WSR Detailed LaserDisc Review

Bad Sleep Well, The
Genre:Drama

Reviewed In Issue 31 Of Widescreen Review® Stars:
Toshiro Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Takashi Shimura, Akira Nishimura, Takeshi Kato, Kamatari Fujiwara

WSR Review Scores
Picture Rating: 3
Sound Rating: 2
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Reference Systems
Critics' Composite Score:
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Supplementals

DVD General Information
(Studio/Distributor): Criterion Collection
(Catalog Number): CC15261
(MPAA Rating): Not Rated
(Retail Price): $69.98
(Running Time In Minutes): 150
(Color Type): Black & White
(Chaptered/Scene Access): Yes
(Closed Captioned): No
(Theatrical Release): 1960
(LD Release Date): 6/98
(THX® Digitally Mastered): No

Credits Information
(Director): Akira Kurosawa
(Screenplay/Written By): Hideo Oguni, Eijiro Hisaita, Akira Kurosawa, Ryuzo Kikushima & Shinobu Hashimoto
(Story): NA
(Music): Masaru Sato
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer): Yoshiro Muraki
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor): Akira Kurosawa
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers): NA
(Co-Producers): NA
(Producers): Tomoyuki Tanaka, & Akira Kurosawa

DVD Picture Information
(Principal Photography): Tohoscope
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio): 2.35:1
(Measured LaserDisc Aspect Ratio): 2.32:1

DVD Sound Information
(DVD Soundtrack): Mono Sound
(Theatrical Sound): Optical Mono
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(Remastered Dolby Digital): No
(Remastered DTS Digital Surround): No
(Additional Languages):

WSR Narrative Review
Story Synopsis:
Nishi (Toshiro Mifuni) is determined to avenge the death of his father in The Bad Sleep Well. His father, a mid-level businessman, committed suicide to preserve the positions of his superiors. Nishi concocts an elaborate plan to bring down the upper-level management group, especially its leader Iwabuchi (Mori). He begins his infiltration by marrying Iwabuchi’s daughter and becoming his right-hand man. The Bad Sleep Well combines elements of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as well as American crime dramas and was the first film made by director Akira Kurosawa’s own production company.

LaserDisc Picture:
The black and white picture, framed at 2.32:1, exhibits a generally good grayscale, with white whites and deep, solid blacks. Images are generally sharp and detailed, sometimes exhibiting nicely rendered fine detail, with good contrast and shadow delineation. The picture is quite solid, with no distracting noise, but artifacts are apparent. The second line of subtitles cannot be read on widescreen displays.

LaserDisc Soundtrack:
The soundtrack is undistinguished, compressed and distorted monaural.
(Surround Bass Below 50Hz): No
(Aggressive System Surround): No
(Intense 25Hz Bass): No
(Deep Bass Challenging): No
(Aggressive 0.1 LFE):
(Holosonic Soundfield): No
(Aggressive Split Surround): No
(Center Back Surround Imaging): No
(Directionalized Dialogue): No
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality:
Superb Music Score Recording Quality:
No
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality:
No
Superb Color Fidelity:
No
Superb Cinematography:
-
Reference LaserDisc:
Collector Edition:
DVD To LaserDisc Comparison: