High and Low

[yoloswegmaster]

Based on an Ed McBain novel, High and Low is a gripping police thriller starring Toshiro Mifune. Wealthy industrialist Kingo Gondo (Mifune) faces an agonising choice when a ruthless kidnapper, aiming to snatch his young son, takes the chauffeur’s boy by mistake – but still demands the ransom, leaving Gondo facing ruin if he pays up.

An anatomy of the inequalities in modern Japanese society, High and Low is a complex film noir, where the intense police hunt for the kidnapper is accompanied by penetrating insight into the kidnapper’s state of mind. Kurosawa’s virtuoso direction provides no easy answers, and in short, the police and the criminal as equally brutal, but nonetheless human.

Extras:
Presented in High Definition
Newly recorded audio commentary by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp
Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – High and Low (2002, 38 mins): the director discusses how High and Low came to exist, and how specific sequences were filmed. Also features interviews with actors Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa, Takeshi Kato, and Tatsuya Mihashi, as well as cameraman Takao Saito and Masaharu Ueda and script supervisor Teruyo Nogami
**FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new essay on the film by Alex Barrett, archive essay by Philip Kemp and an original review from Monthly Film Bulletin

[pzadvance]

does this release mean a 4K won't be imminent?

[yoloswegmaster]

does this release mean a 4K won't be imminent?

Pretty much. Makes no sense to me since the 4K restoration looks great.

[What A Disgrace]

I don't care for Sharp's commentaries that much usually, so I have no interest in a triple dip on this disc with a possible triple dip when Criterion tries out a 4K release. I do wonder what other Kurosawa films might get a 4K from BFI, though. I was expecting Seven Samurai to be it.

[rapta]

I don't care for Sharp's commentaries that much usually, so I have no interest in a triple dip on this disc with a possible triple dip when Criterion tries out a 4K release. I do wonder what other Kurosawa films might get a 4K from BFI, though. I was expecting Seven Samurai to be it.

I think this is it for this batch, if the Toho studio releases are anything to go by. They will have to wait for new Toho restorations of anything else. I assume next up for them will be things like Drunken Angel, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, The Bad Sleep Well, and Red Beard; and hopefully even I Live in Fear, The Lower Depths and Dodes’ka-den. These will likely not appear for at least a couple of years years though - Toho will release them on 4K and Blu-ray in Japan first, and only then offer them to BFI and Criterion.

Kagemusha is available, of course, but Western rights are with Disney (via Fox), so I assume Criterion will upgrade that one at some point soon as they recently did for Godzilla.

As for other recent Toho restorations that could see Blu-ray release from BFI, if they're interested, there's Humanity and Paper Balloons (probably worth doing, since the MoC DVD is OOP), and Submersion of Japan/Tidal Wave (might be fun). Everything else is Godzilla-related, the rights for which would still be with Criterion at this point.

[ryannichols7]

I usually trust Ben and I think he's made a lot of good BFI decisions lately, but I am disappointed that this one isn't coming to UHD, even in SDR, as it is my favorite Kurosawa and we have reports from nicolas and others that the master is very strong. I can certainly understand not going 4K for Ikiru or Stray Dog as it's clear the materials and masters are lacking, but the caps I've seen of the Toho High and Low 4K look awesome, I think it would've been a real stunner. this is so far the only Kurosawa title that BFI have announced that I don't feel compelled to pick up (unless they end up surprising with the final supplements, as I agree with What a Disgrace) and will actually hold out for a Criterion UHD upgrade to see a side by side. a shame, but either way I'm sure it'll be a great release for those in the UK

[MichaelB]

There are two basic questions that need to be satisfactorily answered when considering a UHD release, given the vastly increased authoring and manufacturing costs.

Firstly, will there be a noticeable improvement over a Blu-ray from the same source? If not, there's absolutely no point.

Secondly, regardless of how good the master is, is this realistically likely to shift enough units in the UK that will cover the hefty additional costs?

My favourite example of a disc that unambiguously fails the second test is Indicator's Impossible Object. StudioCanal has a gorgeous 4K master, so an eye-poppingly impressive UHD would certainly have been notionally possible - but the film's so obscure that it was frankly a gamble even on Blu-ray. So no.

High and Low is less obscure, but in terms of the UK marketplace not much less so (rep cinema programmes always tended to focus on the samurai films plus samurai-adjacent titles like Rashomon and Throne of Blood) - and the BFI will be the best-informed organisation in the country by a very considerable distance when it comes to knowing how well Kurosawa releases actually sell. So I suspect this was a tough but nonetheless evidence-backed commercial calculation.

[mhofmann]

BFI is just WAY too conservative with respect to 4K releases. Other, much more niche labels are able to sustainably crank out a lot more on 4K UHD at good quality, so it can't just be a commercial consideration. NB that BFI UHD releases will sell internationally, not just in the UK.

[midnitedave]

What if we all wrote sacks full of letters to Santa Claus asking for a 4k release but addressed them to the BFI office, would that change their mind?

