High and Low

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High and Low

1963,

2h 22m,

Crime/

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

97%

70 Reviews

Tomatometer

95%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

70 Reviews

95%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Toshirō Mifune stars as a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a ruthless kidnapper in Akira Kurosawa's exemplary film noir. Based on Ed McBain's detective novel "King's Ransom," "High and Low" is both a riveting thriller and a brilliant commentary on contemporary Japanese society.

Critics Consensus

Meticulously crafted by master director Akira Kurosawa, High and Low is an enthralling procedural imbued with weighty moral heft.

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Stanley Kauffmann

The New Republic

Aug 13, 2025

From the opening frame (literally) to the last, Kurosawa never makes the smallest misstep nor permits it in anyone else. Every camera angle, every composition, every cut, every performance, is -- as far as I can see -- brilliantly right.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Aug 13, 2025

A tighter film, concentrating and balancing police activity and human conflicts would have given this added distinction in arty circles. As is, it's a finely tooled item, made by a master craftsman.

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Mae Tinée

Chicago Tribune

Aug 13, 2025

The film explores not only the method but the mind of the criminal and does it in meticulous fashion. It is lengthy, but absorbing, and the acting throughout is expert. If you're a "whodunit" fan, here's a movie you shouldn't miss.

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

Dec 26, 2025

an expertly crafted mystery thriller whose story of a kidnapping and its aftermath is woven through with a particularly acute portrait of the decay of modern Japan

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Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

Sep 20, 2025

... a thriller that keeps you guessing with an ending that satisfies all of its thematic questions.

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Ed Travis

Cinapse

Sep 14, 2025

The master not only spins a damning portrait of the Japan he saw immediately around him, but also reflected on societal highs and lows that remain profoundly, tragically relevant today.

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Anakin R

Mar 9, 2019

This is one of the greatest films ever made

Poe G

Dec 2, 2018

I really liked this film. The story was like Death Note, one of my favorite animes, and delivered the same type of clever characters that make a great detective film.

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George S

Oct 11, 2018

Half fascinating character study, half sturdy police procedural, it's what Kurosawa seeks us to get out of this film that makes it so engaging. And boy does he pull it off.

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Feb 6, 2018

I'm not going to drag on about every aspect of it, but I'll say one thing, I'd give this 30 stars if I could. This is simply my favourite film of all time. At times this seems almost like your viewing the first half of the crime as God looking down at the mortals from his heaven, and from the second half of the film, you are the Devil watching from the murky depths of hell, seeing the more grittier side to the story. I love this. 'Nuff said.

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Hermione G

Sep 20, 2017

High and Low (or Heaven and Hell, which is the better translation) is Kurosawa at his best, and in one of my favorite genres, noir. The film is fascinating in both execution and its examination of heaven and hell.

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Poe W

Jul 30, 2017

Very in-depth detective drama and shares the screen-time examining both high and low society in Japan. Mifune is passionate, frightened and quietly earnest, a standout as always.

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Synopsis

Toshirō Mifune stars as a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a ruthless kidnapper in Akira Kurosawa's exemplary film noir. Based on Ed McBain's detective novel "King's Ransom," "High and Low" is both a riveting thriller and a brilliant commentary on contemporary Japanese society.

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Producer: Ryûzô Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka
Screenwriter: Eijirô Hisaita, Evan Hunter, Ryûzô Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni
Production Co: Kurosawa Production, Toho Company
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 26, 1963, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 25, 2017
Runtime: 2h 22m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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