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

Featured Audience Ratings

• 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
  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 fan, but did enjoy Rashomon and had fair expectations from this one owing to that experience. Obviously being a Kurosowa flick didn't help any in sitting through this 140+ minutes long dramatic thriller.

• 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
  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 Shoes, who aims high and plans to buy out most of the shares of the company. He feels he is the only one who possesses the wit and expertise to do good business with the resources at hand and manages to rub the other shareholders the wrong way. He puts everything at stake and amasses the means to carry out his task when things take a turn for the worse as he receives an anonymous call from a person who claims to have kidnapped his only son. The kidnapper demands a whopping 30 million yen in return for the son. Just as Gondo is coming to terms with the situation he realizes his son is still around the house and the kidnapper accidentally kidnapped his Chauffeur Aoki's (Yutaka Sada) son! Gondo is faced with a dilemma of losing a fortune and his dreams of owning National Shoes against keeping it all and being branded a cruel man who let his chauffeur's son die! What choices does Gondo make? What happens to the chauffeur's son? Is the kidnapper finally nabbed and brought to justice? Kurosawa's film is not a run-of-the-mill Hollywood-like thriller. Like any other Kurosawa film this one also looks deep into the psyche of the characters and lets the audiences understand them. Almost all players, from the lead character Gondo to his chauffeur Aoki, to some of the Police officers involved, everyone has considerably meaty roles to play and that is a big plus. In fact Mifune's character takes a backseat in the entire second half of the film, as the cops take over in one of the most intense investigation missions I've ever seen on screen. There are some very clever scenes in the film that reflect the director's genius and you can't help but smile in admiration! [img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-b1ZeUAHHgTU/Tr4EbsonEpI/AAAAAAAACFg/i9cgGjzZOLU/s704/vlcsnap-2011-11-12-10h45m17s69.jpg[/img] Every frame of this film is rife with suspense as you wonder what would happen next; how would this character behave next, what steps would he take? Pretty soon, we, the audiences, become part of the whole case as we feel for Gondo and empathize with him for the soup he is in. It soon becomes National news and the entire Police force is put on the task of tracking down the perpetrators! The investigations are shown to the last detail as they unfold across the 2.5 hours length of the film and it is no surprise, Kurosawa being the man behind this! The intention, I presume, was to show the immense difficulty the police face in cracking such cases. The measures they take, the sleepless nights they spend, the way they have to cling to every little shred of evidence they get that can lead them to their man. Yes indeed, it is a time consuming and frustrating process and Kurosawa couldn't have done a better job of showing it on screen. We are led deep into the investigation and yet in a very lucid manner, without confusing the audience too much, like a magician, Kurosawa gets us audiences involved in the case! It is this wonderful quality of Kurosawa's filmmaking that takes "High and Low" to a much higher level than any other film with a similar premise that you may have seen. [img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gjz7pjqwJfo/Tr4EbiHTpvI/AAAAAAAACFc/lQWzTl7jSZw/s704/vlcsnap-2011-11-12-10h47m27s88.jpg[/img] The cinematography is another aspect worth appreciating. Asakazu Nakai and Takao Saito capture some of the finest images and make great use of the widescreen aspect ratio! Superb frames all along and cleverly shot scenes, especially in some of the most important sequences in the film that require ingenious camerawork. Acting is amazing as well with yet another standout performance from the legendary Toshiro Mifune! What an outstanding display of angst, frustration and anger, you almost feel that he is actually going through all the trauma. It is a superlative piece of acting that has to be seen to be believed! Great supporting acts from Tatsuya Nakadai as Chief Inspector Tokura, Kenjiro Ishiyama as the scary looking detective Taguchi, Yutaka Sada as the Chauffeur Aoki, Tatsuya Mihashi as Gondo's right hand man, Kawanishi, Kyoko Kagawa as Mrs. Gondo and finally Tsutomu Yamazaki in a short but extremely memorable performance as Ginjirô Takeuchi. The five minutes sequence between Mifune and Yamazaki is highly disturbing, yet worth a standing ovation. [img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CX4mf5u-Pl0/Tr4Fm3xfuqI/AAAAAAAACF4/DsrAZjJzVvY/s704/vlcsnap-2011-11-12-11h05m24s59.jpg[/img] Takashi Shimura also makes a small apperance as the Chief of Investigations, but isn't given much to do except look over the Police meetings and take feedback. Akira Kurosawa's "High and Low" is perhaps one of his most under-appreciated films and one that puts most other films of the premise to shame. Do not miss this highly captivating, suspenseful drama. Score: 9/10

• 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
  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 westernized but Japanese take on film noir, and the results are pretty impressive. The story concerns a wealthy industrialist who is planning on trying to buy out his company after disagreements on what direction the company should take. In order to do this, he has put up a considerable amoutn of money, even the mortgage to his home. A short time after a meeting with others bigwigs of his comany, his son goes missing, and he gets a call saying that his son has been kidnapped. It turns out however that the wrong kod was taken, and the caller has his chauffeur's son instead. What follows is a wonderful moral dilemma: either the man can pay the ransom, save the kid and lose everyhting else (his life depends on his job) or save his job and let a kid who isn't his be killed. Overall, this is a very tense film that not only works as a crime thriller, but also gives great insight into the contemporary (at the time) values of Japanese society and the innerworkings of Japanese law enforcement. This is a long film, and it really feels like two in one, with the first half devoted to dealing with the moral debate, and the second half being a police procedural that follows the efforts to track down the kidnapper and bring him to justice. The film is mostly shot in wideshots, with a number of long takes. The beauty of all this is how well this works in getting the audience involved in the situations and really amping up the tension. After a while I barely even noticied that fair amoutns of time passed between cuts. When long takes don't bring attention to themselves, then you know this is a sign that the director is using them for the right reasons, and isn't trying to be a showoff. They actually have power and meaning here. Granted, this is Kurosawa we're talking about, but still. Aside from this though, the cinematography overall is quite well done and the black and white looks great and really adds to the atmosphere. The acting is top notch. Long time Kurosawa collaborator Toshiro Mifune is wonderful as Kingo Gondo the conflicted industrialist. Tatsuya Nakadai is good as Inspector Tokura, and Tsutomu Yamazaki is suitably menacing as the kidnapper Ginji Takeuchi. The acting and cinematography aren't the only highlights though, as the whole film is just a real piece of work. It's got a compelling stoary that's well written and conceived, and it brings up some great issues and situations for the characters to deal with. You care about what happens and really get involved in things. The only real issue I had is that the film is rather long and seemed to drag here and there at times. I didn't mind it too much because I was engrossed in the story, but yeah, I did start to get a bit fidgety, so it could have been tighter. All in all, this is some really good stuff. I give this a pretty solid recommendation.

• Jan Marc M

  
  High And Low is a masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa that challenges the mores of the affluent class. High And Low is a masterful exposition of a police procedure in pursuit of a criminal accountable for abduction, extortion, and murder. At macro perspective, High And Low illuminates the… More
  High And Low is a masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa that challenges the mores of the affluent class. High And Low is a masterful exposition of a police procedure in pursuit of a criminal accountable for abduction, extortion, and murder. At macro perspective, High And Low illuminates the disparity in social structure as an effect of industrialization. Genius.

• Ken S

  
  Great great great noir and one of my favorite Kurosawa's.

• danny d

  
  my second viewing was even better than the first. i think this may be one of the most well crafted, well written, well shot films in history. the script is flawless and complex, the acting astounding, and then cinematography and art direction as masterfully planned out as a film can… More
  my second viewing was even better than the first. i think this may be one of the most well crafted, well written, well shot films in history. the script is flawless and complex, the acting astounding, and then cinematography and art direction as masterfully planned out as a film can get. not as well revered for a kurosawa film as seven samurai, yojimbo, or rashomon, but just as good. particularly the scene in the police station during the briefing and the final scene, as well as the stunning and haunting junky alley scene, the film has a quality that no other film of this genre does. possibly the best crime drama ever made.

• Michael G

  
  Akira Kurowawa's High and Low was a brutal drag of a watch for me several years ago but when I was ready for it I liked it a lot more. Certain sequences in Kurosawa's noir/crime epic are nothing short of fantastic (the police briefing sequence, junkie alley, the trade-off)… More
  Akira Kurowawa's High and Low was a brutal drag of a watch for me several years ago but when I was ready for it I liked it a lot more. Certain sequences in Kurosawa's noir/crime epic are nothing short of fantastic (the police briefing sequence, junkie alley, the trade-off) and other parts (hunting the kidnapper, namely) were gruelingly slow. The contrast between the moral dilemma of the first half and the police investigation of the latter half was really nice. It was also reassuring that Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune were capable of greatness without swords and top-knots. The ending left a little much to be desired but that pink smokestack (which Steven Spielberg better have owned up to as inspiration for the one scene in Schindler's List) was amazing to the point where I didn't care all that much how High and Low ended...

