AK , the lesser Kurosawa , etc . ) has one of those overblown reputations that earns praise from everyone who can't think for themselves . If the word overrated was assigned a picture reference in a dictionary , a portrait of AK would probably be the best choice . If the word lemming was assigned a synonym in a thesaurus , the term AK follower would fit the bill nicely . It's no understatement to say that the sheer level of brainless veneration that's repeatedly thrown at this guy hasn't been seen since the advent of organized religion - especially when one considers the fact that most of his movies suck , yet are somehow able to earn IMDb average ratings over 8.0 . These people need to stop beating around the bush and simply construct cathedrals in his honor for daily worship .
With High and Low , AK tried and failed to create a mainstream dramatic detective thriller with some exposition on class divisions . If I want the former , I'll watch Memories of Murder ( 2003 ) . If I want the latter , I'll watch Gemini ( 1999 ) . These films came to my mind while watching this AK entry , and provide a nice contrast between fine and poor filmmaking . For example , High and Low lacks the character development and entertainment value that Bong Joon-ho established in Memories of Murder , which included a great chase sequence and an amazing tapering of characters ( the loose cannon cop and the empirical detective have their personas expertly blended together near the end ) . High and Low also failed miserably at showcasing the effective juxtaposition between classes that Shinya Tsukamoto so capably portrayed in Gemini . The smug rich doctor is forced to live in comparable conditions to that of his nemesis to the point where their true merit and worth are brilliantly juxtaposed . High and Low fails to achieve the commercial and / or artistic value of the aforementioned films because - to be frank - both the script and direction are hopelessly incompetent .
I've seen 10 AK films thusfar ( oh , the horror ! ) , and if I can hang my hat on one criticism , it's that AK is frequently hopeless at directing actors ( see Ikiru for overwhelming evidence of his ineptitude ) . It's no surprise then that the acting in High and Low is hit or miss . Mifune is acceptable for certain roles , but he reminds me of David Caruso here with his desire to make every single line of dialogue a dramatic set piece . Does every one of his sentences really need to be punctuated with a forced crescendo ? The unintended effect is that his delivery feels artificial - not unlike most of the actors in AK's films . And seriously , that dope alley scene was just awful .
In vintage AK fashion , High and Low loses all of its momentum by its midpoint and then proceeds to drag itself into the ground . The detective investigations during the latter half are about as dry and predictable as it gets . If that weren't bad enough , key clues are conveniently overlooked for the sole purpose of extending running time . We get detectives who are able to hear a coin drop on the other end of a phone call , yet completely disregard the loud ramblings of a trolley on another phone call because - well - AK simply MUST ensure that his film lasts 140 minutes . Forty minutes of dull police proceduring later , the detective cleans the wax out of his ears and - you guessed it - hears the trolley at AK's convenience , but at the point where my attentiveness had been all but scraped away by mediocre filler material . Oh , and I'd like to personally thank AK for choosing to torture me with one of most boring police / suspect tail sequences in motion picture history .
If that weren't bad enough , some of the scoring sucks too . Just listen to that loud horn music when the abducted kid is recovered by the train tracks . The uber-horn makes at least six more unwelcomed entrances afterward . Remember the angry trumpet in American Ninja ? It's just as bad , and just as intrusive .
For the life of me I'll never understand why everyone on planet earth loves AK so much as a director . It's analogous to being the only atheist in a town full of Catholics . Sure , I can try to ignore those pesky holy rollers , but there's no way I can have a nice breakfast at a local diner without hearing them go on and on about Pope Eggs Benedict . In like manner , I can't escape the tide of unwarranted praise for AK on the internet because the brown-nosing is so extreme and so pronounced that it just grinds on my nerves because these same reviewers will ( in the very same breath , no less ) trash the latest action film for having poor acting or a subpar script . Talk about the pot calling the kettle black ! At least I have enough brain cells to understand that dramas should be based on dramatic elements while action films should be based on - oh , I don't know - * action * elements .
Okay fine . I admit that I wouldn't necessarily classify AK as a no-talent assclown ( he did direct Seven Samurai , Yojimbo , and Sanjuro ) , but to be honest - he's really just a mediocre filmmaker who is dangerously close to being a poor director with a few good flukes under his belt . Sure , I've only seen 10 of his movies , but do you really expect me to continue my masochistic adventure after witnessing a preliminary 30% success rate ? I've still got some Ozu and Naruse films that I gotta see , and I'd rather place my time and money in artists with an 80% success rate . At least Yasujiro and Mikio know how to direct actors properly .
001 4 Very rarely does a film improve upon the book on which it is based . It takes a visual master , working with an excellent screenwriter , to convey as much detail about a story as an author . However , Akira Kurosawa's High and Low manages to do it . The source novel , Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novel King's Ransom is a well written thriller that , nonetheless , doesn't really stay with the reader afterwards . Kurosawa , however , better known for his samurai epics , took McBain's story and gave it a depth never realized in the book . The famed director stays faithful to the novel , but fleshes out a simple detective story into a drama that makes social commentary as well as entertains .
McBain's Douglas King never really earns the reader's sympathy - - even though we can understand his motives . Toshiro Mifune's Kingo Gondo , in contrast , becomes a three-dimensional sympathetic character . Both men have their entire financial well-being at stake in the form of a hostile takeover bid for control of a shoe company . Both men , at first , behave selfishly , refusing to pay the ransom even though they are risking their chauffeur's son's life . However , McBain's Douglas King never shows the humanity that Mifune's Gondo does . Kurosawa adds a scene , not in the book , where Gondo pays the ransom and saves the kidnapped child . Even though his business deal is now dead and he is broke , he still reacts with relief and joy when the kidnappers return the chauffeur's son . It's an emotional payoff that McBain's book is sorely lacking and helps to flesh out the character .
Gondo is also a more sympathetic character partially due to the fact that his actions are at least partially dictated by Japan's rigid caste system . Japanese society is broken up into social strata whereby the rich and powerful expect the lower classes to know their place . This division of influence , unlike in the United States , is generally accepted , even by those on the lower end of the scale . This isn't just the way Mifune's Gondo thinks - - EVERYONE thinks that way in Japan . However , Kurosawa , while he understands the mindset of Japanese society , is also critical of it . Kurosawa shows that when Gondo pays the ransom and saves the boy , even at the cost of his financial well-being , the Japanese people , as a whole , hail Gondo as a hero . Our sympathies are clearly supposed to be with the chauffeur and his son , even though it goes against every principle of the Japanese caste system . This commentary gives High and Low a depth that McBain's novel lacked .
In the novel , McBain hedges his bets morally . One of the kidnappers is a vile hardened criminal . However , the other two kidnappers , a husband and wife , are more sympathetic , particularly the wife who doesn't know about the plan until it is already in effect . In the end , the kidnappers get away and the chauffeur's son , Bobby , refuses to aid police in their capture . In addition , the police are seen as somewhat disjointed with some detectives with personalities and egos that irritate other policemen .
Kurosawa , in contrast , concentrates on one central kidnapper , a vile person who exploits drug addicts to do his dirty work and then kills them when he gets what he wants . McBain's subplot about the husband and wife is distracting , even though his kidnappers , with their self-doubt and streaks of conscience , seem to be a more balanced and realistic portrayal . In addition , the police are seen as a cohesive unit who forgo ego in order to catch the kidnapper . However , this is more a reflection of Japanese society , with its emphasis on team effort rather than individual glory , than a pie-in-the-sky idealized vision of the police . McBain's portrayal of the police is probably close to what an American police squad is like . Still , Kurosawa's vision is more satisfying . The police pursue the criminal and bring him to justice . Ironically , the resolution of the film , made in Japan , is probably much more satisfying to Americans than the resolution of the book , written by an American .
King's Ransom has an interesting plot . But author Ed McBain has only provided a good skeleton of a story . Akira Kurosawa , in contrast , has taken the exciting , but conventional story and turned it into a memorable cinematic masterpiece .
002 4 Watched this a few days ago for about the fifth time and have been thinking about it ever since . I think it probably is my favorite Kurosawa film .
Toshiro Mifune plays a top executive in a shoe company who is secretly planning to take over the company . He wants to keep making quality shoes and gradually expand the market . The other executives want to make cheaper shoes and take advantage of the company's reputation . Mifune has raised every yen he can , including using his house , for the buyout , but his son is kidnapped . For the ransome he'll need all the money he's raised . He's prepared to do this for the sake of his son .
Then he finds out that the kidnappers made a mistake . They kidnapped his driver's son , who is the same age as his own . What a terrible moral dilemma . Would you or I give up every dime we had to save a neighbor's or an employee's son ? Mifune does , and this act has a great effect on the police and the public .
The first half of the movie takes place in his house on a hill while all this unfolds . The second half is the chase to find the boy before he's killed and to capture the kidnapper . We move from the intensity of the dilemma unfolding in Mifune's home to the gritty business of the search which takes us into some of the lowest parts of the Japanese underworld .
Mifune is powerful in the role of the father , at first torn by the decision he has to make , then commited to finding his driver's son . Tatsuya Nakadai plays the detective , handsome , smooth , professional , and ultimately deeply touched by Mifune's integrity . Years later Nakadai played the leads in Kurosawa's Kagemusha and Ran . And it was good to see Mifune out of samurai costume .
High and Low is the work of a master . The DVD has the quality and extras one has come to expect from Criterion
003 4 HIGH as Toshiro - Kingo Kondo - Mifune's house which lies on a hill , admired by the whole city . HIGH as Kingo's wealthiness that allows him to buy nearly 50 % of the shares of the society he's working for . HIGH as the moral integrity of this man who appears as a gentle capitalist never forgetting that money must be earned in a proper honest way .
LOW as the condition of Kondo's servant whose only son has been kidnapped . LOW as the morals of Kondo's partners who are the true villains of the movie , LOW as the expectations of the drug addicts of Dope Alley who seem have been forgotten by the prosperous 1963 Japan . At least , LOW as Takeuchi's chances to escape a police humiliated by the machiavelic plot he has imagined .
Adapted from one of Ed McBain 87th Precinct novels , Akira Kurosawa's HIGH AND LOW is a masterpiece . The first half of the movie takes place in the living room of Kingo Gondo . Kurosawa gives here an unforgettable lesson of cinema helped by a great actor - Toshiro Mifune - who is going to pass through the whole variety of feelings , from Happiness to Despair , in a 36 hours period .
The second half of HIGH AND LOW depicts the police investigations in order to discover the kidnappers . Another scene worthy to stay in the annals of Movie History is the expressionist description - by night - of the hot streets of the city . A cinematographical enchantment .
No bonus features with this Criterion release except for a booklet . Superb sound and images as usual .
A DVD zone your library .
004 4 Based on King's Ransom by Ed McBain , High And Low ( original title Heaven And Hell ) tells the story of Gondo ( Toshiro Mifune ) , head of National Shoes ' factory production , who believes in producing quality shoes that are expensive but durable . He is ready to take a controlling interest in his company to prevent from being kicked out of the company when he receives a phone call saying his son has been kidnapped and to fork over 30 million yen . His son Jun , fortunately , returns from playing outside with Shinichi , the chauffeur's son , who is now nowhere to be seen . That changes nothing , as the kidnapper still demands the ransom .
He calls the police , who come in discretely in one of the cleverest methods I've ever seen . Led by Inspector Tokura and aided by Taguchi , a burly bald man known as the Bo'sun , they prove to be ideal policemen , dedicated , rational , and clever .
Gondo adamantly refuses . He has mortgaged everything , including the luxurious house on the hill he and his family live to get the shares . Paying the ransom will put them all out on the street . The police are accomodating , saying that it's important to rescue the child , but not by sacrificing Gondo . However , Gondo's right-hand man Kawanishi has sold him out , informing his colleagues of his plans . Gondo's dreams have been destroyed , so he agrees to pay the ransom .
The drama can be divided into three parts . First , the kidnapping , Gondo's refusal then agreeing to pay , and the police coming over to advise him . The second part has Shinichi being released and goes into high-level detective drama mode as the police use evidence , deductive reasoning , and clues that will help them catch the kidnapper , and three , the trap the police set out for the killer . It's part two that's the best . The Japanese police's teamwork , skills in chasing down and analyzing clues , and the cooperation shown by the public , denotes that the Japanese police are truly dedicated servants of the people , compared to the American police ( q.v . Rodney King , Malice Green , Amadou Diallou ) . The police in this movie are likable and honorable . And when each development or clue is found , the excitement ratchets up a notch .
