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DramaCrimeMystery

High and Low

- Stark, intense drama almost beyond belief!

In the midst of an attempt to take over his company, a powerhouse executive is hit with a huge ransom demand when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake.

Release Date : 1963-03-01

Language :Japanese

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : TOHOKurosawa Production

Production Country : Japan

Alternative Titles : High and LowHeaven and Hell

Cast

Toshirō Mifune

Character Name : Kingo Gondo

Original Name : 三船敏郎

Gender : Male

Tatsuya Nakadai

Character Name : Chief Detective Tokura

Original Name : 仲代達矢

Gender : Male

Kyōko Kagawa

Character Name : Reiko Gondo

Original Name : 香川京子

Gender : Female

Tatsuya Mihashi

Character Name : Kawanishi, Gondo's secretary

Original Name : 三橋達也

Gender : Male

Isao Kimura

Character Name : Detective Arai

Original Name : 木村功

Gender : Male

Kenjirō Ishiyama

Character Name : Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi

Original Name : 石山健二郎

Gender : Male

Takeshi Katō

Character Name : Detective Nakao

Original Name : 加藤武

Gender : Male

Takashi Shimura

Character Name : Chief of Investigation Section

Original Name : 志村喬

Gender : Male

Jun Tazaki

Character Name : Kamiya, National Shoes Publicity Director

Original Name : 田崎潤

Gender : Male

Nobuo Nakamura

Character Name : Ishimaru, National Shoes Design Department Director

Original Name : 中村伸郎

Gender : Male

Yūnosuke Itō

Character Name : Baba - National Shoes Executive

Original Name : 伊藤雄之助

Gender : Male

Tsutomu Yamazaki

Character Name : Ginjirô Takeuchi - Medical Intern

Original Name : 山崎努

Gender : Male

Minoru Chiaki

Character Name : First Reporter

Original Name : 千秋実

Gender : Male

Eijirō Tōno

Character Name : Factory Worker

Original Name : 東野英治郎

Gender : Male

Masao Shimizu

Character Name : Prison Warden

Original Name : 清水将夫

Gender : Male

Yutaka Sada

Character Name : Aoki - the Chauffeur

Original Name : 佐田豊

Gender : Male

Masahiko Shimazu

Character Name : Shinichi Aoki

Original Name : 島津雅彦

Gender : Male

Toshio Egi

Character Name : Jun Gondo

Original Name : 江木俊夫

Gender : Male

Kōji Mitsui

Character Name : Second Reporter

Original Name : 三井弘次

Gender : Male

Kyū Sazanka

Character Name : First Creditor

Original Name : 山茶花究

Gender : Male

Susumu Fujita

Character Name : Chief of First Investigating Section

Original Name : 藤田進

Gender : Male

Kamatari Fujiwara

Character Name : Junkyard Cook

Original Name : 藤原釜足

Gender : Male

Yoshio Tsuchiya

Character Name : Detective Murata

Original Name : 土屋嘉男

Gender : Male

Kazuo Kitamura

Character Name : Third Reporter

Original Name : 北村和夫

Gender : Male

Gen Shimizu

Character Name : Chief Physician

Original Name : 清水元

Gender : Male

Akira Nagoya

Character Name : Detective Yamamoto

Original Name : 名古屋章

Gender : Male

Jun Hamamura

Character Name : Second Creditor

Original Name : 浜村純

Gender : Male

Masao Oda

Character Name : First Executor at Tax Office

Original Name : 織田政雄

Gender : Male

Kō Nishimura

Character Name : Third Creditor

Original Name : 西村晃

Gender : Male

Yoshifumi Tajima

Character Name : Chief Prison Officer

Original Name : 田島義文

Gender : Male

Koji Kiyomura

Character Name : Fish Market Office Worker

Original Name : 清村耕次

Gender : Male

Hiroshi Unayama

Character Name : Detective Shimada

Original Name : 宇南山宏

Gender : Male

Yoshisuke Makino

Character Name : Detective Takahashi

Original Name : Yoshisuke Makino

Gender : Male

Jun Kondô

Character Name : Identification Center Worker

Original Name : Jun Kondô

Gender : Male

Tomo Suzuki

Character Name : Detective Koike

Original Name : Tomo Suzuki

Gender : Male

Senkichi Ōmura

Character Name : Messenger Passing Note to Intern

Original Name : 大村千吉

Gender : Male

Kazuo Kato

Character Name : Identification Center Worker

Original Name : 加藤和夫

Gender : Male

Ikio Sawamura

Character Name : Yokohama Station Trolley Man

Original Name : 沢村いき雄

Gender : Male

Kin Sugai

Character Name : Female Drug Addict

Original Name : 菅井きん

Gender : Female

Keiko Tomita

Character Name : Murder Victim

Original Name : 富田恵子

Gender : Female

Isao Onoda

Character Name : Male Drug Addict

Original Name : Isao Onoda

Gender : Male

Seiichi Taguchi

Character Name : Detective Nakamura

Original Name : Seiichi Taguchi

Gender : Male

Takeo Matsushita

Character Name : Second Executor at Tax Office

Original Name : Takeo Matsushita

Gender : Male

Kiyoshi Yamamoto

Character Name : Detective Ueno

Original Name : 山本清史

Gender : Male

Kenji Kodama

Character Name : Detective Hara

Original Name : 児玉謙次

Gender : Male

Minoru Itō

Character Name : Detective

Original Name : 伊藤実

Gender : Male

Haruo Suzuki

Character Name : Undercover Detective 'Drug Addict'

Original Name : 鈴木治夫

Gender : Male

Kōzō Nomura

Character Name : Detective (uncredited)

Original Name : 野村浩三

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-09-04

I didn't take to this initially. The scenario reminded me a little of an episode of "Columbo" - a rather sterile, studio-set environment that came across as quite limiting. Once it gets going, though, it's one of the best crime thrillers I've seen in ages. It all centres around the kidnapping of a small boy for whom the anger-prone, shoe millionaire "Gondo" (a strong contribution from Toshirô Mifune) is supposed to pay a ransom of ¥30 million - a colossal sum. It turns out, though, that it's not his son who has been snatched - it's the child of his chauffeur. Why ought he to pay? Will he just get on with his impending company takeover or will he risk bankruptcy for the young "Shinichi"? This is a film split into three sections. The first deals with the decision making process around will he/won't he/why should he. Next, the police must try to apprehend this individual. This process is meticulously carried out and Kurosawa has chosen to immerse us in some of that detail, rather than just cursorily skip through it. This makes the whole detection process a much more interesting part of the film; allowing some aspects of the characterisation of the police officers to develop and also introducing some dark humour to the proceedings. Finally, we reach the denouement with it's own rather curious and not entirely explicable agenda. There's an element of "what would you do?", there's a grim depiction of a seamier side of Japanese (heroin-fuelled) culture that we seldom get to see and there is a rather starkly effective dose of humanity presented here as the story juggles aspects of human nature, nurture and good old fashioned greed in quite an effective fashion. It's based on an Ed McBain book (which I haven't read) but the entire project has been successfully subsumed into it's guest culture for a gripping and detailed mystery that flies by.

Z

Zak_Jaggs

@Zak_Jaggs

2024-12-24

A well worked, high stake crime thriller. The stakes are deeply personal to our main characters and puts them in an impossible situation. The performances and direction are very solid, the story is engaging and ultimately, it's a simple yet enjoyable film. Kurosawa comments on modern corporate greed and poverty in post-war Japan, and he does it very well.