• Randy T

  
  Kurosawa's <i>High and Low</i> plays like two distinctly separate films. The first part being the dramatic moral dilemma of a corporate tycoon forced to choose between his own financial security and the life of a child. The latter part being a complex police drama… More
  Kurosawa's <i>High and Low</i> plays like two distinctly separate films. The first part being the dramatic moral dilemma of a corporate tycoon forced to choose between his own financial security and the life of a child. The latter part being a complex police drama outlining the excruciating detail of detectives on the trail of a psychotic kidnapper. I love the way the director stages his scenes here, particularly "junkie alley" where the addicts converge like so many zombies on anyone who strays into their midst. This could have easily been an inspiration for Romero's <i>Night of the Living Dead</i>. This is essential viewing for anyone who appreciates a good crime drama, Japanese cinema and/or Akira Kurosawa's body of work. Good stuff!

• El Hombre I

  
  Frequent Kurosawa star Toshiro Mifune exchanges his samurai outfit to play the modern-day millionaire in a suit and tie and features in a very solid detective story. The clues and surprises come fast with about as much sentiment as a pulp novel. As with any of his films, the camera… More
  Frequent Kurosawa star Toshiro Mifune exchanges his samurai outfit to play the modern-day millionaire in a suit and tie and features in a very solid detective story. The clues and surprises come fast with about as much sentiment as a pulp novel. As with any of his films, the camera is the storyteller with some of Kurosawa's best compositions. Hollywood directors could learn some lessons here too if they weren't so concerned with creating superficial films for multiplex profits. Viewers afraid to venture beyond Kurosawa's samurai films should leave their worries behind. He can handle drama in any setting and any time period. High and Low easily shows that. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=HighandLow.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/HighandLow.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Stella D

  
  an excellent crime drama. it's always fun to see mifune and nakadai play something besides samurai and mifune gives a nicely restrained performance here as a man who must choose between his prosperity and the life of a child. great city scenes toward the end. kurosawa… More
  an excellent crime drama. it's always fun to see mifune and nakadai play something besides samurai and mifune gives a nicely restrained performance here as a man who must choose between his prosperity and the life of a child. great city scenes toward the end. kurosawa obviously loved film noir :)

• Cassandra M

  
  While I've seen HIGH AND LOW referred to as a "film noir," a "detective drama," a "riveting game of cat-and-mouse," and so on into infinity, I think those terms tend to underestimate some very great films (such as this and Kubrick's THE KILLING)… More
  While I've seen HIGH AND LOW referred to as a "film noir," a "detective drama," a "riveting game of cat-and-mouse," and so on into infinity, I think those terms tend to underestimate some very great films (such as this and Kubrick's THE KILLING) and attempts to place them within boundaries over which the expanse of a few powerful films such as these spill. Indeed HIGH AND LOW is a story involving some familiar techniques from film noir; the detective story; and the hunter-and-hunted storyline, but it surpasses so many films that might be included in a list of fine films noires. It, in true Kurosawa style (one which Stanley Kubrick matched blow-for-blow, seeming to complement one another in their stunning gifts to the cinema), stands as a fable showing the differences and tensions which the coexistance of different classes creates. Gondo, the rich on high, receives torment from those who live below him, being literally perched upon a hill, overlooking the city in a feudalistic way, in which the king's palace gazes down upon the serfs below. As the kidnapper says, "it's hot as hell down here. But you wouldn't know that, you have air conditioning." Thus we see the parallels pile upon each other: it is about class warfare but also shows the differences between heaven and hell; and Gondo makes both a descent and ascent simultaneously. The plot is simple, but the truth is complicated, and I won't go into it here, but take my word as it stands: this is an amazing piece of film. See it now or regret it! Every Kurosawa film is sublime.