Water is twice a symbol in this movie . Gondo is taking a shower , the water running full blast after Kawanishi has betrayed him . After this scene , he calls the bank to get the money per the kidnapper's demands . Also , once he tosses the money again per the kidnapper's demands , he washes his face in a sink . It's a cleansing ; the first scene denotes his washing away the cold businessman for someone with humanity . Indeed , when Shinichi is released , he rushes towards him as if he were his own son . This was first touched on when his wife Reiko berates his worsening attitude . Success isn't worth losing your humanity and she is right . Gondo is thus reborn as someone with compassion , humility , and a soul , while being his own man as opposed to being a cog in the corporate wheel . His sacrifice makes him a hero to the Japanese public . And the scene where he refuses his post back at National Shoes after the media backlash at the company for firing him , elicits a secret smile from the Bo'sun , who usually wastes on love on the rich , but ends up admiring Gondo .
Gondo also represents the ideal of quality goods Japan has become famous for . In the opening , he is dead set against the cheap quality of shoes his colleagues propose making . He says in response to his colleagues that shoes must wear out and are accessories just like hats and handbags that hats are decoration . Shoes carry all your body weight . He advocates making shoes that are durable yet stylish , expensive but profitable in the long run . It's the Japanese business ideal versus America's disposable merchandise attitude . Thus Kurosawa also advocates quality in material things as well as quality of the soul .
High And Low is proof enough of Kurosawa's ability to film gendai-geki ( or contemporary drama ) as opposed to jidai-geki ( stories that take place in the feudal , samurai era in the warring pre-Tokugawa period . ) Some will argue that it's nothing compared to The Seven Samurai or Throne Of Blood , but for its values of compassion , humanity , dedication , and ideal quality in spiritual and material things .
005 4 This is one of Kurosawa's best movies with another fantastic performance from Toshiro Mifune . The movie is divided into 2 parts ( the kidnapping and the search for the kidnapper ) separated by a thrilling sequence on a Bullet train that will keep you on the edge of your seat . The Japanese title should be more accurately translated as Heaven and Hell which becomes clear once you've seen the movie .
In response to the reviewer who said the disc would not play on his player , I contacted Criterion and found out there are 2 pressings of the disc available . According to them , You can distinguish the original pressing from the second pressing by looking at the back of the package . The second pressing is Region 1 encoded and CSS and Macrovision encrypted . The original pressing does not have either feature . . Last January I tried 2 copies of the original pressing and neither would play in my Panasonic A110 player . I just bought a copy of the second pressing from Amazon and it plays fine ! Now I can watch this masterpiece as much as I want in the comfort of my own home !
006 4 Like most Americans , I am more familiar with Kurosawa's period films ( Samurai flicks ! ) than with his modern dramas . High and Low was my first venture into this aspect of Kurosawa , and it is very rewarding indeed .
Toshiro Mifune's commanding presence dominates the first half of the film . He is every bit the in-control general , trying to find a strategy that allows him to keep family , fortune and face . His fortress has been breached by the enemy , and he must first defend then counter-attack . The enemy is invisible , hiding in an area of Japan that Mifune knows nothing about . The drama is tangible .
Most of Kurosawa's troupe is here , with familiar faces at every turn . Yoshio Tsuchiya ( the gun-slinger from Yojimbo ) is one of the good guys this time as a police detective . Takashi Shimura ( Kambei from Seven Samurai ) is the police director .
High and Low opened up whole new Kurosawa worlds for me . The Bad Sleep Well , Stray Dog , Drunken Angel , . . . I will never again limit myself to swords and top-nots . Great film !
007 4 It seems absurd at first that Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece * High and Low * is based on an Ed McBain potboiler . But it's actually typical of Kurosawa , who , perhaps believing that an Occidental-invented art-form like cinema probably benefits from Occidental-type stories , endlessly drew inspiration from popular , even shoddy American tales . His genius was to take our Westerns and detective novels and put them in a specifically Japanese milieu , while at the same time transforming them into universal works of art with his wisdom . All that being said , * High and Low * also happens to be an expertly constructed police procedural / suspense picture . Some of the best scenes in the movie are on the bullet-train with Toshiro Mifune throwing the ransom money out the window , as well as inside the cavernous police station with the masterfully choreographed revelations , one by one , of the details of the kidnapping case by the indefatigable cops . But what makes those scenes fly is the moral urgency behind them . . . something you almost never get from movies of this type . The pacing is brilliant : the aforementioned bullet-train scene breaks the mounting tension from the first hour , but Kurosawa immediately introduces us to the psychopathic kidnapper , setting up some more excruciating tension as the madman tries to lose the scent of the very clever cops on the case . The plot is devilishly complex : we no longer know what to expect when , early on , it's revealed that the kidnapper has taken the wrong child , the son of the industrialist's chauffeur instead of the actual son of the industrialist . We give up trying to figure things out and simply let the director give us the info on a need-to-know basis . The performances are all good : Toshiro Mifune gives a nuanced performance as the anguished shoe manufacturer on the verge of losing his humanity . . . but Tatsuya Nakadai ( * Yojimbo * fans will recognize him as the pistol-wielding villain in that movie ) as the top cop perhaps impresses more with his absolute refusal to showboat , even though he's given ample opportunity to do so . It's a thoroughly real portrayal . - - Some of my fellow American reviewers here have adopted a tsk-tsk stance with regards to the rampant capitalism presented in the movie . Phrases like a fascinating study of post-War industrial Japan are slightly redolent of patriarchal superiority , to my ears . Well , yes , the brutal obsession with making money in * High and Low * has a uniquely Japanese flavor , perhaps ; but ask yourself this : Who provided the model ? Has American capitalism ever been more humane ? The scene in the Yokohama bar with its drunken , leering Americans ( who were unwittingly filmed , btw ) reveals Kurosawa's concerns about the capitalist mindset as whole , not just the Japanese version of it . As I said earlier , this director , like all the great ones , transcended his milieu . - - Basically , if someone had a gun to my head or whatever and said , You can have only ONE Kurosawa in your collection , * High and Low * would probably be the one .
008 4 This review is from :
High and Low - Criterion Collection ( DVD )
This is just plain good solid movie-making . A kidnap story that reflects some of the tensions betrayals in the social system of modern Japan , coupled with a police procedural that is first rate .
An executive's ( Toshiro Mifune ) son is kidnapped , but when it is discovered it was his chauffeur's son taken by mistake and the kidnapper threatens to kill him anyway if ransom isn't paid , the executive , who is embroiled in a power struggle within his corporation and needs all the money the kidnapper demands or face ruin , is truly stuck on the proverbial horns .
The first half of the film takes place in the executive's living room , and is a character study and a commentary on corporate greed and back-stabbing and where and to whom one's allegiance and loyalty belongs . Mifune's Gondo has hard choices to make and ruin of one kind or another lies at the end of either choice .
The second half of the film is a police procedural detailing the meticulous efforts to track down the kidnapper ( s ) . I did not know this film was based on an Ed McBain 87th Precinct Novel until after I had seen it , but this latter part is classic policework McBain-style . Unfortunately , the police characters personalities cannot be fully defined and detailed as in the 87th Precinct , but we come to get a sense of some of them . And the police work is spot-on . I love the 87th Precinct books , and several so-so movies have been made from them . This is actually one of the better efforts .
I don't think this is a great film , missing the poetry of the great Kurosawa classics , but it is solid work , and a good story told well . That'll do .
009 4 This is just plain good solid movie-making . A kidnap story that reflects some of the tensions betrayals in the social system of modern Japan , coupled with a police procedural that is first rate .
An executive's ( Toshiro Mifune ) son is kidnapped , but when it is discovered it was his chauffeur's son taken by mistake and the kidnapper threatens to kill him anyway if ransom isn't paid , the executive , who is embroiled in a power struggle within his corporation and needs all the money the kidnapper demands or face ruin , is truly stuck on the proverbial horns .
The first half of the film takes place in the executive's living room , and is a character study and a commentary on corporate greed and back-stabbing and where and to whom one's allegiance and loyalty belongs . Mifune's Gondo has hard choices to make and ruin of one kind or another lies at the end of either choice .
The second half of the film is a police procedural detailing the meticulous efforts to track down the kidnapper ( s ) . I did not know this film was based on an Ed McBain 87th Precinct Novel until after I had seen it , but this latter part is classic policework McBain-style . Unfortunately , the police characters personalities cannot be fully defined and detailed as in the 87th Precinct , but we come to get a sense of some of them . And the police work is spot-on . I love the 87th Precinct books , and several so-so movies have been made from them . This is actually one of the better efforts .
I don't think this is a great film , missing the poetry of the great Kurosawa classics , but it is solid work , and a good story told well . That'll do .
010 4 I was hesitant on this one . After Seven Samurai I watched other Kurosawa films ( all samurai movies ) and loved them . Unfortunately I grew a very limited view on him . I fgured all he could make were samurai movies . And when I heard this one was a cop movie , I was sure it wasn't going to be that great . Actually , I was very wrong . This is one of his best . Mifune is still wonderful . The story is fast paced and very informative , not only on Japanese culture , but also on police work .
011 4 Kurosawa and Mifune did many great films together , but High and Low is one of my personal favorites . When a director who is mostly known for samurai films takes a u-turn and does a noir film , and does it extremely well , that's the sign of a true genious . Next to Hitchcock , Kurosawa is one of my favorite film makers . And to top it off , the uncanny Toshiro Mifune is at his stellar best in the film . he has been compaired witht the likes of Brando and DeNiro , but who cares . Mifune doesn't need to be compaired to them , they should be compaired to him . High and Low is an incredible film about morality and justice , much like Orson Wells ' classic , Touch of Evil . But if you don't care about that , then it's worth it just to see two masters at work . Do yourself a favor and chech out Kurosawa's masterpiece , High and Low .
012 4 This review is from :
High and Low - Criterion Collection ( DVD )
This is one of my top 5 best movies of all time . And I'm old enough to have seen it in several incarnations , starting with impossible to own , to a grainy VHS version with impossible-to-read subtitles , to the first Criterion release to this one . This latest version has all the bells and whistles a Kurosawa fan would want . Interviews with Mifune ( and the actor who plays the kidnapper ) , a documentary on the making of the film and an interesting ( if intrusive ) commentary track from Stephen Prince .
But did anyone but me notice that this latest version of the film itself is not as crisp and clear as the former Criterion release of this film ?
That last version was a revelation ; I saw things ( background , details and all that ) that I'd never noticed before , in astounding clarity . This version seems darker and not as high quality . It was tough rating this one . I'm not sorry I bought it , but I'll probably go back to watching the original Criterion version when I want to see this film . Disc One rates 3 stars . Disc 2 , with the extras , rates 5 .
013 4 This is one of my top 5 best movies of all time . And I'm old enough to have seen it in several incarnations , starting with impossible to own , to a grainy VHS version with impossible-to-read subtitles , to the first Criterion release to this one . This latest version has all the bells and whistles a Kurosawa fan would want . Interviews with Mifune ( and the actor who plays the kidnapper ) , a documentary on the making of the film and an interesting ( if intrusive ) commentary track from Stephen Prince .
But did anyone but me notice that this latest version of the film itself is not as crisp and clear as the former Criterion release of this film ?
That last version was a revelation ; I saw things ( background , details and all that ) that I'd never noticed before , in astounding clarity . This version seems darker and not as high quality . It was tough rating this one . I'm not sorry I bought it , but I'll probably go back to watching the original Criterion version when I want to see this film . Disc One rates 3 stars . Disc 2 , with the extras , rates 5 .
014 4 Like one of the other reviewers said I too was a bit hesitant in seeing this . I had , up to that point , seen only Kurosawa's samurai based films , but then I saw Stray Dog and was sold on the fact that the man truly was a master of not just samurai films , but cinema , as an art form , in general .
I've not seen this film in about 8 months , so it's not exactly fresh in my mind , but there are two things from this film that will always stick with me until my dying day :
- The final shot of the film , of the criminal behind the glass . This was so haunting , so effective that to this day the thought of it sends shivers down my spine . If this was Kurosawa's intention or not , I don't know .
- The first , I think , 45 - 50 minutes , are based solely in Mifune's apartment . The fact that you can stay in one spot for that length of time and still keep an audience's interest just goes to show the directorial and acting brilliance that Mifune and Kurosawa are so widely reguarded for .
015 4 What I love about this film is the sense that your are watching three movies knit into one narrative .
A taught character study set in Gondo's house , a terrific police procedural and a mini horror film set in an ally all in essentially linear form . It makes for very gutsy film making and a wonderful experience for the viewer .
You have to wonder how many Anime directors have memorized the drug addicts in the alley scene .
This could be my favorite Kurosawa movie and that says a lot .
017 4 Those from high and low positions in modern industrial Japanese society clash in this drama . While I don't easily commit to watch a long subtitled movie , this one kept my eyes glued to the screen through an effective suspense that grabs early and never lets go . The main story line comprises related subplots that are realistic and gripping without overwhelming . The acting is consistently excellent in portraying a full gamut of human emotions and difficult situations . Select this when you're ready for real entertainment from masters of their craft .
018 4 A suspenseful crime story based on a novel by Evan Hunter ( aka Ed McBain ) transported to 1960 ' s Japan . The soon to be famous Economic miracle is in full swing as Japan rebuilds its war-ravaged landscape . The mix of optimism and despair of the people in the thick of this economic transformation is palpable beneath the multiple story lines of scrappy cops following their hunches , the inventive kidnapper and the businessman who has paid the money he scraped together for a hostile take-over as ransom for a child not his own .
Toshiro Mifune shines as the businessman while Tatuya Nakadai makes a fine appearance as Inspector Tokura . Tsutomu Yamazaki as the kidnapper debuts into a glorious career . Many of the bit players who appear only briefly eventually became big stars notably Eijiro Tono as the worker in a shoe factory and Nekohachi Edoya as the charming engineer who identifies a train , gesturing with chopsticks , by merely listening to recorded sounds .
An interesting bit is done by Takeshi Kato , who played Mifune's partner in The Bad Sleep Well . Real men did not go into flower shops to buy bouquets in those days , Yet , in The Bad Sleep Well , Kato walks in and orders a bouquet fit for a wedding night with devilish daring while Mifune waits nervously outside the shop window looking like he wouldn't be caught dead in such a place . In High and Low , the same Kato is playing one of the four policemen in a squad car stealthily following the chief bad guy Yamazaki . When Yamazaki walks into a flower shop , the cops are ordered via radio to Go in and buy some flowers . The shocked cops exchange glances and Kato speaks for them all into the radio , I am sorry , no one here could buy flowers ! Very funny , especially if you knew what a sly rascal he played in a previous film .
019 4 This movie is interesting to fans of Japanese cinema and those interested in Japanese culture for many reasons . First , this is one of Kurosawa's few contemporary dramas ; it is also interesting because he uses very long scenes , signals changes in characters ' circumstances by changes in scenery , clothing , etc . Oddly , he has his characters wear their shoes in the house , very un-Japanese-like . However , since Mifune plays a shoe manufacturer . . . . Second , the film is set in the early 1960s , not 1950s . A key scene in the movie takes place on the shinkansen , aka the bullet train , which was brand new when the film was made . Just as today's thrillers make use of the latest techonology , so Kurosawa uses the new bullet train . Third , especially for those who know modern-day Japan , the film presents some interesting , and even surprising , views of Japan almost 20 years after the end of the war . Fourth , the scene that takes place in the nightclub was shot in an actually working club , and the extras didn't know they were being filmed . Fifth , this film was the big break for Tsutomu Yamazaki , who played the main bad guy . Fans of Juzo Itami films may recall his as Goro in Tampopo and the love-hotel mogul in A Taxing Woman . He also appeared in Kurosawa's Red Beard and Kagemusha .
020 4 This film starts out with Gondo Kingo , a wealthy , self-made man who has risen from a humble shoe maker inside the National Shoe factory to an executive and minority owner of National Shoe ( yes , that is the name , it's the English name , National Shoe ) . Having been a craftsman , Gondo wants to make sure that National Shoe will continue to make quality , well-made shoes . His fellow executives want to save money by switching to cheaply-made products that will fall apart soon . Gondo has engineered a plan to take over the company to maintain the shoe-crafting quality . To implement his plan , Gondo has mortgaged his entire fortune , including his large house that sits on top of a hill ( the High in the title ) .
Right in the middle of all this , Takeuchi Ginjiro , a very angry medical intern , has engineered his own plan . He plans to kidnap Gondo's young son , Jun , and demand a huge ransom . Two of his drug-addicted coherts perform the kidnapping and Takeuchi makes the call to Gondo . The amount demanded is such that it would completely ruin Gondo if he were to pay it . He would even lose his large house , and would most likely lose his job and income . Gondo is willing to do this for his own son . However , it turns out that the kidnappers have made a mistake . They have kidnapped Shinichi , the son of Gondo's chauffeur , who is a widower of very modest means . The moral dilemma poses itself : will Gondo sacrifice his entire fortune to save the son of his chauffeur ?
I don't want to spoil the film for viewers with the answer . However , there are many aspects that can be discussed without putting in a spoiler . The High refers to Gondo's mansion , perched upon a high hill . It also refers to Gondo's position as a wealthy company executive . On the surface , the Low refers to the slums where poor people and drug-addicts inhabit and where the kidnapper lives and most likely comes from .
However , as it turns out , the Low can also refer to Gondo and his background . During the discussion about how to handle the kidnapping , he reminds his wife about how he had been born of poor and humble origins and has had to work his way up the National Shoe hierarchy by his own efforts . Gondo's background is a factor that can go well over the heads of Western viewers who aren't very familiar with Japanese culture , history , and sociology . In order to understand it , some historical aspects must be studied . The craft of shoe-making , along with other crafts involving leather has been a traditional occupation of the burakumin ( outcast ) sector of the population .
The burakumin , as a people ( and as a political / cultural issue ) come from the feudal class system , where there were samurai , farmers , artisans , and merchants . There were also two different outcast categories : hinin ( non-human ) , and eta ( abundant filth ) . The hinin were involved in begging , street-entertaining , and related occupations . The eta were involved in dealing with butchery , handling the dead , and making leather objects and implements ( related to dead animal carcasses ) . People in these outcast classes were considered inferior , not quite human , ritually impure . They were forced to live in segregated neighborhoods and defer to the normal human beings around them . Killing an eta or a hinin was not considered a crime because they weren't considered to be people .
During the Meiji restoration in the late 19th century , the classes were abolished . The former outcasts were supposed to be welcomed into regular society as new commoners . Instead of being abundant filth or non-human , they were referred to as burakumin ( hamlet people ) . However , the discrimination and violence against these people continued and continues to this current day . As the years went by , the scorn and discrimination has become hidden , unmentioned , and kept out of view . Some people have said that they don't even know what a burakumin is , other than something that relates entirely to historical times . However , there have been secret ( now-illegal ) lists kept of suspected burakumin families , so that companies and marriage brokers could consult these lists and avoid hiring or marrying a person from this outcast class . There have been writings and studies circulated that burakumin populate most of the violent yakuza gangs and that they even cause AIDS .
Now we get back to the film , HIGH AND LOW . Even though this factor isn't explicitly mentioned , it is strongly implied that Gondo Kingo , the self-made shoe-craftsman who has risen to executive , is a member of the burakumin . He started life as a shoe-maker , a leather craftsman . In Japan , very few , if any , people who are not burakumin would enter these leather-crafting professions . No one in the film mentions the burakumin , no one calls Gondo a burakumin or dirty eta to his face - - or even openly behind his back . No one would dare . However , one can plainly see a divide between Gondo and the other executives during the entire film . So though Gondo represents the high , he also represents the low . There is a parallel implication that Takeuchi ( the kidnapper ) , though coming from humble origins , is not a burakumin . So though he is the low , he is also the high compared to Gondo . There are so many ironies that run through this film .
I found this film to be quite compelling . If nothing else , the film is a quality police procedural . However , it is far more than that . The film addresses issues of individual moral choices as opposed to materialism . It also addresses issues of class , in very subtle and ironic ways ; class distinctions are far more complex than simplistic high / low concepts .
021 4 This review is from :
High and Low - Criterion Collection ( DVD )
High and Low centers on a kidnapping drama . A child is kidnapped by an unknown man who wants 30 million yen to let him live , and factory boss Kingo Gondo is put in a dilemma . Through the film we get glimpses of several different parts of 1960s japanese society : the police , drug addicts , wealthy industrialists and so on . The film is quite long ( 143 minutes ) but never gets boring . We follow the police investigation in detail which is very well done . Also the visuals are remarkable . The look of the kidnapper when he sneaks around in Tokyo by night , wearing huge sunglasses that reflects the neon lights , made me think of bug-eyed monsters from japanese popular culture ( Ultraman etc ) . The title refers to the different layers of society , and also to the moral dimension : being a killer vs being a person willing to make a sacrifice to save a human in need and thereby saving his own soul .
The DVD from Criterion ( 2008 ) is fantastic , the transfer is superb ( I wathed it on a projector ) and there's a lot of extras and a thick booklet . Highly recommended to everyone interested in cinema .
022 4 High and Low centers on a kidnapping drama . A child is kidnapped by an unknown man who wants 30 million yen to let him live , and factory boss Kingo Gondo is put in a dilemma . Through the film we get glimpses of several different parts of 1960s japanese society : the police , drug addicts , wealthy industrialists and so on . The film is quite long ( 143 minutes ) but never gets boring . We follow the police investigation in detail which is very well done . Also the visuals are remarkable . The look of the kidnapper when he sneaks around in Tokyo by night , wearing huge sunglasses that reflects the neon lights , made me think of bug-eyed monsters from japanese popular culture ( Ultraman etc ) . The title refers to the different layers of society , and also to the moral dimension : being a killer vs being a person willing to make a sacrifice to save a human in need and thereby saving his own soul .
The DVD from Criterion ( 2008 ) is fantastic , the transfer is superb ( I wathed it on a projector ) and there's a lot of extras and a thick booklet . Highly recommended to everyone interested in cinema .
023 4 Another masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa featuring Toshiro Mifune , this time Mifune is not a samurai armed with a sword but a determined executive armed with 50 million yen to make a deposit on a percentage of shares that would make him the big boss of National Shoes , where he has worked for 30 years .
On the night that he is to make his takeover he receives a phone call telling him that his son has been kidnapped for a 30 million yen ransom . Without a second delay he makes arrangements to pay the kidnapper , but then he learns that the kidnapper made a mistake and took his chauffeur's son instead . What is he to do ?
Part moral dilemma and part police thriller HIGH AND LOW despite being 43 years old is still very powerful and exciting . Sadly though the usually dependable Criterion dropped the ball and this DVD has no extras . Not even an audio commentary by Kurosawa expert Stephen Prince . It's still worth buying just for the movie alone .
Watch in the police station scenes for an appearance by sometime Kurosawa leading man Takashi Shimura ( STRAY DOG , IKIRU ) .
024 4 Like many of Kurosawas classics this one revolves around a mans dilemna as to whether he should act for selfish reasons or rise above his selfish concerns and act for a higher good . The man in the dilemna is a wealthy shoe manufacturer who is on the verge of buying out the company he works for once and for all when his son is kidnapped . When he believes it to be his own son that was kidnapped there is no doubt in his mind that he must pay but when then learns that it was not his son but one of his sons friends that was taken by mistake he then begins a long deliberation with himself about whether he should pay the sum which would ruin him and save the child or not pay and realize his lifes ambition . That part of the movie is a solid drama but the most interestying aspect to my mind is how well Kurosawa shows all the details the police detectives use in solving the crime . The movie was based on an an Ed McBain novel and so the police detail is precise and is the real point of originality here . Each detective has a task and he takes he must perform and only when all the seperate elements of the police force work together can the crime be solved . So the selfless detectives are presented in contrast to the selfish and wealthy industrialist . Best secenes in the movie are when detectives trail their suspect through the seedy nightclubs . One particular nightclub scene for me steals the show . In that nightclub Kurosawa really captures the wild happenings that were the cultural moment of 1963 . Cool jazz plays in this jam packed club which attracts a cultural mix indulging in their favorite night club activities . The excitement of this scene makes for a great few minutes of cinema and it is one of those moments that separate the great directors from the merely adequate . The lurid appeal of the seedy side of life was felt by another director as well , Orson Welles and his Touch of Evil is a film which comes to mind in certain scenes of decadent squalor . Immensely enjoyable in parts . Great and very likeable cast of detectives . The main storyline which traces the millionaires crisis of conscience is resolved in a most interesting ending when the millionaire ( the high ) confronts the low ( the criminal ) . Film full of great detail and keen insight as always from Kurosawa . Great line spoken by one detective as he looks at the millionaries house on top of the hill . I can understand the criminals perspective , its like that house is looking down on the rest of us .
