyoko Kagawa), who was crippled as a girl. The bride's brother, in a shocking display, exposes the groom's motives during his wedding toast and threatens his new brother-in-law with death if he disappoints his sister. But Nishi is not who we think. He was born the illegitimate son of the man who Kieko's father, Iwabuchi (Maysayuki Mori), manipulated into suicide. Now Nishi wants revenge for his father's death. As Nishi slowly destroys Iwabuchi's life, he makes the fatal error of falling in love with his wife, who already loves him. Their unconsummated marriage stands between these two like a palpable pillar of stone. But just when we think the stone has been tossed aside by love, Iwabuchi finds out who his son-in-law really is.

Shot in black and white, this film falls just short of being brilliant. Mifune is amazing in his portrayal of this complex man who lets his father's past destroy his own future, and Maysayuki Mori's performance as the evil Iwabuchi is understated but nonetheless chilling. --Luanne Brown ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Rare combination of style and substance
The Bad Sleeps Well is near-perfection: from the showy introduction of the wedding banquet to the riveting conclusion of BAD-man Iwabuchi's (Mori in an almost unrecognisable role) phonecall. The impression here is corruption knows no end --- whichever way you go on the hierarchy of the power structure.

Most of the "Kurosawa familiy" of actors are here, but Akira Nishimura as Shirai brings a touch of humor (perhaps a perverse kind on the viewer's part) to his torture sequence. Takeshi Kato also gets to express himself more than his role in High and Low allows. Much of the film has a "Western" overtone - down to rich playboy Tatsuo's game of hunting, and the interior of the ruined factory that's reminiscent of dungeons in WWII films...oh boy. You won't forget Nishii's (Mifune in restrained mode) whistling - masterfully used here for characterization and musical counterpoint.

"He's no man! He's an official!"

One of AK's best
It is unfortunate that Luanne Brown's editorial review of The Bad Sleep Well is so negative. The beginning is no more "tedious" or "flawed" than the ending is "out of sync." In fact, both the beginning and end of the film are quite brilliant, as is the body of the film. Few, if any, directors could have told such a complex story in a such a clear and gripping way.

Many people first become aware of Kurosawa through his samurai films, especially Yojimbo and Seven Samurai. If you haven't seen his contemporary films, The Bad Sleep Well is one of the best, along with Stray Dog and High and Low.

More than noir, and actually quite different from Hamlet
This film is really unique (even for Kurosawa) in that it captures all of the mystery, suspense, and angst of a noir, while maintaining the very same majestic gravitas as *Seven Samurai*, *Throne of Blood*, *Ran* or any of Kurosawa's great medieval epics.

Indeed much of Kurosawa's best work carries a highly distinctive and supremely confident muscular swagger which can be found here in the stirring (and rather addictive) musical motif, the altogether patient and very deliberate pacing, and the seemingly effortless transitions he makes between the tragic and the comic.

*The Bad Sleep Well* often gets described as a variation on *Hamlet*. The key word here is "variation" (rather than "version" or "adaptation"), for while Kurosawa might have begun with Shakespeare, the final products really don't turn out to be in any sense all that similar. There is no Gertrude, no Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, let alone any gravediggers (just to name a few), and there is very little structural resemblance between the stories (inasmuch as *Hamlet* can be said to have any sort of structure). For example, the finale doesn't conclude with virtually *everybody* getting killed--after all, in Kurosawa's framework the bad sleep well (and consequently live happily ever after). Also, Nishi's character is much less ambiguous than Hamlet's; while he may at certain junctures fail to take his plan for revenge the entire way, he doesn't come close to sharing the overall indecision and confusion of Hamlet. But these sorts of differences actually make the complex interrelationship between the two works all the more intriguing and thought-provoking.

The film's story might eventually become "clear as a bell," but it certainly does not start out that way. Don't get discouraged if during the first twenty minutes (or even half hour) you're having trouble figuring out what's going on, or who's who, esp. during the opening wedding sequence. But I think such initial confusion might be intended, because it really does set your mind aworking to help put the pieces of the puzzle together and to understand the various characters' motivations. (It should be noted, by the way, that the selfless and straightforward acting in Kurosawa's films is amongst the best you will ever see.)

I wouldn't recommend this as someone's first or (God forbid!) only Kurosawa. But if you've been struck by something you've seen of his already, then you most certainly will not want to miss *The Bad Sleep Well*.

Based on Hamlet
Most people who watch Akira Kurosawa's films don't seem to read much Shakespere. Of course, I may be wrong. However, it hardly seems so because only one of the reviews bothers to mention that this particular film is based upon Hamlet, a work by Shakespere. This is the case, really, for most of Akira's films. Throughout his life, he often drew inspiration from the ideas and themes expressed throughout Shakespere's works. This film is hardly tedious, though it requires as much attention as would witnessing a play by shakespere. The good part about this film is, you don't have to understand the old English that Shakespere used in writing his plays. I watched it when I was only 13 years old and understood it perfectly. Not only that, I found myself enthralled and inspired by it. It's a wonderful and simple indroduction to the works of Shakespere for anyone interested in reading any of his works. The Japanese sensibilities and cultural nuances attached to this film only add to the lushness of it and broaden the observer's experience. It shows the observer that the themes and ideas of Shakespere's stories are international and timeless. A masterpiece in any language. However, I would not recommend this film for the common movie goer expecting a "cheap thrill". This story is no "Titanic" or "Legally Blonde". It has only good actors a fine plot and an excellent director.It is cinema gourmet not fast food.

Mildly interesting film for die-hard Kurosawa fans only.
Unless you are a die-hard Kurosawa fan or an Ed McBain fan, this film is not a great one. Nowhere near the brilliance of other Kurosawa modern-day films like High & Low, Stray Dog or The Lower Depths; all 3 of these are far superior, see them instead. Luanna Brown's editorial review is right on the money. The opening wedding scene is very tedious and the film is about 40 minutes too long. This would have been better at 90 minutes, insted of 150. Mifune is awesome as always, and in fact all the performances in this film are very good. Interesting at best, but hardly one of Kurosawa's best (I wouldn't even put it in the top 20) but still entertaining. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Zatoichi in another great adventure.
This is classic Zatoichi at his best. I really enjoyed this film. I own nearly all of them and this one is one of my favorites for sure, but hey they are all great! If you like when a lone figure comes into a town and brings justice with his sword and skill you will love this film, or any in the Zatoichi series. He is an unusual character, a blind masssuer and really very humble. But when things need setting straight his sword and skill come into action. I'm glad I was able to find these films on Amazon and add them to my collection. They are well worth the money. This type of filmaking is a lost art today. ... Shintaro Katsu who plays Ichi is an incredible actor. I highly reccomend any of these films to those who are interested in samurai or martial arts films but I really think they can be enjoyable to anyone. ... Read more