High and Low (1963)
"Tengoku to jigoku" (original title)

An executive of a shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and held for ransom.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Hideo Oguni (screenplay), Ryûzô Kikushima (screenplay),

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Kingo Gondo
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Chief Detective Tokura
Kyôko Kagawa	...	Reiko Gondo
Tatsuya Mihashi	...	Kawanishi - Gondo's Secretary
Isao Kimura	...	Detective Arai
Kenjirô Ishiyama	...	Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi
Takeshi Katô	...	Detective Nakao
Takashi Shimura	...	Chief of Investigation Section
Jun Tazaki	...	Kamiya, National Shoes Publicity Director
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Ishimaru, National Shoes Design Department Director
Yûnosuke Itô	...	Baba - National Shoes Executive
Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Ginjirô Takeuchi - Medical Intern
Minoru Chiaki	...	First Reporter
Eijirô Tôno	...	Factory Worker
Masao Shimizu	...	Prison Warden

Storyline

An executive mortgages all he owns to stage a coup and gain control of the National Shoe Company, with the intent of keeping the company out of the hands of incompetent and greedy executives. He needs the same money, though, to pay the ransom that will possibly save a child's life. His resolution of that dilemma -- the certain loss of the company vs. the probable loss of the child -- makes for one distinct drama, and an ensuing elaborate police procedure makes for a second.

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Plot Keywords:

ransom | shoe | chauffeur | police | train | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

26 November 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

High and Low

Filming Locations:

Enoshima, Kanagawa, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kurosawa Production Co., Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor) (inserts only)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last section of the movie originally had a great deal of dialogue, but Akira Kurosawa decided to omit all of it.

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Quotes

Chief Detective Tokura: That Gondo is all right.
Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi: Usually I waste no love on the rich. I didn't like him at first.

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Connections

Remade as Bong ga (2007)

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Soundtracks

"It's Now or Never"
(uncredited)
from "O Sole Mio" by Eduardo Di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi
Adapted by Wally Gold and Aaron Schröder

User Reviews

Great suspenceful crime story. Fine performances early in the careers of future stars.

A child of a chauffeur is mistakenly kidnapped in the place of a businessman's son. The businessman, involved in a high-stakes takeover of his company from his erring bosses, chooses to risk losing his shirt to pay the ransom for a child not his own. While the clock is ticking on both the businessman's fortune and the child's life, the police decide that they want a sure conviction rather than a quick arrest.

A suspenseful crime story based on a novel by Evan Hunter (aka Ed McBain) transported to 1960's Japan. The soon to be famous "Economic miracle" is in full swing as Japan rebuilds its war-ravaged landscape. The mix of optimism and despair of the people in the thick of this economic transformation is palpable beneath the multiple story lines of scrappy cops following their hunches, the inventive kidnapper and the businessman.

Toshiro Mifune shines as the businessman while Tatuya Nakadai makes a fine appearance as Inspector Tokura. Tsutomu Yamazaki as the kidnapper debuts into a glorious career. Many of the bit players who appear only briefly eventually became big stars notably Eijiro Tono as the worker in a shoe factory and Nekohachi Edoya as the charming engineer who identifies a train, gesturing with chopsticks, by merely listening to recorded sounds.