025 4 Kurosawa took a pulp story and made it into a modern existentialist masterpiece . Tengoku to Jigoku ( Heaven and Hell ) is much less mannered than The Bad Sleep Well . It is closer to the tradition Kurosawa established fourteen years earlier in Stray Dog . A seemingly decent businessman is exposed in his decency by the kidnapping of the son of his chauffeur . The underworld of modern Japan is rather patronizingly portrayed - with its American GIs and drug sub-culture . Kurosawa wasn't very adept at understanding the changes in modern Japanese society . Yet the confrontation of the Mifune character with the kidnapper in the last scene is quite harrowing - the oppressed at last confronting their oppressors . To his credit , Kurosawa doesn't avert his eyes for one moment .
026 4 This is my first Kurosawa film that's not a Samurai story . Once again , I am impressed by Kurosawa's story telling talent . In this film we have the businessman character who loses everything if he pays a ransom , but let's a little boy die if he does not . The story takes so many twists and turns that it keeps your interest .
The cinematography is gorgeous black and white . It's very interesting to see Japan and its locations . The Criterion print is very good . And Kurosawa's widescreen compositions are excellent as well .
I continue to discover Mr . Kurosawa's work and am loving every film so far !
027 4 High and Low ( Japanese title translates as Heaven and Hell ) , is simultaneously about many things . On the surface , the title refers to the emotional roller coaster ride that the main chracter , Kingo Gondo ( played by the great Toshiro Mifune ) goes through when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and is demanded to pay an enormous ransom . The title also refers to the geographic setting , contrasting Gondo's palatial house on the top of the mountain ( the setting for the entire first half of the movie ) and the sizzling slum in the harbor of Yokohama ( where the second part of the movie takes place ) , on which Gondo looks down from his high place . Lastly , the title is refered to in the final scene , in which the condemned kidnapper expresses his fear to Gondo that he might go to heaven instead of hell . Likewise , the story takes three different dimension as a thriller , social commentary on wealth and poverity , and moral commentary on good and evil .
A short summary of plot is as follows . A wealthy shoe-manufacturer , Kingo Gondo has just mortgaged everything to raise 50 million yen to launch an office intrigue that will give him the total control of the firm , but just at this critical moment , receives a call from a kidnapper that his son is kidnapped . As he decides to pay the ransom of 30 million yen , it is found that actually his chauffeur's son is kidnapped . At first , Gondo refuses to pay the ransom , but finally gives away his fortune , which gives him public admiration but results in bankrupcy . After much investigation through the slums of Yokohama , police captures the kidnapper . The kidnapper , who has murdered his accomplice , is setenced to death and few hours before execution , confronts Gondo and blames his wealth for his crime .
As a thriller , this is a first-rate fare that will please many though some may feel the first part is too static and second part too detailed . Even though the first part of the film takes place almost entirely in the confines Gondo's living room , camera movement and placement of chracters as they move to and fro ( mise-en-scene ) , are so skillful that our interest does not bog down . In the second part , we are shown the details of police work as they track down the kidnapper , which was very reminiscent of Fritz Lang's movie , M . Both the kidnapping and investigation are carried out intelligently and as the clues are discovered one by one ( one of them in fact with blurt of color in this otherwise b w film . Remember Schindler's List ? ) , we discover the millieu of the low / hell slum in stark contrast to the high / heaven residence of Gondo . Should he pay and ruin himself to save the chauffer's son ? This is also an intense internal thriller as we watch Gondo agonizing over how far his responsibility extends . He is confined in his living room , under costant eyes of police and entreating chauffeur and family . He is mostly shown either surrounded by all these people or cornered to the curtained , claustrophobic living room .
Gondo's moral dilemma is very engrossing one , as we watch him coming closer to the final decision little by little . In the very beginning , Gondo appears as someone who once had a high degree of integrity , which was eroding in the dog-eat-dog world of corporate intrigue . He is still sincere enough to care about the quality of his products , which is the reason why he wants to kick out other profit-hungry executives . But he is not above resorting to the their means , and this cynicism is apparent in his advice to his son about how to play an outlaw . This remark prompts his wife to worry that his attitude to life has changed . At first , he absolutely refuses to pay the ransom . However , in this crisis , the deep humanity that has since laid dormant in him arises as he , after much torment , comes to the decision to pay the random . By the end of the film , when he confronts the man who tormented him so much , Gondo has reached the understanding that he must accept resonsibility not only for his chauffeur's son but even for the kidnapper and social condition that creates antagonism between himself and the kidnapper . In not many films do we see such deep character change as that of Gondo . And we also see poignantly how his action affects his chauffeur , wife , detectives , and the kidnapper . . . .
028 4 This review is from :
High and Low - Criterion Collection ( DVD )
While I generally view Kurosawa's original Stray Dog as another in long line of his genre setting triumphs , High And Low is his masterpiece of the crime genre . High and Low was made in the middle of his career before Kurosawa's decline when his failure with Dodeskaden and getting kicked off of Tora , Tora , Tora caused him to go on hiatus for nearly ten years and drove him to attempt suicide . Thankfully Russia came along with a chance to adapt Dersu Uzala a film I wish was given the respectable double dip that Criterion is doing with their earlier releases .
I discovered High and Low early in my exploration of Kurosawa mainly overlooking it because it wasn't a samurai period film something I thought He had excelled in and only that . It happened by chance that I borrowed the orginal Criterion disc from a friend at work and quickly became engorged in any film made by the master . This film has the earmarks of Kurosawa film with social commentary , great characters , amazing black and white photography ( the liner for the dvd makes mentions of lighting on the killers mirrored sunglasses during the finale ) , and scenes that are almost acted without any dialogue . Plus its just a great damn thriller .
High and Low was adapted from a 87th precinct novel from the late Ed McBain ( Evan Hunter ) . It transplants the story from America to Yokohama in the middle of the summer . As the film begins shoe maker executive Gondo is having a meeting with subordinates where he outlines his plans to take over the company . The others are flummoxed as they want to create flimmsier shoes at cheaper prices and plan . . ping Gondo . Things come to a head when Gondo gets a phone call from a man who says He's kidnapped his son who was recently playing with the chauffers son around the house . Unfortunately his son comes in and as it turns out the chauffers son has been the one kidnapped . The Kidnapper discovers this also but won't budge on the ransom demand so Gondo is set up with a moral choice . He calls the cops despite the danger it poses but trys whatever He can to figure out a way not to pay the ransom.The cops arrive and then begins the first half of the film as a plan is devised to get back both the boy and the money . The second half of the film involves the police investigation trying to find out who the kidnapper is ending with a chase through the city in the night through back alleys and bars filled with foreigners all with as little dialogue as possible depending mainly on the emotions of the actors to sell the intensity . While the first half is more character driven the last half of the film is more procedural which of course is what appealed to me more .
Being the fan that I am the only way to describe High and Low would be to use the word impeccable . Its not the most loved Kurosawa film ( something I'd disagree with ) but it has the hallmarks of greatness in my opinion . While I love the procedural half of the film , the first set only in the Gondo house is intense thanks to the acting and directing talent . One of the great things that I've always loved about Kurosawa is his use of long takes and this helps build the intensity of the scenes as the camera flows around the living room watching the characters . On the acting side you have the two of Kurosawa's main group . Toshiro Mifune is always able to play intensity with bravado and flair but as the film progresses you can see him begining to falter in his plans not to pay the ransom demand . At the end He's given up everything He gained , all his riches gone until He's back to mowing his own lawn in one of the famous images of the film like He's trying to hold back the inevitable . The second actor is Tatsuya Nakadai as Chief Detective Tokoda . Nakadai worked on the last of Kurosawa's masterpieces ( being Kagemusha and Ran ) and this was a great almost simple performance . Tokoda heading up the investigation isn't a renegade cop character mostly simply dressed and handsome . But Nakadai has a commanding presence that demands you to watch him . I can't really describe what makes Nakadai Mifune's perfect accomplice in the film .
In the end its a perfect film in my mind , one of the few I wouldn't hesitate to brand it as such .
I was speaking on my original experience with the film which was Criterions orignal release . Around the time Criterion double dipped Seven Samurai and gave it the treatment it deserved I hoped they'd do the same for High and Low as the picture on the original disc was slightly cropped at the sides . On this set they've thankfully corrected that issue while adding some great features like a commentary from Stephen Prince and more of the It Is Wonderful to Create series that they've included on almost all of their Kurosawa releases . Its strange that original Criterion is still listed for sale as this is the only set worth buying in my opinion .
029 4 While I generally view Kurosawa's original Stray Dog as another in long line of his genre setting triumphs , High And Low is his masterpiece of the crime genre . High and Low was made in the middle of his career before Kurosawa's decline when his failure with Dodeskaden and getting kicked off of Tora , Tora , Tora caused him to go on hiatus for nearly ten years and drove him to attempt suicide . Thankfully Russia came along with a chance to adapt Dersu Uzala a film I wish was given the respectable double dip that Criterion is doing with their earlier releases .
I discovered High and Low early in my exploration of Kurosawa mainly overlooking it because it wasn't a samurai period film something I thought He had excelled in and only that . It happened by chance that I borrowed the orginal Criterion disc from a friend at work and quickly became engorged in any film made by the master . This film has the earmarks of Kurosawa film with social commentary , great characters , amazing black and white photography ( the liner for the dvd makes mentions of lighting on the killers mirrored sunglasses during the finale ) , and scenes that are almost acted without any dialogue . Plus its just a great damn thriller .
High and Low was adapted from a 87th precinct novel from the late Ed McBain ( Evan Hunter ) . It transplants the story from America to Yokohama in the middle of the summer . As the film begins shoe maker executive Gondo is having a meeting with subordinates where he outlines his plans to take over the company . The others are flummoxed as they want to create flimmsier shoes at cheaper prices and plan . . ping Gondo . Things come to a head when Gondo gets a phone call from a man who says He's kidnapped his son who was recently playing with the chauffers son around the house . Unfortunately his son comes in and as it turns out the chauffers son has been the one kidnapped . The Kidnapper discovers this also but won't budge on the ransom demand so Gondo is set up with a moral choice . He calls the cops despite the danger it poses but trys whatever He can to figure out a way not to pay the ransom.The cops arrive and then begins the first half of the film as a plan is devised to get back both the boy and the money . The second half of the film involves the police investigation trying to find out who the kidnapper is ending with a chase through the city in the night through back alleys and bars filled with foreigners all with as little dialogue as possible depending mainly on the emotions of the actors to sell the intensity . While the first half is more character driven the last half of the film is more procedural which of course is what appealed to me more .
Being the fan that I am the only way to describe High and Low would be to use the word impeccable . Its not the most loved Kurosawa film ( something I'd disagree with ) but it has the hallmarks of greatness in my opinion . While I love the procedural half of the film , the first set only in the Gondo house is intense thanks to the acting and directing talent . One of the great things that I've always loved about Kurosawa is his use of long takes and this helps build the intensity of the scenes as the camera flows around the living room watching the characters . On the acting side you have the two of Kurosawa's main group . Toshiro Mifune is always able to play intensity with bravado and flair but as the film progresses you can see him begining to falter in his plans not to pay the ransom demand . At the end He's given up everything He gained , all his riches gone until He's back to mowing his own lawn in one of the famous images of the film like He's trying to hold back the inevitable . The second actor is Tatsuya Nakadai as Chief Detective Tokoda . Nakadai worked on the last of Kurosawa's masterpieces ( being Kagemusha and Ran ) and this was a great almost simple performance . Tokoda heading up the investigation isn't a renegade cop character mostly simply dressed and handsome . But Nakadai has a commanding presence that demands you to watch him . I can't really describe what makes Nakadai Mifune's perfect accomplice in the film .
In the end its a perfect film in my mind , one of the few I wouldn't hesitate to brand it as such .
I was speaking on my original experience with the film which was Criterions orignal release . Around the time Criterion double dipped Seven Samurai and gave it the treatment it deserved I hoped they'd do the same for High and Low as the picture on the original disc was slightly cropped at the sides . On this set they've thankfully corrected that issue while adding some great features like a commentary from Stephen Prince and more of the It Is Wonderful to Create series that they've included on almost all of their Kurosawa releases . Its strange that original Criterion is still listed for sale as this is the only set worth buying in my opinion .
030 4 Both a gripping detective story and meditation on the nature of honor and Japanese class differences , High and Low ultimately earns high marks , thanks mainly to a snappy second half focusing on the investigative work handled by Chief Detective Tokura ( Tatsuya Nakadai ) , and his idiosyncratic but dogged team of cops . In one of his last signature roles , Mifune is also electrifying as Gondo . Adapted from a novel by Ed McBain , an American writer of police procedurals Kurosawa admired , High and Low is an absorbing dramatic thriller by a world-renowned master craftsman .
031 4 In my opinion this is the hottest Kurosawa flick ever . I mean all Kurosawa flix are first-rate but this one is the physical form of Raekwon's heaven + hell . A great kidnapping-tale , based on an ed mcbain story . Just rent it today .
032 4 Akira Kurosawa created a canon of films that continue to influence movie-makers around the world . I have only seen about a dozen of them , but they are all masterpieces . High and Low is an English translation of Tengoku to jigoku , which is more literally translated Heaven and Hell .
I've seen other reviews ( some giving away too many spoilers , IMHO ) mentioning the adaptation from King's Ransom , an 87th Precinct police procedural by Evan Hunter - written under pseudonym Ed McBain . I've also seen others mention a little of the structure of the movie - essentially two acts first set in the home of Kingo Gondo ( played by perhaps the greatest of Japanese actors Toshiro Mifune ) and the second act a police procedural aimed at tracking down a kidnapper . I want to point out to the gentle reader that Kurosawa's structure is much more complex than that . The master director forces a change in point of view almost every fifteen minutes . In the opening moments we are introduced to Mr . Gondo , who is a shoe executive and has built his company up to a thing of pride and wealth . But Gondo is opposed by other executives at his company who point out that more money can be made if they don't work so hard at making QUALITY shoes . Gondo won't hear of it and with a little premature hubris informs the other executives that he is about to buy a majority of the company's shares and he will run the business as he always has , with an emphasis on producing good shoes .
During this portion of the film I gained more than a little respect for Gondo , who wants to be known more for the quality of his work than for wealth .
Immediately after this scene Gondo receives a phone call informing him that his son has been kidnapped and is being ransomed . The ransom will use up all the money he has put aside to buy the shares in his company . If he does not follow through and buy the majority share in his company , you know that the other vindictive executives will kick him to the curb . Complicating things even further - we find that the kidnapper mistakenly did not take Gondo's son , but instead took the son of Gondo's chauffeur . Now Gondo is faced with a triple heart-breaking decision . As a man of honor he wants to help the chauffeur's family . But if he does , he will be financially ruined .
The center transitioning portion of the film deals with the complicated method used to trade the 30 million yen in cash for the boy , and I won't say here whether the boy is returned dead or alive or whether or not the kidnapper receives the money , but this part is as exciting as any modern thriller .
The final part of the film is a taut , smart police procedural and we see the methodical steps used to track down the kidnapper , with many lovely human details such as the chauffeur going back to the scene of the crime in an attempt to play amateur detective and regain HIS honor ( since Gondo gave away his fortune to ransom the chauffeur's son ) .
Along the way we see smart detectives , desperate heroin addicts , and real and caring humans . Perhaps no other film director saw people for what we are better than Kurosawa .
In Japanese with subtitles , so if you don't like to read or don't understand Japanese , keep on walking .
033 4 As a Toshiro Mifune fan , I must admit that I had avoided this film for some time . I don't know why , really . I like Mifune . I like Kurosawa . Mifune + Kurosawa = a guarantee that I'll like it . Yet I was resistant to watching this . I suppose it might have been because I initially had a preference for Mifune as a samurai-type . However , this is the film that forever changed my Mifune-samurai-cookie-cutter bias . Quite frankly , this film is spectacular . Characterized by sophistication , intensity , and suspense , this drama about a wealthy industrialist ( Mifune ) whose son is targeted by a kidnapper is riveting from beginning to electrifying end . Mifune is flawless in this tale of morality , helplessness , and contemporary society . As applicable today as it was 40 years ago , this movie is a must see !
034 4 And I thought Kurosawa was big on Samurai movies . This is a stunning cop thriller grounded in real-life Japan of the 60s .
Toshiro Mifune is an honest and hugely successful businessman who loves his job as a shoe factory exec and is in a battle for corporate control against a pack of hyenas . He has mortgaged and borrowed and scraped to raise the money for a surprise coup to takeover the firm . Until his son is kidnapped .
But then there is a major plot twist : it is not his own son who was taken but his son's friend , the chauffeur's kid , and the ransom demanded is atrocious . If he forks the dough , he stands to lose everything he has worked so hard for , but can he simply sacrifice the chauffeur's child because it is not his ? From here on High and Low ( perhaps better translated as Heaven and Hell ) is a riveting police procedural .
Watching Kurosawa's maestro camerawork is a rare , almost unique experience , he is a man in complete control of his visuals and his subject matter . The DVD is letterboxed and the print B W . This not only lends beautifully to a cinematically compelling human drama , but it also draws you into the theme emotionally .
A superb film , captivating from start to finish . Highly recommended !
035 4 High and Low , Kurosawa's 1963 crime film begins in the peaceful mansion of Gondo ( Mifune ) , who is involved in shoe production . Kurosawa immediately introduces this character to us , showing how he has a passion for his work , and how his work is part of his life . He will not let himself be bought out by the new generation of businessmen who are in it just to make money . Gondo makes it very clear that the shoes they are making are junk and are not delicately handled like they should be . Gondo is against these businessmen and refuses to work with them .
Gondo wants to break free and work on his own branch out of the shoe company . He reveals to his family and assistant , Kawanishi , that he is ready to do so with 30 million yen , money he has been saving up for years . Things change , however , when he receives a phone call that his son has been captured . Gondo will do whatever it takes to get his son back . However , he finds out that the kidnapper has taken the wrong child ; the child is actually the son of a close friend who was with Gondo and his wife at the time . Gondo is now in a dilemma .
What follows is the police investigation as we meet the chief inspector ( Nakadai , a Kurosawa regular ) and the other investigators . Kurosawa makes this film a deep interesting character study right from the start , as we begin to understand the kind of person Gondo is . Gondo's dilemma is vividly shown and Mifune does a great job helping us understand his plight along with Kurosawa's great script .
The second half is mainly police investigation but is so fascinating and compellling in the style by which Kurosawa strucutres it . He uses flashbacks , wipe dissolves , lighting , closeups , and music all to his advantage . Kurosawa once again proves that he as great an artist as he is a storyteller , and maybe , the finest storyteller in film . The film's detailed locations are well balanced , from Gondo's peaceful and wealthy mansion perched up on a hill , to the hot and humid investigation room , to the streets of Tokyo , and to the crack houses in the urban slums . Kurosawa makes use of all the actors effectively , particularly Mifune and Nakadai . The film is a journey through crime , tension , reality , and Kurosawa leads us every step of the way to a powerful climax .
036 4 A wealthy shoe tycoon plans to take over the company , and things go wrong . Intrigued ? . . . me neither .
I watched this movie expecting a mediocre showing from my favorite director , but what I got was a wonderfully done film with a lot to say .
Toshiro Mifune plays Kingo Gondo , a successful shoe tycoon with dated ideas . He believes that shoes are important because they support the entire weight of the body , while his partners just want to produce cheap stylish shoes that women will buy over and over . His partners want to vote him out of power , so Gondo comes up with a plan to buy enough of the company so he can sway the vote . Things go wrong when a man calls and says he has kiddnapped Gondo's son and he'll need to pay an amount of money , nearly equal to what he needs to keep himself in the company , he cooperates right away , but he finds out that the kiddnapper made a mistake and has kiddnapped his driver's son instead .
what follows is a interesting look into the process of catching a criminal and a study on the social structure of japan ( one of Kurosawa's favorite subjects ) . What makes this movie stand out is the fact that it is not exagerated , the process of solving the crime seems long and drawn out , yet it still manages to hold your attention . Another interesting detail is the fact that Mifune owns a shoe company , in most kidnapping movies , the target is some rich AND famous person . Gondo , while rich , is certainly not famous , he is basically a glorified shoe salesmen , which makes the story that much more realistic .
Along with the kidnapping , the movie also focuses on the differences in classes . Gondo lives high on a lofty hill , while the kidnapper lives down with everybody else in the sweltering heat , hence the title high and low ( or heaven and hell ) .
I'd recommend this movie to anyone who like crime dramas or japanese cinema .
037 4 All the excellent details and workings of this film are explained in the other reviews here , and very beautifully at that . Trouble with this film is that it is clearly not one of Kurosawa's finest of all the oeuvre d'art he has given us .
Kurosawa's wife once complained of how miserable life was with him at home when he wasn't working . This 1962 film shows the possibility that Kurosawa made it in order to escape ennui and his wife's wrath . Its opening scenes are certainly super-Oscar-worthy , with the tension of the expectant Gondo-san hovering near the telephone , awaiting the kidnapper's next call . And the smooth , perfectly acted relationship between all the characters who come to be ivolved is Kurosawa at his best .
He follows with Hitchcockian shots and brilliant angles on Tokyo's Bullet train . . . I have no doubt Hitchcock envied those scenes . From the train , Gondo-san is to throw the two briefcases containing the ransom money . The police , with Gondo-san's help , have planted pink smoke bombs in the cases in the event the kidnapper attempts to burn them later . . . which he does , and in the midst of Kurosawa's usual black-and-white splendor rises deep pink smoke from one of Tokyo's garbage dump furnaces . Spielberg was so captivated by that scene he used it to great effect in Schindler's List .
And this brings us to the film being Kurosawa's most inspiring . Everything from Dragnet [ following the brilliant cops as they dredge through evidence ] to Gone Baby Gone [ a horribly loused-up kidnapping scheme ] seems to take from this film . A creepy shot with the kidnapper wearing his trademark sunglasses at night was scene copied in Sin City by Elijah Woods ' character Kevin the psychopath .
The trouble is that nearly a quarter of High and Low seems senseless , random filming in the busy night-time streets Of Tokyo . It seemed refreshing at first , but to drag it out as Kurosawa did seems totally pointless , and it is this nonsense that made the film go well over two hours ' running time .
The end is also so silly that it could not fail to be copied in every film with a prison-visit scene . Why does Gondo-san waste time visitng and listening to the ranting kidnapper in jail ? What exactly is the kidnapper on , what is he all about ? The trite answer of prosperity-versus-poverty is sickeningly thin . Kurosawa knew how to end films with a bang . . . and here he utterly fails .
I can only say that I too was deeply moved by Mifune's deep , beautiful performance . I've never seen him act so well , great acgtor that he was , and I've seen almost everything he's ever done . In this film , he reminded me , for the first time , of my own father who was an auto mechanic / engineer , and my uncle , who was a cobbler / leathersmith . And by the way , it is true that in the old days cobblers were competent leathersmiths who made everything . The scene with Gondo-san re-working the Mexican-style briefcases reminded me of my uncle , who made belts and holsters for the Chicago PD for decades .
See this film , own it as it is rarely mentioned in Kurosawa's best and for good reason , but buy it anyway . The tension , the modernity which gave birth to American crime-themed television , the too-few iconic shots that have been copied ever since . . . it's all worth it .
Just recall , this is N O T one of Kurosawa's strongest moments . For that , see ' ' Kagemusha ' ' or ' ' Dersu Uzala ' ' .
038 4 From a simple detective story , Kurosawa builds a supreme masterwork that certainly overpasses the limits of thriller . Insight humour , suspense , social commentary happen throughout this superb film .
The drama turns around a ransom by mistake of the young son of a wealthy businessman , who decides if he will pay or not the agreed payment . But meanwhile Kurosawa displays his endless genius and exquisite cinematography .
A pyramidal movie and certainly one of the most extraordinary films of the Sixties .
039 4 Leave it to Akira Kurosawa to make an exciting police procedural film that also manages to be a powerful social comment . Based on Ed McBain's novel , KING'S RANSOM , this is the story of the kidnapping of a little boy and the eventual citywide manhunt for the mysterious criminal behind it . It is the story of the appropriately named Kingo Gondo ( translation : Big King ) , the richest man in town , and the devastating effect the crime has on him and his family . Moreover , it is both a sharp-eyed portrait of Japan circa 1962 and a timeless study of human nature .
In stark , gorgeously photographed black-and-white , Kurosawa uses the then-new widescreen process better than just about anyone , and he gets memorable performances from his cast , notably the great Toshiro Mifune as Kingo and Kyoko Kagawa as his wife , Reiko . The couple's gradual deterioration in their huge house on the hill overlooking the city brings an almost Shakespearean quality to the story . The haunting sense of tragedy behind the events elevates HIGH AND LOW above most other cops-and-robbers movies . As for the suspense - - well , Hitchcock couldn't have done it better . ( Hitchcock was a great admirer of this film . )
Kurosawa is mainly known for his epics set in feudal Japan ( RASHOMON , SEVEN SAMURAI , YOJIMBO ) , but this modern crime story is one of my favorites of all his works . Highly recommended .
