High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku) (Heaven and Hell)

High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku) (Heaven and Hell) (1962)

  • 93% of critics liked it
    (15 reviews)

  • 94% of users liked it
    (7,727 ratings)

Toshirô Mifune is unforgettable as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper in Akira Kurosawa's highly influential High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku).

Unrated,
Directed By
Written By
Ryuzo Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, Akira Kurosawa
Genres
Drama
In Theaters
Nov 26, 1963 Wide
Criterion Collection

Critic Reviews

  • A.O. Scott, New York Times

    One of the best detective thrillers ever filmed.

  • Paul Attanasio, Washington Post

    High and Low illuminates its world with a wholeness and complexity you rarely see in film.

  • Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

    One of the all-time-great 'procedurals'...the devilish fun is in the details for Kurosawa. [Blu-ray]

  • Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine

    High and Low is a masterful cinematic elevator connecting two warring social perspectives, finding a common ground between them in the pressurized corners of the classic crime drama.

  • Paul Brenner, Filmcritic.com

    The images populate the widescreen frame like a pressure cooker that is ready to blow up. And in High and Low, blow up they do.

Read all 7 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

  • Nicki M


    Have to admit to some eye rolling when this was put on for me to watch. Initially looked like a very old movie and borefest, but I quickly had to eat my words! Very thought provoking and engrossing thriller. Is 143 minutes long, yet doesn't drag. Goes off in many directions and… More

  • Universal D


    A botched kidnapping can make for a taut thriller as Kurosawa proves in this fluid tale, years and years before CSI or any number of police procedurals (seemly broadcast hourly of late). The chase is the thing here, and Mifune's role, though central, is not the only game in town… More

  • familiar s


    Managed to hit the lows more than highs for me. The storyline wasn't gripping or interesting enough, although its main flaw being that for most of the time, it seemed as if the actors were supposed to look their part/character more rather than acting one. I'm no Kurosowa… More

  • Aditya G


    Akira Kurosawa's riveting kidnap + police-procedural drama is an absolute delight to watch. The reasons are many and this is perhaps one of the few instances of a Kurosawa film being set in the contemporary world. Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) is a top executive of National… More

  • Chris W


    Prior to seeign this, I was only familiar with Kurosawa's historical period piece epics. As it turns out, he made many contemporary films as well, this being one of them. This is an adaptation of a work by Ed McBain, who specialized noir fiction. This resulting adaptation is a… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

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Cast

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