Product: The Bad Sleep Well (1963)
Rating: 5.0
Criterion polishes yet another classic
If you are reading this review and asking yourself should I get this Criterion edition of "The Bad Sleep Well" my answer to you is `Hai'.The people at Criterion have given full justice to this Kurosawa classic. As you might already know there is an appalling edition of this film floating around with dreadful English subtitles. Criterion has fixed that problem, and some. You now have understandable subtitles which make sense as you watch, and much better Japanese to English translations. Furthermore the picture quality of the film has drastically improved. This is evident in the close-ups, as in one beautiful scene between Nishi (Mifune) and Wada (Fujiwara)where the camera zooms to their faces. You see the amazing detail and you fully appreciate this wonderful transfer.The extra material on this DVD is limited to an excellent 30-minute documentary on the making of this film. It has some great actor and staff interviews. They provide us with candid behind the scene details, and what's it like working with Kurosawa.I believe it's worth your money to buy this DVD, for two main reasons. First reason is the acting, cinematography, and story of this film are all outstanding; secondly this is a Criterion release so you can expect the highest quality DVD for the money you are about to spend.