040 4 This 1963 film starring Toshiro Mifune as the executive about to make his big takeover move , and Tatsuya Nakadai as the afflicted medical intern who kidnaps his son , is a film classic for a number of reasons . Number one is the cast ; I must have seen this movie at least 3 times , and only now did I recognize Nakadai as the kidnapper . Though often cast as a psychopath ( Sword of Doom being the prime example ) , Nakadai shows an amazing emotional range in the final scene , a conversation between the hero Mifune and the psychopathic villain Nakadai . ( Interestingly , Mifune was also the heroic samurai sensei in Sword of Doom . )
While High and Low is generally viewed as a morality play married to a police procedural , its most fascinating subtexts relate to Japanese postwar society . The high and low has at least four references : one , to the geography of the city , in which Mifune's mansion occupies the top of a prominent hill , while the criminal's hovel is in the lower-class flatlands ; two , to the two protagonists ' morals ; three , to Mifune's ethical stance vis a vis his greedy colleagues , and four , to the Japanese society which created the highs and lows of social standing , twisted ethics and underclass resentment which fuel the story .
The Nakadai character has viewed Mifune's house on the hill for years , building a classist resentment against Mifune's wealth and status . This fundamentally social resentment is what fuels his brilliant kidnapping plan , not a personal enmity to Mifune's hard-charging but still highly ethical executive .
There is another subtle irony to this high and low ; the Mifune character is a working-class guy who rose from shoemaker's apprentice to executive through hard work , attention to quality and pure drive . He simply doesn't deserve the resentment-fed tragedy which befalls him .
Several of the most compelling scenes occur when Nakadai seeks out a personal meeting with the executive whose life he has effectively ruined . In the first instance , Mifune stares plaintively into a shop window filled with womens's shoes . On the night of the kidnapping , he was about to wrest control of the shoe company to which he'd devoted his entire working life from money-grubbing executives who cared not for quality but only for a quick profit . Nakadai approaches Mifune and asks for a light . Nothing else transpires , but we experience the creepiness of the criminal interacting with his unknowing prey .
The irony of the scene is that Mifune was the ethical businessman , the lone stand-out for quality amidst a greed-driven coterie of other executives . If this isn't a statement on the business mores of postwar Japan , what is ? Destroyed by the huge ransom demanded by Nakadai's character , Mifune has sunk to window-shopping to keep his conection to his craft - - shoe-making - - alive .
In the final scene , Nakadai has been apprehended and jailed ; he awaits execution for the killing of the two junkies he manipulated into helping him with the kidnapping and ransom collection . He has requested a meeting with Mifune , to explain himself and to confess the raging resentment and madness at his core . Mifune is stoic ; having lost everything , including his high-class house on the hill , he is starting over with a smaller shoe company .
It is a bleak yet powerful ending to a caustically social tragedy ; a young man , full of promise as a medical intern , turns to kidnapping to destroy a wealthy man he envies from afar . In a truly 60s twist , the greedy , heartless executives win and Mifune loses , due to the intervention of a resentful lower-class person with a terribly heavy emotional burden .
The policemen's sympathy for Mifune is also an intriguing subtext ; one states outright that though he typically has little sympathy for the wealthy , the fact that Mifune sacrificed his entire fortune to save the son of his lowly chauffeur has moved him deeply . Not to ruin the movie for you , but the plot twist occurs right on schedule at minute 20 ( standard screenwriting technique calls for the first plot point at 20 minutes ) : the kidnapper thinks he has kidnapped the rich executive's son , but he has mistakenly taken the son'e playmate , the son of the lowly chauffeur . Mifune must then decide , in a classic morality play , whether to execute his takeover of the shoe company or save his underling's son . He chooses to sacrifice his fortune to save the innocent boy . As a feeling human being , he has no choice , and it is this realization which Mifune imparts so brilliantly .
041 4 Another great masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa . High and Low tells the tale of a rich Japanese businessman who is blackmailed right when he is about to make a hostile takeover of his partners . Toshiro Mifune is incredible as the lead character , never giving his audience the slightest clue as to what he might do - will he spend the ransom money which would rescue his son but also make him penniless ? You will truly be second guessing Mifune throughout the movie . Kurosawa intelligently limits his creative camera angles and pacing , giving the story a modern , realistic feel . The film never quite shakes loose of its stage roots , but this is acceptable given the material . A lesser known work that is required material for any Kurosawa fan .
IMPORTANT NOTE : This DVD did NOT work on my computer's DVD player . I can only watch it on my Playstation 2 .
042 4 It is no surprise , perhaps , that Kurosawa can move so effortlessly , so fluently , from genre to genre . There , are of course , his feudal warrior pictures ( even there , I detect sub-divisions within that specific genre ; that is , Ran is nothing like The Hidden Fortress ) , or his novelistic adaptations ( Hakuchi ) , his speculative drama ( Dreams , Kagemusha ) . But this , a noir-esque policier is all the more surprising for the amount of life the master is able to breathe into an otherwise stale , and over-worked type . By the time Kurosawa made this film - - the 60s - - American specialists in the detective-piece , like Wilder , Curtiz , et al . , were either dead , or out to pasture . Hitchcock , though still active in the 60s and 70s , was by now in decline , as well - - his later works , with the possible exception of The Birds - - had become overly mannered .
As is usual with Kurosawa , there is ultimate , magisterial control of every image . From the almost tableaux-like blocking of the opening scenes in Mr . Gondo's house , to the swirling vortex of a seedy juke joint , nothing is left to chance . Kurosawa's camera - - particularly in the harrowing junkie den sequence - - takes an almost anthropological interest in its subjects . There is also the single dash of color ( I hesitate to say more , insofar as it is a major plot point ) , which is almost like an exclamation point in the otherwise razor-sharp black-and-white .
Ultimately , however , it is Kurosawa's human touch that makes this superior . His interest is never in a beautiful image for its own sake ( as with , say , Kubrick ) but rather in his characters . The psychological portraiture takes on Dostoyevskian depth in regard to the antagonist . The movie's central shock is how banal of a person the villain turns out to be , and how trivial and unintelligible his motives are . He has all of the feigned depth of the high-school outcast who decides to shoot up his classmates . This characterization is accomplished , of course , in the typically gentle Kurosawa way . For that reason , some viewers may find him more of an absorbing character than Kurosawa ultimately intends him to be . The most revealing characterization of Takeuchi is to be found in the mirror-like lenses of his glasses ; they reveal nothing but their surroundings . That is , he is ultimately a bit empty - - we look for something of him in them , but encounter only our own reflection .
043 4 I can't say that I am familiar with the work of famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa because , quite frankly , I'm not . In fact , this is the very first film I've seen from his hand , and while I have made the statement before that I am not the usual samurai fan , I must admit that I am intrigued with what this man can do and am quite interested in seeking out some of his other material . No , this is not a samurai film ( far from it ) but judging from his control over his source material regardless of genre , I'd love to see what he can do with the genre for which he became so widely adored .
So this film is really right up my ally .
I love those dark , morally conflicting films that play heavy on the audience to evaluate their own actions . ` Tengoku to Jigoku ' is just that type of film . There are no easy answers here ; even if one may want to draw theirs immediately . It is a true morale play between classes of people , but more importantly between our inner struggle for survival .
How would you react ?
The film tells of a wealthy industrialist , Kingo Gondo , who has just set plans in motion to take over a successful shoe manufacturing company . Before he can play his cards though , he receives some devastating news . His son has just been kidnapped . The man on the other end asks for a sum of money that would wipe out Kingo financially , but it's his son and so there is no hesitation . Then in walks Kingo's boy and things change . It is brought to his attention that not his son , but the son of his chauffer has been kidnapped .
The kidnapper still wants the money .
What follows next is a rather in-depth study of our own conflicting emotions . Are we willing to lend a helping hand to others when it means our own ruin ? Sure , when our own children or loved ones are at stake then the answer is easy . I would gladly give my life for my daughter or even for the children of my close friends and I know it goes both ways ; but would I risk my future for a business partner if he really needed me too ? Sure , this man has worked for Kingo for some time , but that's all it is ; work .
Sometimes doing the right thing is not the first thing we want to do .
Sometimes the right things are very conditional .
Kurosawa develops this film gloriously with the right amount of edge and ambiguity . The audience is kept on edge as the whole story unfolds , and the way he has mounted the kidnapping brilliantly keeps us guessing as to who is actually behind it . The clues are everywhere , even if we keep picking up on the wrong ones , so the audience is left constantly double guessing themselves . The acting is all stellar , especially from Toshiro Mifune . I can't think of a single fault here , except that maybe the film ended and I really wanted it to keep going . This is a nice look at the downside to wealth ; how it can corrupt and essentially make us a target .
044 4 High And Low ( Tengoku To Jigoku ; literally Heaven And Hell ) is a film that is so perfect in every detail it shows how utterly silly similar Hollywood takes on the matter are , and were : think Ron Howard's and Mel Gibson's silly 1996 flick Ransom , or any of Alfred Hitchcock's crime dramas from the 1950s or 1960s . Yes , critics often resort to the copout that Hitchcock was not deep , but technically was great . True , to a degree , but one need only watch the rail car sequence in this film to see how staid , old fashioned , conservative , and utterly quaint Hitchcock's ideas on crime were . The truth is that Hitchcock really had no idea what drove criminals . Kurosawa did . To the Englishman , crimes were Freudian impelled , and committed by people with manifest things wrong with them . The claim he made was one merely had to be adept at spotting such things . Kurosawa shows that crime ( as it does in reality ) emerges from complex and obscure things . Its evildoers are often manifestly plain and their reasons never discernible . What drives High And Low to such greatness is that , even after all is revealed , the criminal apprehended , and the film at an end , the viewer is still pondering - in the best sense , and still unable to grasp how and why such a thing occurred . Yet , the film only gets to that point after peerless artistic and technical means .
The peerless screenplay was written by Kurosawa , Eijirô Hisaita , Ryuzo Kikushima , and Hideo Oguni , adapted from the 1959 pulp novel King's Ransom . The book was written by Ed McBain , pseudonym for Evan Hunter , which was the adopted name of Salvatore Albert Lombino . Using a variety of pen names , McBain penned pulp crime books that were three or four levels below Mickey Spillane . As Hunter , he wrote The Blackboard Jungle and the screen adaptation for Hitchcock's The Birds - probably the best film the great profile ever made . In short , under whatever guise , Hunter was no budding John Steinbeck . This makes the adaptation by Hisaita all the more impressive , for , while I never read the novel the film is derived from , as a youth I read a few McBain books and , even then , saw they were cardboard - both character - and plot-wise . Most criticisms of the film claim that , aside from the basic premise , the two works deviate greatly . One can thus likely ( according to Occam's Razor ) attribute the positives in this 143 minute ( but swift paced ) long film to the work of Hisaita and company , not McBain . . . . Overall , High And Low is a great film , whose Americanized , like Vittorio De Sica's Ladri Di Biciclette ; whose title has historically been mistranslated as The Bicycle Thief rather than Bicycle Thieves , it is a fortuitous gaffe , for the ` wrong ' translated title is far more evocative and less strident than its literal translation . The film's exploration and criticisms of social aspects of times and places past is timeless and the film shows how a great artist can mine true cosmic depth out of the must mundane of propositions that lesser artists make hackwork out of , such as Reiko's banal query : ` What good is success if you lose your humanity ? ' The real tragedy of this film is not what occurs within its frame , but that even such banalities are not asked today in the modern world of filmmaking , much less extrapolated upon in such a proud and grand way . Akira Kurosawa was a giant of cinema , and world art , in general ; a man whose output will be seen , centuries hence , the way Shakespeare's and Goya's are today , but that gigantism was built upon and borne by the desire to explore even the minutest moments of the human condition - not in a weepy , bleeding heart liberal sort of way , but in a deep , penetrating way that celebrated the best part of the human being : his intellect . In today's dumbed down Politically Correct society , such films are not only not made , but not even contemplated . When the history of turn of the millennium cinema is finally written , one of the key questions asked will be what happened to the basic striving for high art ? Why did it become gauche to want to excel , and to want to treat an audience with respect ? Of course , the film asks these same sorts of queries ( along with the more banal ones it subverts ) in regards to its lead character's professions , which only shows how great art recapitulates itself again and again , regardless of the changing circumstances of history , while bad art is entombed by its stolidity . Great artists know this , and , while glaring at his own reflection , at film's end , one senses a more peaceable Kingo Gondo knows it , too . Or , at least we hope he does . That we do says as much of Kurosawa as it does of us and our newer times .