[nicolas]

Fully understand and respect Michael’s / BFI’s POV. Their quality over quantity 4K track record speaks for itself, no doubt about it, but from another outsider’s perspective who’s also seen the High and Low 4K master natively in 4K, I do think it would’ve made a genuine difference to put it out on UHD. Advantages would’ve likely been HDR vs. SDR again but then also the film’s length and the very good condition of the film elements Toho used. This new master does have a noticeable 4K resolution from the get-go, which renders it a league ahead of Ikiru and Stray Dog, both of which are understandably BD-only due to their limited resolution and image depth.

Another major reason that speaks for the BFI is the astonishing audio they have in their possession: https://blah-ray.blogspot.com/2019/02/h ... 3.html?m=1

[MichaelB]

BFI is just WAY too conservative with respect to 4K releases. Other, much more niche labels are able to sustainably crank out a lot more on 4K UHD at good quality, so it can't just be a commercial consideration. NB that BFI UHD releases will sell internationally, not just in the UK.

Sweeping comments like that are utterly meaningless without concrete counter-examples. Which other boutique UK label has put out a UHD release of a film exactly equivalent to High and Low in terms of UK-based recognition?

(I use the term "boutique" to distinguish it from a major like StudioCanal, which usually has the whole of Europe to play with and can therefore qualify for the kind of manufacturing quantity discounts that the BFI and other boutiques can't because their print runs are too small.)

And yes, it absolutely is 100% a commercial consideration. I know the BFI team very well indeed - in fact, pretty much everyone even on the current team is a former colleague, and some of them go back a full two decades - and therefore know that they'd gladly put everything out on UHD if only it was financially and logistically feasible, just as they'd gladly have released everything on Blu-ray from the moment they adopted the format in 2008.

But the fact is that per-unit manufacturing costs of UHD discs are currently eye-watering to the point where it's pretty much impossible to charge less than a RRP of £24.99 - and there seems to be a widespread attitude that £19.99 is a psychological limit for many people. (It doesn't help that the majors can charge £19.99 for UHD releases because of the quantity discount situation.) It's not "conservative" to be acutely aware of what might mean the difference between a small profit (let's not get starry-eyed about the commercial appeal of titles like this) and a really thumping loss that will have knock-on effects on other releases - I'd argue that the word should be "sensible".

And if you think you can do better, knock yourself out. After all, a surprisingly big percentage of the staff of and regular contributors to current UK boutiques started out as opinionated forum and social media posters - that's how they got talent-spotted in the first place.

[dwk]

i'm certain Criterion will issue this on UHD in the US, so you'll have to settle for that (or the Toho release) if you want it on UHD.

[TMDaines]

i'm certain Criterion will issue this on UHD in the US, so you'll have to settle for that (or the Toho release) if you want it on UHD.

In 2029... whilst we still await the final few Chaplins and the rest of the Jean Eustache catalogue.

[dwk]

i'm certain Criterion will issue this on UHD in the US, so you'll have to settle for that (or the Toho release) if you want it on UHD.

In 2029... whilst we still await the final few Chaplins and the rest of the Jean Eustache catalogue.

You'll be waiting on the Eustache and Chaplin titles, but I think they'll get High and Low out this year to piggyback on the release of the Spike Lee remake.

Actually I wouldn't be too surprised if they got all the remastered Kurosawa's out this year.

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

HIGH AND LOW
A film by Akira Kurosawa
4K restoration released on Blu-ray, iTunes and Amazon Prime on 27 January 2025

Based on a novel by US crime writer Ed McBain, High and Low is Akira Kurosawa's gripping police thriller from 1963 starring Toshiro Mifune. On 27 January (previously listed as 20 January) the BFI brings it to Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, newly restored in 4K resolution by Toho Co., Ltd using the original 35mm camera negative and presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Special features include a new recorded audio commentary by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp.

Wealthy industrialist Kingo Gondo (Mifune) faces an agonising choice when a ruthless kidnapper, aiming to snatch his young son, takes his chauffeur’s child by mistake – but still demands the ransom, leaving Gondo facing ruin if he pays up. An anatomy of the inequalities in 1960s Japanese society, High and Low is a complex film noir in which an intense police hunt is accompanied by penetrating insight into the kidnapper’s state of mind. Kurosawa’s virtuoso direction offers no easy answers in its portrayal of those on both sides of the law as equally brutal, but nonetheless human.

Special features
• Newly restored and presented in High Definition
• Newly recorded audio commentary by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp
• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – High and Low (2002, 37 mins): the director discusses the genesis of High and Low and how specific sequences were filmed, alongside interviews with actors Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa, Takeshi Kato and Tatsuya Mihashi, as well as cinematographer Takao Saito and script supervisor Teruyo Nogami
• ***First pressing only*** Illustrated booklet with a new essay by Alex Barrett, an essay by Philip Kemp, a contemporary review by David Wilson from Monthly Film Bulletin, notes on the special features and film credits

Product details
RRP: £19.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1527 / 12
Japan / 1963 / black and white, colour / 143 minutes / Japanese language with optional English subtitles / original aspect ratio 2.35:1 // BD50: 1080p, 23.98fps, DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio and LPCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit)