The bad sleep well

Question 1

When was it made and by who?

Answer 1

1960 and Akira Kurosawa

Question 2

Who is Akira Kurosawa?

Answer 2

-One of the most important and influential filmmakers
-Entered Japanese film industry in 1936

Question 3

What were Kurosawa’s other Shakespeare adaptations?

Answer 3

Throne of Blood, Ran (Macbeth and King Lear)

Question 4

What is the story of the bad sleep well?

Answer 4

Corporate corrruption

Question 5

What event did the film coincide with?

Answer 5

Anpo protests in Japan against the US–Japan Security treaty

Question 6

What are the characteristics of film noir

Answer 6

Flourished in the 1940s-1950s in the U.S.
 Black and white
 Low-key lighting (small, focused lights, often set at
low angles facing up at the subject) to emphasize
shadows and silhouettes, the play between light and
darkness
 Frequent close-ups of faces
 Use of striking, attention-grabbing sound to create
atmosphere
 Explores paranoia; violence; revenge; alienation; cynicism; moral ambiguity (the blurring of lines between good and evil, right and wrong); “the haunted past” and “the fatalistic nightmare”

Question 7

What are some important similarities and differences between the film’s opening scene and the first scene of Hamlet? What other moments in Hamlet does this scene echo?

Answer 7

Both the opening scenes of The Bad Sleep Well and Hamlet introduce themes of revenge, corruption, and betrayal, but Hamlet uses supernatural elements in a medieval setting, while The Bad Sleep Well is grounded in a modern corporate context.

The desire for justice and the destructive nature of revenge are central in both works, with Hamlet reflecting on internal moral conflict, echoed in the protagonist’s calculated pursuit of truth in The Bad Sleep Well.

Question 8

What is the significance of the press / news media in The Bad Sleep Well? Is there a
parallel to the press/ news media in Hamlet?

Answer 8

the press or media is parallel to the use of spies and informants by characters like Polonius, who manipulate information and control narratives. The “Mousetrap” scene and the spread of rumors throughout the play also mirror how the media can expose truths or shape public perception.

Question 9

What parallels to Hamlet do you see?

Answer 9

Romance plot
Revenge plot
 The crime isn’t (yet) known to everyone, and the revenger wants it to be exposed
 The crime involves an injury done to the public
 The revenger tests guilt by means of a surprise in front of others
 A “ghost”
 The revenger hesitates to enact violence
The loyal friend who survives

Question 10

What does the film’s title—The Bad Sleep Well—mean? What does it suggest about
the moral universe of the film? What evidence from the film supports this interpretation?

Answer 10

suggests a moral universe where corruption and wrongdoing lead to restless guilt and inevitable consequences. The film shows that, despite material success, the characters involved in corruption cannot find peace, as seen through Nishi’s quest for justice and the troubled sleep of the corrupt officials.

Question 11

What is the revelation of the revenge plot?

Answer 11

-the cake at the wedding
-the tips delivered anonymously to the prosecutor
-the photo in the deposit box
 Audience learns that Nishi is involved
-Shirai is left to be discovered in the office
 Audience and characters learn Nishi’s motive
-the photo of the unknown man at Furuya’s funeral
 Moriyama learns Nishi’s identity and recognizes that he must be behind these things