BFI
High and Low
Buy Physical Copy At:
Licensor Information
Toho Co.
Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
Featuring: Toshiro Mifune, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Takashi Shimura, Susumu Fujita, Kenjiro Ishiyama, Ko Kimura, Isao Kimura, Takeshi Kato, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Hiroshi Unayama, Koji Mitsui, Tsutomu Yamazaki
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.
Streaming Options
9410.
+4073
Stream
Rent
Buy
Free
Free with Ads
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Format:
Blu-ray
Disc:
BD-50 (1 Disc)
Total: 1 Disc
Regions:
B (Blu-ray)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35:1
Audio Options:
Japanese PCM Stereo 2.0
Japanese DTS-HD MA Surround 4.0
Resolution:
1080p/24
Subtitles:
English
Supplements
Types of Supplements Included: Documentary, Audio Commentary, Booklet
- 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
Forum Member Statistics
Sign-in with your forum account to rate this release
Film
Picture
Audio
Supplements
Artwork
Restoration Information
High and Low
Restoration by:
Toho
Year: 2024
Scanned at: 4K Digital
Restored at: 4K Digital
Sources:
35mm Original camera negative