High and Low (天国と地獄 - Tengoku to Jigoku) (1963)

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8.7	Rating (241 ratings)
8.4	IMDB rating

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Directed by

Akira Kurosawa

Starring (View all)

Toshirô Mifune
Kingo Gondo

Tatsuya Nakadai
Chief Detective Tokura

Kyôko Kagawa
Reiko Gondo

Tatsuya Mihashi
Kawanishi - Gondo's Secretary

Isao Kimura
Detective Arai

Kenjirô Ishiyama
Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi

Takeshi Katô
Detective Nakao

Takashi Shimura
Chief of Investigation Section

Written by (View all)

Hideo Oguni
(screenplay)

Ryûzô Kikushima
(screenplay)

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Reviews

A very good movie

13 years, 8 months ago at Mar 31 11:28

johanlefourbe

More than 20 years ago, I started to get really interested in movies and I started to discover the great classics. In this journey, one of my first discoveries would be Akira Kurosawa. In the 90’s, I have seen many of his movies and he has been ever since one of my favorite directors. Even though Kurosawa has been mostly famous for his samuraï movies (‘Rashomon’, ‘Ran’, ‘Kagemusha’,... read more

Right up there with Kurasawa's best

2 years, 4 months ago at Aug 4 13:25

Kyle Ellis

Not my favourite Akira Kurasawa film by all means, but for me definitely in the top 10 of his best films. Perhaps the final sequence is a little too safe, but it's not too much of a big problem compared to how good everything else is. Kurasawa's movies all have the advantage of being well made and directed, and High and Low is certainly no exception. The single-set scenery is both atmospheric and ... read more

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At a crucial point in his business life, executive Gondo learns that his son has been kidnapped and that the ransom demanded is near the amount Gondo has raised for a critical business deal. Gondo is prepared to pay the ransom - that is, until he learns that the kidnappers have mistakenly abducted not Gondo's son, but the child of Gondo's chauffeur. Now Gondo must decide whether the other man's child is equally worth saving.

UPC: 037429130322

Tags: 1960s (10), Japan (9), 1963 (8), Drama (7), Crime (6), Japanese (5), Kidnapping (4), Bw (3), Architecture (3), Suicide (3), Thriller (3), Shoe (2), Not Foreign (2), Executive (2), Drug (2), Train (2), Kurosawa (2), Home (2), Not Foreign Language (2), Police (2)

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Kyle Ellis posted a review 2 years, 4 months ago

Right up there with Kurasawa's best

“Not my favourite Akira Kurasawa film by all means, but for me definitely in the top 10 of his best films. Perhaps the final sequence is a little too safe, but it's not too much of a big problem compared to how good everything else is. Kurasawa's movies all have the advantage of being well made and directed, and High and Low is certainly no exception. The single-set scenery is both atmospheric and epic, and the cinematography is as ever exceptional. While Kurasawa's direction is one of his more subtle overall directorial jobs, it never undermines the riveting and tense feel of the always compelling story. The score is suitably haunting, and Toshiro Mifune's lead performance is very brooding.All in all, a superb film and one of Kurasawa's best. 10/10 Bethany Cox” read more