045 4 Nowdays they don't do films like this.More than an inspiration for Mel Gibson's Ransom . The film is a masterpiece from beginning to end . Not a single moment wasted.Toshiro Mifune shows why is consider by many the most important japanese ( or even asian ) actor of all time .
Kurosawa ranks for me at the top of the best directors just sharing his place with John Ford .
The Criterion release is just great . Image and surround sound are clean and clear . I wish we have in Spain that marvelous catalog .
046 4 Akira Kurosawa keeps impressing me with the scope of his abilities and High and Low was just another example . This story seems to start out somewhat clumsily . After all , we certainly HOPE this movie isn't about creating a better woman's high heel . But just as we sense a movie along the line of Executive Suite might be coming into view , we suddenly switch gears and then switch them again . We find ourselves in the midst of a suspenseful morality play . We are given an examination of so many aspects of life and society in such a compelling manner that it's hard to categorize just what kind of a movie High and Low is . It's safe to say that there is something in this movie that will appeal to just about every film buff who doesn't shy away from Black and White movies , Post WWII films , or watching foreign movie with subtitles . It is a movie that is worth watching again to see what all you missed the first , second or third time through . A great cast headlined appropriately by Toshiro Mifune just adds to everything else that this movie brings .
047 4 This amazing achievement of cinema simply takes hold of your sub-conscious and does not let go until the Japanese characters of the end fade onto screen . Even having read the premise and plot and character sketches of this movie had not prepared me for the film itself . Kurosawa is a genius , not because of his broad range of works and themes but , because of his masterful subtle control of elements within the single movie . The theme is none other than an obvious contrast ( although the original Japanese translation of the title can be rendered Heaven and Hell ) and here we have a movie of conflicting opposites as existing only in a modern industrilize society . And the movie itself is broke into two contrasts : first , the money-comfort view of upper-class workaholic dedicated businessman Mufine in an expansive home overlooking the town , people , and indusrty below and , second , the view of a degenerate crimminal element weaving its way through a city of many sub-levels ( similar to the effect made in the anime masterwork Metropolis ) where one level , working class , then police quarters , and finally dope alley lead us further into the enormous chasm of rich and poor , fortunate and unfortunate , high and low , heaven and hell . This multi-level construction gives the movie a complexity that only a few movies have even come close to touch . Be sure to watch for the countless composition shots in the first half of the film ( almost no two are alike ) . In addition the contrasts and similes between characters themselves add to the plot giving us the effect much like the enormous city map blow-up down at police headquarters . Everything and everyone intersects at one point and the implications of this is much like watching lives unfold in a documentary that can be compared to some of the best moments in other theater and film ( from Death of a Salesman to Hitchcock's Rear Window ) . Not that there are obvious similarities but , the mood and feel of certain great movies are universal .
048 4 I have recently seen three restored Kurosawa films at the theatre : Throne of Blood , Rashomon , and High and Low . This was easily the best , with Throne of Blood coming in second . Rashomon was not quite all that it was built up to be , in my opinion .
At first I thought it was going to be a single-location mystery , all taking place in the home of the wealthy shoe plant executive . Probably the first half is shot there , then things start getting interesting . The tension builds as the police work actually takes over the focus of the second half of the film .
Like all that I've seen from Kurosawa , this film is done magnificently well . The camera , the story , the acting . Mifune has become one of my favorite actors . He is amazing in everything . I've seen no one else who can express so much through their face . I'll be sure to rent or buy all his movies that I can't see at the theatre .
This is a long film , but stick with it and enjoy a real classic .
049 4 the word masterpiece is tossed around alot . . while there may be 100 movies maximum that truly desrve that title . . its amazing how akira kurosawa has made about 5 of them . .
this was the first time i saw a kurosawa film outside of the samurai genre and it blew me away . . the acting . . pacing . . camera work . . script . . they are all nearly flawless .
as always the criterian collection does an amazing job this is a film that truly desrves the red carpet treatment
050 4 Kurosawa is best known for his samurai films , so unfortunately some of his modern dramas get brushed aside . I have taken a course dedicated completely to Kurosawa's films and have seen about sixteen of them . This one remains one of my favorites . It's an exciting detective story , and the scenes with the drug addicts are absolutely chilling . Don't miss out on this one !
051 4 Kurosawa's study of a crime is like nothing I've ever seen . It begins wrenchingly with the kidnap of a rich industrialist's child , but the kidnapper has snatched the wrong child and the industrialist must confront his own financial ruin to save his chauffeur's child . The movie shifts its focus in the second third of the movie to the detectives who try to catch the kidnapper . They are dogged , heroic , determined to catch the kidnapper . They succeed , and the last third of the movie shifts to the kidnapper who is portrayed with the greatest empathy so that the viewer is left wondering who after all is the villain ( or is it all of us ? ) . A movie that can be seen and re-seen without ever giving up all its meanings . Toshiro Mifune heads the superb cast . This movies has it all , deep compassion , enormous suspense , dramatic situations , wonderful characters . It was Kurosawa's interpretation of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment .
052 4 This was my first Kurosawa ever and I now finally know why my father always raved about this fantastic director from Japan in my childhood . The original title of the film , rendered mostly in Chinese characters , literally mean Heaven and Hell . But don't let that fool you , because what Kurosawa has done is actually an amazingly complex drama about the human condition . Gondo lives a life both of heavenly pleasure ( money , patronage , prestige ) and hellish pressures ( struggles with his business partners , the shoe industry , ideals of shoe-making ! ) The main bad guy doesn't have as complex a portrayl , but it's masterful that Kurosawa made the guy / kidnapper's day-job one of a medical assistant in a hospital . It is such pitting of extremities of what we consider moral and immoral that make this film so interesting . Stylistically it has a lot of attention to detail . Very closed and formal compositions with regards to how the characters are placed on-screen in each shot . And yes , the sequences of the bullet train ( intriguingly double-framed during the police meeting ) is just fantastic ! RIP Kurosawa-san - you've earned it .
053 4 Akira Kurosawa is better known here for his historic dramas , but he was a master of many forms . Here he combines again with Toshiro Mifune to create an atmospheric mystery ostensibly about a kidnapping , but also a social commentary on the wide gap being developed in Japanese society by post-war prosperity . The Japanese title actually better translates Heaven and Hell , and refers to the two worlds of the antagonists : the elevated world of the business executive , and the degraded world of the poor and desperate . Kurosawa moves us emotionally and physically from one world to the other , concluding with a deathrow confrontation between the principles that is one of the most harrowing in film . This films ranks high on my list of Kurosawa films , and is a classic by any standard .
054 4 Mifune plays the lead role as the wealthy managing director of a shoe factory when his life is turned upside by a kidnapping . Although the kidnapping , which takes an important twist , is central to the story , most of the fun of the movie is Kurosawa's portrait of ciy-life in 50 ' s Japan . The police investigation is as fun to watch as anything out of Hollywood . Life consists of so many levels and High and Low takes you through them all . Great movie , especially if you own a business and have employees .
055 4 Akira Kurosawa's 1963 film , High and Low ( Tengoku to jigoku ; aka Heaven and Hell ) followed his 1961 and 1962 classics ,
Yojimbo & Sanjuro
. Adapted from Ed McBain's novel
King's Ransom
, the black and white crime thriller tells the riveting two-part story of a wealthy businessman , Kingo Gondo ( Toshirô Mifune ) , who attempts to gain control of a Yokohama company , National Shoes , while executives are greedily divided over shoe quality . Meanwhile , ruthless kidnappers mistakenly abduct the child of Gondo's chauffeur , believing it is Gondo's son . Gondo is then faced with a moral dilemma : do the honorable thing , pay the ransom and lose the company , or proceed with the company buyout and lose another man's child . As the film's title suggests , this is a film about the rich and poor in 1960s industrial Yokohama . The second part of the film follows an elaborate investigation as police attempt to locate the missing child , the ransom money , and the kidnapper . The film concludes with Gondo confronting the kidnapper face to face , and the ending is anything but predictable . The film includes Kurosawa regulars Ky。ko Kagawa , Takashi Shimura , and Susumu Fujita . The black and white cinematography is crisp .
The Criterion Double Disc Special Edition of High and Low features a newly restored high-definition transfer with original four-track surround sound ; audio commentary featuring Akira Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince ; a 37 - minute documentary on the making of High and Low , created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa : It Is Wonderful to Create ; rare video interview with actor Toshiro Mifune , conducted by TV talk-show host Tetsuko Kuroyanagi ; a new video interview with actor Tsutomu Yamazaki , who plays the kidnapper ; theatrical trailers from Japan and the U.S . ; and and a booklet featuring a new essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien and an on-set account by Japanese film scholar Donald Richie .
G . Merritt
056 4 Yes , I am a fan of Kurosawa , but I am also a critic . This film , like some of his others , does seem to wander off from the narrative thread . Focusing on characters that , initially , don't seem as important to the story , for large chunks of film . However , as Kurosawa also often does , when the final scene has played and you are left with what the film is . You realize all of the footage is vitally important to what Kurosawa is trying to show you . As the title suggests , this film is an examination of the human condition and how people can strive to become all that they can or how they can let themselves become much less than they should . The separation of heaven and hell or , of high and low .
057 4 Crackerjack suspense yarn by Kurosawa based on the novel KING'S RANSOM by Ed McBain . Toshiro Mifune plays a rich industrialist distraught at his board of directors who want to make a shoddy product ( shoes ) for a bigger profit ; he mortgages everything he owns to raise the money to buy the company and continue to make a top-quality shoe .
But then his son is kidnapped and a huge ransom demanded , only it turns out to be NOT his son who was kidnapped but the boy he was playing with at the time , his chauffeur's son . He's faced with a moral dilemma : should he pay the ransom anyway and be ruined financially , or not ? He decides to pay and get the boy back ; then the police go to work to catch the kidnapper .
At this point the movie becomes a fast-paced police procedural . The kidnapper's motive for committing the crime is not just for the money but to make the rich suffer . Mifune is ruined at the end , but public support is behind him . It's a great crime drama ; only near the end when the chase takes the police into the seamy side of town does the pace lag a bit . What I found most fascinating was how differently the Japanese police handled the case from the way American police might - so much more compassionately . Definitely worth a watch .
058 4 Kurosawa seems to have been interested , if not fascinated , by American mystery / detective fiction . This film is officially adapted from Ed mcBain's King's Ransome , and Yojimbo is an uncredited but admitted adaptation of Hammett's Red Harvest .
King's Ransome is a natural for adaptation to a Japanese setting , as it revolves around questions as to what is proper and what is owed ; what is owed to the master by the servant and what is owed by the master to the servant , and , beyond that , and possibly more importantly , as it dictates how one will act on such interactions , what is owed to one's own honour and self-respect .
By naming his character Kingo , Kurosawa both follows the original ( McBain's character's name , to accord with the title pun , is King ) , and emphasises the almost feudal questions of honour involved in the story .
Other reviews have summarised the plot - - i'll just touch on a few points :
King / Kingo is CEO of an established family-run shoe manufacturing company ; in response to falling products , somef his Board want to import shoddy shoes and put the company's respected name on them , in order to make a quick profit . He sees this as wrong , both in that it is not fair to the customers who rely on their brand-name to mean a quality shoe , and because , in the long run , it will damage the honour ( and commercial viability ) of that name .
One element of the essential conflict : What does the company owe its loyal customers ? And can the company tolerate the loss of face inherent in such a bait-and-switch scheme ?
And then the ransome note arrives - - pay , or his twelve-year-old son dies . If he pays the ransome , he will lose the fight on the Board of Directors , and his company name will be damaged ; but there's no choice - - this is his only son , more important to him than anything else in the world . But , * because * of the fight with the Directors , he already has the money needed for the ransome on hand ; of course he will pay .
Another element : Blood is more important than money .
And then McBain and Kurosawa's twist - - the son is fine ; it is his long-time playmate and age-mate , the chauffeur's son , who has been kidnapped .
The chauffeur is a long-time employee and friend . His son and Kingo's son are devoted playmates . The chauffeur is a widower and his son is his only family .
He has given Kingo his loyalty for many years . And now he is suffering for his proximity to the great man - - if not for that loyal service and his son's closeness to Kingo's son , his son would not be in danger .
The final element : How much does Kingo owe this good man - - and in what manner ; as employer ? As friend ? As ( however unintentionally and passively ) the cause of his trouble ?