• Matthew Y

  
  A landmark film that is astonishingly never spoken in the same breath as other Kurosawa masterpieces though it is every bit as good. High and Low is about a wealthy industrialist Gondo, played by Mifune, who receives a call from a man claiming to have kidnapped his boy. The ransomer… More
  A landmark film that is astonishingly never spoken in the same breath as other Kurosawa masterpieces though it is every bit as good. High and Low is about a wealthy industrialist Gondo, played by Mifune, who receives a call from a man claiming to have kidnapped his boy. The ransomer asks for such an alarming amount that it would ruin Gondo to pay it. He of course would be willing to part with the money, if he must, to save his son. However his son is soon discovered safe and sound in his house and it turns out the kidnappers have taken the child of one of his housekeepers. Gondo is now faced with a major moral dilemma, his employees son is in danger because of his stature but does that make him really responsible for the boys fate and is he willing to ruin his business and social welfare to save this child? That, if you can believe it, is only the first half of the film the second half is taken over by Tatsuya Nakadai who plays a police inspector who is determined to discover the kidnappers and bring them to justice in a long and detailed police investigation that takes us through the seedy underbelly of Japanese slums. An absolute must watch.

• Gevvy S

  
  Astonishing and great; nearly as perfect as Kurosawa's Rashomon and Seven Samurai. I must admit I had high hopes for Yojimbo and Sanjuro, but I was sort of let down both times. They were both good movies but they weren't profound or psychologically thrilling, but High and… More
  Astonishing and great; nearly as perfect as Kurosawa's Rashomon and Seven Samurai. I must admit I had high hopes for Yojimbo and Sanjuro, but I was sort of let down both times. They were both good movies but they weren't profound or psychologically thrilling, but High and Low exceeded all expectations I had. This mammoth achievement has great acting, a flawless script (adapted from an Ed McBain novel), and superb direction from Kurosawa. Toshiro Mifune is awesome as Kingo Gondo (gotta love that name), a man troubled by business affairs and a pesky kidnapper who wants 30 million from him. An excellent study of human morality and the extents to which we are value money. The film also feature a solid performance from Tatsuya Nakadai, a police officer trying to crack this case. The script is composed to such a high degree of perfection that it keeps you engaged from the beginning when Gondo says "So what do you want?" to the end which shows a very psychologically challenging and emotionally gripping scene. Kurosawa executes the script brilliantly with his pacing and his depiction of the city in wide screen format. The film reminds me a lot of Stray Dog and how interesting the relationship between a cop and a criminal is. This film tops Stray Dog though by a long shot. This is probably the best police procedural film I have seen. The entire movie is a thrill ride with a remarkable ending which is so genuine in it's exploration of human nature, desire, and social mentality that it is neither existential nor happy. Definitely something I'll be coming back to again and again for years.

• Chris B

  
  Suspenseful and well acted, Kurosawa takes on the Film-Noir genre and crafts a beautiful filmed masterpiece! At a running time of nearly two and a half hours, the film absorbs you in to the story and setting, from the mansion that Gondo owns where the first hour takes place to the… More
  Suspenseful and well acted, Kurosawa takes on the Film-Noir genre and crafts a beautiful filmed masterpiece! At a running time of nearly two and a half hours, the film absorbs you in to the story and setting, from the mansion that Gondo owns where the first hour takes place to the drug infested streets, and never lets go! While you admire Gondo for making such a huge sacrifice to save the child's life, you feel sick to think of how his life dive bombs because of it. What a totally engaging film that is so beautifully captured in all of it's details that it makes a long film seem short and makes you hope that it never ends! Highly Highly Recommended, especially for Kurosawa films and fans of Film-Noir!

• Brandon K

  
  It's just good. That's all I can say.

• William G

  
  Rightfully influential kidnapping drama from Akira Kurosawa.

• Tom S

  
  The first hour grew a little tiresome. I really wanted them to get out of that living room, but got better with each scene after that.

• alan j

  
  Very compelling crime drama with fine acting split in two parts--tjhe actual kidnapping and recovery of the child, and the police investigation that entails. Both parts hold your interest and the final scene is haunting. See it.

• Wu C

  
  Kurosawa again proves to me why he is one of the best directors the world has ever seen. It's a slow burn, but once we get out of Gondo's house it really moves. You can see it's influence in almost every cop/crime/thriller that has come out since '63.

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