Interesteg What makes it different from others?

LastingAware The greatest movie ever!

StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

mukherjeesubham93 Kurosawa made such good movies, even gems like these get ignored. Though filmed in 1963, it holds up really well even today and doesn't feel like a old movie because it was way ahead of it's time. The Kidnapping itself was orchestrated so well, it led to rise in Kidnappings in Japan post the movie's release. The movie must be watched for another reason, the Police procedure. It's depicted with realism, intensity, yet it never becomes complex for an average viewer. The best thing about Kurosawa, much like Ray, is the fact, his movies are simple yet so powerful, and are accessible to everybody. Highly recommended.

Don Gordon Kurosawa was known as a great humanist, and ethical questions clearly play a central role in each thread of the plot. Kingo Gondo (played by Toshiro Mifune) is a director on the board of a company called National Shoes. He is approached by three other directors, who want to overthrow the current president, and start producing a new line of shoes. Gondo agrees that the president is old-fashioned, but he rejects the shoes they show him as shoddily made. He ejects them from his house, only to get a phone call from a kidnapper who claims to have taken his son. His son turns up, but his friend the chauffeur's son is gone. Even after the kidnapper realizes his mistake, he insists that the ransom still be paid. Gondo had been planning to use the money to fight off the take-over bid, so the police immediately wonder if the other directors have orchestrated the kidnapping in order to deprive Gondo of the cash he needs to stop them. The chauffeur, Gondo's wife and the police are all reticent to put too much pressure on Gondo to pay the ransom, but it is clear he must make a choice: to save the boy or fend off the take-over.In the second half, the police investigation is driven on by their sympathy for Gondo and their desire to see the culprit punished for all of his crimes. There is also a class struggle subtext with Gondo living in a quiet mansion on a hill and the kidnapper in a tiny room below.The cast of High and Low was truly star-studded. Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Isao Kimura and Minoru Chiaki were among the Seven Samurai, and the lead detective here Tatsuya Nakadai had a leading role in both Sanjuro and Yojimbo. The kidnapper is played by Tsutomu Yamazaki who would go on to star in Juuzo Itami's Tampopo. Future Mito Komon lead Eijirou Touno even has a cameo as a factory worker.The film is in black and white, but Kurosawa has a wonderful eye for arresting visuals, and the story is tense and absorbing to the end. A classic.

Sergeant_Tibbs Even though Akira Kurosawa is mostly associated for his samurai classics, I'm really not a fan of them, besides his later opus Ran. I admire many of Kurosawa's techniques but I don't connect. High and Low is the first of his modern day films I've seen since Ikiru many years ago and although they're as respected but not as popular as his samurai films, I think I've found the niche where I love Kurosawa. The first hour is set in one place, boasting a riveting moral dilemma ripe for the textbooks. It's a fascinating psychological study to watch how protagonist Mr. Gondo's behaviour differs between the threat of holding his son hostage to the actual threat of holding an employee's son hostage, thanks to Toshiro Mifune's great performance. No matter what way the character plays it from there, the damage is already done and his vulnerability is revealed. It kind of makes you glad you aren't rich. This first half is ready for a stage adaptation and I wish it was the whole film as it relieves the tension mid-way. The rest of the film is a police procedural following the investigation to catch the extortionist. It's interesting and engaging but not quite as compelling. The film would have benefited from not skipping round its ensemble too much, especially after committing to Mr. Gondo at first so much. I would have also liked to have known more about the antagonist's motivation outside of a case of class jealousy, but I guess that was the point that the film was trying to illustrate. High and Low is still an essential entry in Kurosawa's canon, one that set the bar and foundation for cop thrillers to come.8/10

mevmijaumau High and Low is an interesting film noir-type thriller, based on the novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain. Like Ikiru, it's split in two parts, and again the first one is better. The first part is more minimalistic but more thrilling. It has fewer characters, only one set, simple dialogues and some really intense moments. The second part has more characters, locations, long-winded explanations and dragged-out scenes, which made me lose interest a few times. I do, however, like the ending, as well as the pink smoke scene (I mean, who doesn't love that one?). Like many other Kurosawa's films concerning social issues he filmed beforehand, High and Low also criticizes the post-war intrusion of American culture on Japan, often through subtle moments such as the two boys at the start playing cowboys, or sometimes a bit more bluntly, like in the night club scene, where American music is played and there are many Americans among the crowd.However, the most important aspect of the film, brought up even in its title, concerns social classes. The two halves of the movie are completely different as I mentioned, in every way imaginable. The first half is set in Gondo's luxurious home which oversees the rest of the town. Gondo's home is very empty and quiet. The camera is static and timid. The second half moves locations frequently, is very loud and messy, and the camera is dynamic. All of those effects are here to further describe the difference between the two worlds. The film ends with a confrontation between Gondo and the kidnapper (High and Low), when Gondo realizes that the kidnapper is very similar to him and with that moment of realization Kurosawa sends the message that the people of both classes should be considered equal.7,5/10