High and Low (The Criterion Collection)

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!

Concerned with the fate of the company he spent his life helping to build, a wealthy industrialist decides to gamble it all and stage a daring takeover attempt. He puts his life savings on the line, but before he can close the risky deal, he gets a phone call from a kidnapper who claims that he’s kidnapped his young son. In a shocking turn of events, he discovers that his own son is safe and that the kidnapper has mistakenly abducted his loyal chauffer’s son. Will he do nothing and face an image destroying public outcry, or risk losing everything and pay the 30 million yen ransom the kidnapper is demanding for his driver’s young boy?

Jealousy, greed, hatred, self-sacrifice and love are just some of the themes explored in director Kurosawa’s cinematic masterpiece that is based on Ed McBain’s novel ‘King’s Ransom’. It’s stunningly filmed in B&W (with only one key scene utilizing color) and enveloped in a scarce but effective score. The film blends a first act that serves as a claustrophobic view of privileged life on the hill with a sweeping detective story that leads us deep into the very different world of the kidnapper. Kurosawa’s film examines the class structure of Japanese society, but the themes explored within are truly universal. The conflict that tears at the wealthy industrialist is played to perfection by the talented Toshiro Mifune.

High and Low offers both stunning video and audio quality. Although the picture quality isn’t perfect, it definitely must be said that the film has never looked better. As usual, Criterion also provides some nice extras, including: an audio commentary by Akira Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince, “Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create” documentary (38 min), a 1981 interview with actor Toshiro Mifune (31 min), a 2008 interview with actor Tsutomu Yamazaki (20 min), three theatrical trailers (8 min) and a beautiful 36-page illustrated booklet.

With great video & audio quality, a magnificent collection of extras and a cinematic tale of eternal struggle like no other, Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low comes highly recommended. It’s a gripping and powerful film that stays with you long after it fades to black.

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.