If he pays the debt he acknowledges that he owes his chauffeur and ransomes his son , than he will lose his shoe company ; his name will be publically dishonoured by the shoddy prodcut that the company will market if he loses .
But , if he saves his company , he will save his name's honour in that regard , and will publically not lose face . . . but he , and the chauffeur and his own son will know that he sacrificed an innocent whom he could have saved .
Kingo is not an evil man nor a hard man ; he must choose , and he must make the correct choice aganst a constantly-shortening time limit .
An excellent adaptation of a classic police procedural novel , and a cogent and pointed essay on honour and responsibility , subjects common in Kurosawa's work .
( ( For another of his films dealing with similar questions of honour and loyalty , try Kagemusha . ) )
059 4 This movie is a bit of a divergence from most of Toshiro Mifune's action packed samurai movies , but it shows his wide range as a talented actor . Filmed in black and white , this is a story of a wealthy businessman who's servant's son is kidnapped .
The plot twist is that the servant's son was mistaken for Toshiro's son . This puts a burden on Toshiro and his level of responsibility to his servant and his role as a human .
060 4 This review is from :
High and Low - Criterion Collection ( DVD )
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD version of the film .
This film is well written and based on the Novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain . Having not read the novel , I cannot determine how faithful the film is to the book .
In the film a wealthy man's son is the target of a kidnapping and ransom . The ransom is ¥30 million ( Yen ) which in those days was a lot of money , but today is little over a quarter million US dollars .
The movie itself has some cinematography that has been imitated or is an imitation of . Most of the first 30 minutes of the film take place exclusively in a single house , similar to the film 12 angry men and it having taken place almost exclusively inside a jury room .
The film is in black and white with a single scene in where part of the film is hand colored . I would go into further details , but it might be considered a spoiler . This scene immediately reminded me of the scenes in Schindler's list involving the girl in the red coat .
The film has some well photographed scenes and is impressive .
The Criterion DVD has no special features which is a bit dissappointing .
061 4 This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD version of the film .
This film is well written and based on the Novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain . Having not read the novel , I cannot determine how faithful the film is to the book .
In the film a wealthy man's son is the target of a kidnapping and ransom . The ransom is ¥30 million ( Yen ) which in those days was a lot of money , but today is little over a quarter million US dollars .
The movie itself has some cinematography that has been imitated or is an imitation of . Most of the first 30 minutes of the film take place exclusively in a single house , similar to the film 12 angry men and it having taken place almost exclusively inside a jury room .
The film is in black and white with a single scene in where part of the film is hand colored . I would go into further details , but it might be considered a spoiler . This scene immediately reminded me of the scenes in Schindler's list involving the girl in the red coat .
The film has some well photographed scenes and is impressive .
The Criterion DVD has no special features which is a bit dissappointing .
062 4 Does a wealthy Japanese industrialist care enough about his chauffer's son to pay the kidnapper's ransom ? Could he live with himself if he didn't ? I found this to be a rather interesting film . I first saw it in a philosophy class I was taking at my local community college a couple of years ago . It captured my interest . Toshiro Mifune hardly smiles throughout the whole film but can you blame him ? If he pays , he's out of a large sum of cash . If he doesn't pay , the kidnappers will kill the boy hostage and Mifune will be the scourge of society . Everyone will detest him for his selfish act . And what would his son think ? It's been awhile since I saw the movie but if my memory serves me correctly , were not Mifune's boy and the chauffer's son friends ? That's another dilemma . It was a nice experience seeing something like this come out of Japan . It's clear that the Japanese film industry is more than competent enough to go beyond Godzilla movies and anime . Akira Kurosawa has proven that for years .
063 4 A masterpiece of the human condition . Kurosawa can help the audience empathize with anyone no matter how low or high .
064 4 For me this is one of the greatest works of cinema every created . I am not prone to hyperbole , but High and Low constantly remains at the top of my favorite movies list . Toshiro Mifune shines brightly .
065 4 Although he is best known for his samurai epics , High and Low proves that Akira Kurosawa can handle material of a different nature just as effectively . Helping him out is constant collaborator Toshirô Mifune whose character is also a change of pace from the familiar
Japanese businessman Kingo Gondo ( Mifune ) is working on a plan to acquire control of a local shoe company . A crisis soon emerges when he receives a phone call telling him his son has been kidnapped . Gondo is devastated because paying the ransom would mean the planned takeover will not go through . The situation then changes when Gondo realizes it was not his son who was kidnapped but rather the son of his chauffeur . Now knowing that the kidnapper has made an error , Gondo must decide whether he will still go ahead and pay the ransom .
High and Low not only works as a police procedural thriller but as a philosophical conundrum . Would you give up your dream and endanger the financial security of your family in order to save the life of another ? Kurosawa ably examines this difficult question through the lens of Japanese culture and the nuances of its class system . Perfectly channeling all of the conflicting emotions at work is Mifune who turns in an outstanding performance . Although his acting is rather subdued in High and Low , he skillfully conveys all the pain and agony Gondo goes through via his facial expressions and body language . Fans of both Kurosawa and Mifune who are looking for a story set in more modern times will not be disappointed with this small but satisfying film .
066 4 A good movie by the great one - - Kurosawa . Not better than his other works though .
067 4 This was one of those marvelous films I discovered by accident . Toshiro Mifune plays a wealthy industrialist whose son is kidnapped and held for ransom . Yes , we've all been down that road before , but this one is paved by the legendary director Akira Kurosawa and that makes all the difference in the world . Taut , exciting and unpredictable , this is a first rate thriller that is not to be missed .
069 4 High and Low is one of Kurosawa's more popular films . The film concerns a criminal kidnapping the son of a wealthy shoe mogul who gets enough money to buy out his company . The kidnapping comes at the worst time - - because the kidnapper wants the exact amount of money the mogul has , and to make things worse the kidnapper kidnapped the son of the mogul's chauffeur . This happens in the first half hour , and the rest of the film is spent chasing after the criminal , leading to one of the best endings to a Kurosawa film , wherein the Mogul and Kidnapper finally meet face to face . The film is too long , with the cops hitting dead end after dead end . If it was shorter and tighter it would have been better . But , it's not a bad Friday night rental . If you like Kurosawa's line of work , you will appreciate this film .
070 4 Kurosawa's visual style is , as always , brilliant here , but it's his writing - - good , at best even in his greatest efforts - - that fails him .
The film is a very lopsided affair , with a riveting first half keeping you glued to the screen , while the sleep-enducing second half leads to a let-down of an ending .
The problem comes from the main dramatic intrigue of the kidnapping resolved WAY too early into the film . The cops then go on the hunt for the criminal who committed the act , only to find that he's a petty crook with NO character development to him . You sit there and feel like you've wasted 45min of your time while these cops go after someone , and it's just some guy . And the film ends .
Another reviewer mentioned the quote It's like that house is looking down at the rest of us . Duh . Thanks for the obvious .
This is precisely the flaw with many Japanese films , including Kurosawa's . It seems that the Japanese MUST give you everything you need to know in dialogue , with characters blurting out key plot points or thematic metaphors in token speeches . This happens in many japanimation films ( where I would expect it to happen ) , and unfortunately , in some of Kurosawa's scripts as well . Here , for instance , when Mifune's character picks up the phone , the first thing he says , RIGHT off the bat , is WHAT ? ! YOU。VE KIDNAPPED MY SON ? ? ! Most people who would receive such a phone call - - especially when it hasn't been established that your child had been out playing for an unusual amount of time , or something of that nature - - would first ask : Who is this ? or show some amount of perplexion .
The film just didn't do it for me . Kurosawa's brilliant visuals are here , but , as in Red Beard and some of his later films , he starts to lay on the moralising too thick and delays the end of the film by doing so .
A 45 - min splice would have made this film brilliant .
As it stands , it's only average Kurosawa .
071 4 I love this movie - it is one of Kurosawa's best . Unfortunately , this DVD doesn't play on some players , including mine ( Panasonic ) . I bought 2 copies - both wouldn't play , and Criterion later told me that High Low cannot play ( for now ) on my DVD player . Buyer beware .
072 4 Akira Kurosawa ( aka : AK , the lesser Kurosawa , etc . ) has one of those overblown reputations that earns praise from everyone who can't think for themselves . If the word overrated was assigned a picture reference in a dictionary , a portrait of AK would probably be the best choice . If the word lemming was assigned a synonym in a thesaurus , the term AK follower would fit the bill nicely . It's no understatement to say that the sheer level of brainless veneration that's repeatedly thrown at this guy hasn't been seen since the advent of organized religion - especially when one considers the fact that most of his movies suck , yet are somehow able to earn IMDb average ratings over 8.0 . These people need to stop beating around the bush and simply construct cathedrals in his honor for daily worship .
With High and Low , AK tried and failed to create a mainstream dramatic detective thriller with some exposition on class divisions . If I want the former , I'll watch Memories of Murder ( 2003 ) . If I want the latter , I'll watch Gemini ( 1999 ) . These films came to my mind while watching this AK entry , and provide a nice contrast between fine and poor filmmaking . For example , High and Low lacks the character development and entertainment value that Bong Joon-ho established in Memories of Murder , which included a great chase sequence and an amazing tapering of characters ( the loose cannon cop and the empirical detective have their personas expertly blended together near the end ) . High and Low also failed miserably at showcasing the effective juxtaposition between classes that Shinya Tsukamoto so capably portrayed in Gemini . The smug rich doctor is forced to live in comparable conditions to that of his nemesis to the point where their true merit and worth are brilliantly juxtaposed . High and Low fails to achieve the commercial and / or artistic value of the aforementioned films because - to be frank - both the script and direction are hopelessly incompetent .
I've seen 10 AK films thusfar ( oh , the horror ! ) , and if I can hang my hat on one criticism , it's that AK is frequently hopeless at directing actors ( see Ikiru for overwhelming evidence of his ineptitude ) . It's no surprise then that the acting in High and Low is hit or miss . Mifune is acceptable for certain roles , but he reminds me of David Caruso here with his desire to make every single line of dialogue a dramatic set piece . Does every one of his sentences really need to be punctuated with a forced crescendo ? The unintended effect is that his delivery feels artificial - not unlike most of the actors in AK's films . And seriously , that dope alley scene was just awful .
In vintage AK fashion , High and Low loses all of its momentum by its midpoint and then proceeds to drag itself into the ground . The detective investigations during the latter half are about as dry and predictable as it gets . If that weren't bad enough , key clues are conveniently overlooked for the sole purpose of extending running time . We get detectives who are able to hear a coin drop on the other end of a phone call , yet completely disregard the loud ramblings of a trolley on another phone call because - well - AK simply MUST ensure that his film lasts 140 minutes . Forty minutes of dull police proceduring later , the detective cleans the wax out of his ears and - you guessed it - hears the trolley at AK's convenience , but at the point where my attentiveness had been all but scraped away by mediocre filler material . Oh , and I'd like to personally thank AK for choosing to torture me with one of most boring police / suspect tail sequences in motion picture history .
If that weren't bad enough , some of the scoring sucks too . Just listen to that loud horn music when the abducted kid is recovered by the train tracks . The uber-horn makes at least six more unwelcomed entrances afterward . Remember the angry trumpet in American Ninja ? It's just as bad , and just as intrusive .
For the life of me I'll never understand why everyone on planet earth loves AK so much as a director . It's analogous to being the only atheist in a town full of Catholics . Sure , I can try to ignore those pesky holy rollers , but there's no way I can have a nice breakfast at a local diner without hearing them go on and on about Pope Eggs Benedict . In like manner , I can't escape the tide of unwarranted praise for AK on the internet because the brown-nosing is so extreme and so pronounced that it just grinds on my nerves because these same reviewers will ( in the very same breath , no less ) trash the latest action film for having poor acting or a subpar script . Talk about the pot calling the kettle black ! At least I have enough brain cells to understand that dramas should be based on dramatic elements while action films should be based on - oh , I don't know - * action * elements .
Okay fine . I admit that I wouldn't necessarily classify AK as a no-talent assclown ( he did direct Seven Samurai , Yojimbo , and Sanjuro ) , but to be honest - he's really just a mediocre filmmaker who is dangerously close to being a poor director with a few good flukes under his belt . Sure , I've only seen 10 of his movies , but do you really expect me to continue my masochistic adventure after witnessing a preliminary 30% success rate ? I've still got some Ozu and Naruse films that I gotta see , and I'd rather place my time and money in artists with an 80% success rate . At least Yasujiro and Mikio know how to direct actors properly .
