TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 of 2025 (No. 2041) by Leroy Douresseaux
Tengoku to Jigoku (1963) – Black and White
High and Low – English title
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan; Language: Japanese
Running time: 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes)
Rating: Not rated
DIRECTOR: Akira Kurosawa
WRITERS: Hideo Oguni & Ryuzo Kikushima and Eijiro Hisaita & Akira Kurosawa (based on the novel by Ed McBain)
PRODUCERS: Ryuzo Kikushima and Tomoyuki Tanaka
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Asakazu Nakai and Taiko Saito
EDITOR: Akira Kurosawa
COMPOSER: Masaru Sato
DRAMA/CRIME/THRILLER
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kenjiro Ishiyama, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Isao Kimura, Yutaka Sada, Takashi Kato, Takashi Shimura, Jun Tazaki, Nobuo Nakamura, Yunosuke Ito, Masahiko Shimazu, Toshio Egi, and Tsutomu Yamakazi
Tengoku to Jigoku (Heaven and Hell) is a 1963 Japanese drama and crime thriller from director Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. The film is best known by its English release title, High and Low (which is the one I will use for this review). The film is a loose adaptation of the 1959 novel, King's Ransom, which was written by Evan Hunter (a pen name of the American crime and mystery fiction author, Ed McBain). In High and Low, a Japanese businessman becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
High and Low introduces wealthy Japanese businessman and executive, Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune), who lives in an elegant hilltop house with his wife, Reiko (Kyoko Kagawa). He is currently engaged in a struggle to gain control of the company where he works, National Shoes. The board of the company is split between executives seeking to make cheap and low-quality shoes and the “Old Man,” the company's largest shareholder who who wants sturdy but unfashionable shoes. Gondo rejects both sides. He has envisioned a strategy of requiring high production costs for long-term profitability by producing high-quality shoes. Gondo has secretly set up a leveraged buyout to gain control of the company, mortgaging all his property for the money he will need for the buyout.
Just as he is about to put the plan into action, Gondo receives a phone call from someone claiming to have kidnapped his elementary school age son, Jun (Toshio Egi). The kidnapper demands a ransom of 30 million yen, which Gondo is prepared to pay, but he soon dismisses the call as a prank when Jun returns home from playing outside. However, Gondo learns that the kidnapper has mistakenly taken Shinichi (Masahiko Shimazu), the child of Gondo's chauffeur, Aoki (Yutaka Sada).
The kidnapper has realized his mistake, but he still wants the ransom. Gondo is forced to make a decision whether to use his millions to complete the buyout of National Shoes or to pay the ransom to save Shinichi. Meanwhile, the police arrive, led by Inspector Tokura (Tatsuya Nakadai), who becomes the chief investigator of the kidnapping case, and who is ably assisted by his partner, Chief Detective “Bos'n” Toguchi (Kenjiro Ishiyama). Can the police discover the identity of the kidnapper before Gondo is forced to pay the ransom, which would lead to his financial ruin?
High and Low apparently was and still is a big influence on films belonging to the crime sub-genre known as the “police procedural,” which focuses on the investigative procedures of law enforcement officers and agencies with them also being the protagonists. [This genre excludes private investigators (P.I.).] High and Low has been remade and adapted into other films and has also influenced other films and televisions series. It is currently the subject of a reinterpretation by director Spike Lee in his upcoming film, Highest 2 Lowest, starring Denzel Washington.
High and Low are like two mini-movies joined into one longer feature film. The first half of the film focuses on Toshiro Mifune's Kingo Gondo and his conflicts and struggles. Most of the first half takes place in the living room of his home, with Gondo stalking the space like a caged lion or besieged king. Akira Kurosawa constructs this part of the film like a stage drama, and here, he shows a remarkable sense of staging and in film blocking (facilitating performances in a film via the precise arrangement of the actors). Kurosawa seems to be composing his action as if each moment is a painting.
The second half of the film fully embraces the police procedural. Kurosawa moves Gondo a little to the side and the police's chase and hunt of the suspect kicks into high gear. Lead by Inspector Tokura and Chief Detective “Bos'n” Toguchi, the police attack the case at every angle they can imagine. They race across the region, working a series of clues involving geographical vistas, background sounds and noises, and a variety of locals connected to the street life and roads in and around the city. I got the biggest kick out of watching this part of the film. I followed the the lead investigators as they pound the pavement and as the young police officers chase the suspect, who wears one of the eeriest pairs of reflective sunglasses I have ever seen in film. There is a trip into the underground lair of zombie-like heroin addicts that is as chilling as any found in a horror movies and as breathtaking as a jaunt through the most sumptuous set.
I loved the actors' performances which emphasize action, procedure, and personality more than narrow characterization. As usual, I adore seeing Toshiro Mifune, especially when paired with the great director, Akira Kurosawa. I have seen Kurosawa's great films, such as Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954), which also star Mifune. I think High and Low should join these two films as being among the great Kurosawa's best works.
9 of 10
A+
Friday, August 15, 2025
The "Criterion Collection" Blu-ray of HIGH AND LOW is available at Amazon.
NOTES:
1963 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign Film” (Japan)
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