High and Low

Watch: High and Low

11/26/19632h 22m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ Stark, intense drama almost beyond belief! ~

Overview:

In the midst of an attempt to take over his company, a powerhouse executive is hit with a huge ransom demand when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Status:

Released

Language:

Japanese

Buget:

$250,000.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

chauffeur
police
ransom
manager
kidnapping
blackmail
baby-snatching
film noir
shoe
japanese noir
emaciation
yokohama
shōwa era (1926-89)

Cast

Toshirō Mifune

~ as ~

Kingo Gondo

Tatsuya Nakadai

~ as ~

Chief Detective Tokura

Kyōko Kagawa

~ as ~

Reiko Gondo

Tatsuya Mihashi

~ as ~

Kawanishi, Gondo's secretary

Isao Kimura

~ as ~

Detective Arai

Kenjirō Ishiyama

~ as ~

Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi

Takeshi Katō

~ as ~

Detective Nakao

Takashi Shimura

~ as ~

Chief of Investigation Section

Jun Tazaki

~ as ~

Kamiya, National Shoes Publicity Director

Nobuo Nakamura

~ as ~

Ishimaru, National Shoes Design Department Director

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
7
I didn't take to this initially. The scenario reminded me a little of an episode of "Columbo" - a rather sterile, studio-set environment that came across as quite limiting. Once it gets going, though, it's one of the best crime thrillers I've seen in ages. It all centres around the kidnapping of a small boy for whom the anger-prone, shoe millionaire "Gondo" (a strong contribution from Toshirô Mifune) is supposed to pay a ransom of ¥30 million - a colossal sum. It turns out, though, that it's not his son who has been snatched - it's the child of his chauffeur. Why ought he to pay? Will he just get on with his impending company takeover or will he risk bankruptcy for the young "Shinichi"? This is a film split into three sections. The first deals with the decision making process around will he/won't he/why should he. Next, the police must try to apprehend this individual. This process is meticulously carried out and Kurosawa has chosen to immerse us in some of that detail, rather than just cursorily skip through it. This makes the whole detection process a much more interesting part of the film; allowing some aspects of the characterisation of the police officers to develop and also introducing some dark humour to the proceedings. Finally, we reach the denouement with it's own rather curious and not entirely explicable agenda. There's an element of "what would you do?", there's a grim depiction of a seamier side of Japanese (heroin-fuelled) culture that we seldom get to see and there is a rather starkly effective dose of humanity presented here as the story juggles aspects of human nature, nurture and good old fashioned greed in quite an effective fashion. It's based on an Ed McBain book (which I haven't read) but the entire project has been successfully subsumed into it's guest culture for a gripping and detailed mystery that flies by.
Z
Zak_Jaggs
Written 6 month(s) ago
8
A well worked, high stake crime thriller. The stakes are deeply personal to our main characters and puts them in an impossible situation. The performances and direction are very solid, the story is engaging and ultimately, it's a simple yet enjoyable film. Kurosawa comments on modern corporate greed and poverty in post-war Japan, and he does it very well.