Overlooked Kurosawa on DVD

Director Akira Kurosawa's love for the works of Shakespeare was no hidden affair. Within the jidai-geki (period piece) setting he was capable of turning "Macbeth" into his own "Throne of Blood," while taking "King Lear" to epic proportions with "Ran." Yet in between those two works there was "The Bad Sleep Well" -- a loosely adapted version of "Hamlet" set in the corporate confines of post-WWII Japan. And just like Kurosawa's love was no secret, neither is Criterion's appreciation for the director's work as "The Bad Sleep Well" is the 14th addition to the collection in support of Japan's finest filmmaker. \nKurosawa regular Toshirô Mifune ("Yojimbo," "Seven Samurai") stars as Koichi Nishi, a man whose father was murdered by means of defenestration (read: thrown out a seventh story window by corrupt business associates). Nobody is aware of Nishi being the son of the dead official, as he was born illegitimately, allowing him to craft the greatest scheme: marry the daughter of the man who murdered his father, topple the Public Corporation's head quarters from the inside out and, ultimately, expose the company's fraudulency.\nI was once told that "The Bad Sleep Well" wasn't one of Kurosawa's finest; that it ran too long (two-and-a-half-hours) and was rooted too deep in Japanese cultural issues to be related to in any way. While some folks might prefer short, 90-minute features, in the case of Kurosawa, the longer he goes, the greater the work. Too culturally rooted? Far from it. \nFrom the eager journalists outside the Nishi wedding anticipating an arrest to be made, to the deceptive board room execs, Kurosawa mirrors the same problems faced all around the world, especially in American cases such as Enron and the like. \nSurprisingly, with "Bad Sleep," Mifune actually takes the backseat in terms of performance. He restricts his usual theatrical bombastic flair, instead achieving power through subtlety. Mifune is thrown against the backdrop of a noirish Japan, left lurking the dark streets late at night and plotting the downfall of Iwabuchi (an intimidating Masayuki Mori), the murderer of his father. \nLike all Kurosawa Criterion releases, one can expect to find another "It is Wonderful to Create" segment -- a half-hour long documentary on the making-of "The Bad Sleep Well." In addition, there are two essays, "The Higher Depths" by critic Chuck Stephens and "Shakespeare's Ghost" by director Michael Almereyda, both of which give much insight into the film itself and Shakespeare's original work. \nFor being a director whose 30-film career was commonly praised for his work with samurai and epic battles, we must not forget Kurosawa's work outside of such material. "The Bad Sleep Well," much like "Ikiru" and "High and Low," is one of his strongest works, rewarding in both emotion and experience.