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IMDbPro

Taivas ja helvetti

Original title: Tengoku to jigoku
  • 19631963
  • K-16K-16
  • 2h 23m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
45K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
5,227
70
Toshirô Mifune, Kenjirô Ishiyama, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, and Tatsuya Nakadai in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
Watch Trailer [OVS]
Play trailer3:39
1 Video
99+ Photos
CrimeDramaMystery

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

IMDb RATING
8.4/10
45K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
5,227
70
  • Director
    • Akira Kurosawa
  • Writers
    • Hideo Oguni(screenplay)
    • Ryûzô Kikushima(screenplay)
    • Eijirô Hisaita(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Toshirô Mifune
    • Yutaka Sada
    • Tatsuya Nakadai
Top credits
  • Director
    • Akira Kurosawa
  • Writers
    • Hideo Oguni(screenplay)
    • Ryûzô Kikushima(screenplay)
    • Eijirô Hisaita(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Toshirô Mifune
    • Yutaka Sada
    • Tatsuya Nakadai
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 154User reviews
    • 104Critic reviews
    • 90Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #88
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Trailer [OVS]
    Trailer 3:39
    Trailer [OVS]

    Photos114

    Toshirô Mifune in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune and Kyôko Kagawa in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune, Kyôko Kagawa, and Tatsuya Mihashi in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune and Kyôko Kagawa in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune and Kyôko Kagawa in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Tsutomu Yamazaki in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune, Kenjirô Ishiyama, and Tatsuya Nakadai in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune and Kenjirô Ishiyama in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Tsutomu Yamazaki in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)
    Toshirô Mifune and Kyôko Kagawa in Taivas ja helvetti (1963)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Toshirô Mifune
    Toshirô Mifune
    • Kingo Gondo
    Yutaka Sada
    Yutaka Sada
    • Aoki - the Chauffeur
    Tatsuya Nakadai
    Tatsuya Nakadai
    • Chief Detective Tokura
    Kyôko Kagawa
    Kyôko Kagawa
    • Reiko Gondo
    Tatsuya Mihashi
    Tatsuya Mihashi
    • Kawanishi - Gondo's Secretary
    Isao Kimura
    • Detective Arai
    Kenjirô Ishiyama
    Kenjirô Ishiyama
    • Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi
    Takeshi Katô
    Takeshi Katô
    • Detective Nakao
    Takashi Shimura
    Takashi Shimura
    • Chief of Investigation Section
    Jun Tazaki
    Jun Tazaki
    • Kamiya, National Shoes Publicity Director
    Nobuo Nakamura
    Nobuo Nakamura
    • Ishimaru, National Shoes Design Department Director
    Yûnosuke Itô
    Yûnosuke Itô
    • Baba - National Shoes Executive
    Tsutomu Yamazaki
    Tsutomu Yamazaki
    • Ginjirô Takeuchi - Medical Intern
    Minoru Chiaki
    Minoru Chiaki
    • First Reporter
    Eijirô Tôno
    Eijirô Tôno
    • Factory Worker
    Masao Shimizu
    Masao Shimizu
    • Prison Warden
    Masahiko Shimazu
    Masahiko Shimazu
    • Shinichi Aoki
    Toshio Egi
    • Jun Gondo
    • Director
      • Akira Kurosawa
    • Writers
      • Hideo Oguni(screenplay)
      • Ryûzô Kikushima(screenplay)
      • Eijirô Hisaita(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      After the film was released, kidnappings were on the rise in Japan. Akira Kurosawa himself had received threats for the kidnapping of his own daughter, Kazuko Kurosawa. She quoted him as once saying to her "With High and Low, I wanted to inspire tougher sentences on kidnappers. Instead, I was criticized for their increase."
    • Goofs
      The story occurs in midsummer. This implies that Mt. Fuji has no snow. Since the location filming was carried out in winter season, the top of Mt. Fuji is very white. Some film critics mention that this is almost the only mistake they can find in the film.
    • Quotes

      Kingo Gondo: Why should you and I hate each other?

      Ginjirô Takeuchi, medical intern: I don't know. I'm not interested in self-analysis. I do know my room was so cold in winter and so hot in summer I couldn't sleep. Your house looked like heaven, high up there. That's how I began to hate you.

    • Connections
      Featured in Tsukuru to iu koto wa subarashii! Kurosawa Akira: Korega Kuroswa sasupensu da (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      The Magic Begins
      (uncredited)

      Performed by Yumi Shirakawa

    User reviews154

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    The film "Ransom" could have been.
    "High and Low" is one of those deceptive detective-thrillers that sneak in under your radar and grab you from behind with their storytelling magic. It's proof positive of Kurosawa's mastery of film and all its imagery.

    The story was adapted from an Ed McBain "87th Precinct" novel, "King's Ransom", and is really very simple. A successful businessman (Mr. Gondo) in the middle of a major deal is told his son has been kidnapped. All concerns about money fly out the window...until Gondo learns it was actually his chauffeur's son who was taken by mistake. Doesn't matter; the kidnapper still wants him to pay the ransom, even though it will bankrupt him. Will Gondo destroy his standing in the business world to save the life of a child that is not even his? Or will he just leave it to the police and fate to determine whether the child lives or dies? This makes up the first half of the film.

    The second half deals with the search for the kidnapper and his accomplices, and it does not shy away from showing how dull and grueling good police work is. Step by step, the cops narrow their field of suspects and build their evidence to link their prey to murder as well as the kidnapping, meaning he would face execution. This makes up the second half of the film.

    It helps to know that in the original story, the businessman refuses to pay the ransom but does help the police track down the kidnappers. It also helps to understand that in Japan, working your way up from making shoes and satchels by hand to being in a position where you could wind up owning the company is a HUGE accomplishment in a caste driven society. It means he is due additional respect, and this is what Gondo faces losing if he pays the ransom, which is far more important than the fact that he will be driven into bankruptcy.

    From the first scene through an amazingly exciting section on a bullet train to the ending moments between Gondo and the kidnapper, Kurosawa shows exactly why he is a master of cinema. To take what is basically an episode of "Law and Order" and make it into a meditation on the meaning of life and evil is not something just any film school twit could do.

    To me, the best moment on a human level comes when Gondo descends the stairs the morning after the kidnapping to explain to the police why he cannot pay the ransom for a child not even his. You can see the man realizing he is allowing himself go to hell in order to protect his family and station in life, and Toshiro Mifune underplays it beautifully...and Kurosawa lets it just simply happen. Wonderful.

    THIS is the movie Mel Gibson's "Ransom" wishes it had been. something real and human and meaningful instead of merely kick-ass.

    Ten out of ten stars.
    helpful•105
    9
    • kmscb-1
    • Jul 27, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 27, 1981 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • High and Low
    • Filming locations
      • Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Kurosawa Production Co.
      • Toho Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $46,808
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $15,942
      • Jul 28, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $46,808
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 23 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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