High and Low

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revolver.0 8 must be one of the dumbest and naive good looking films in history Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 08/26/25 Full Review Johnathon W First rate crime thriller, thanks to a fantastic lead performance and sharp direction. Toshiro Mifune gives one of his best lead performances as Kingo Gondo, a seemingly ruthless businessman forced into an impossible dilemma, ultimately discovering his humanity. Behind the camera, Akira Kurosawa crafts an expert crime thriller that takes no easy way out, from Kingo's decision to the polices methods to catching the kidnapper. While the film on the surface seems a commentary on the division between the rich and poor, it quickly becomes more complicated, as Kingo is revealed to be someone who earned his wealth, having once been a factory worker himself while the kidnapper is ruthless beyond measure. Plus, the crime procedure is nicely done and realistic, setting a standard for future films. Just a classic crime noir from beginning to end. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/23/25 Full Review Isa B This film has a tremendous plot. The story is very thorough. The details in the police work is quite impressive. This film is a product of great writing. Mr. Gundo is a man who hates to lose, but when put in a position to have to choose between winning and doing what is right, he shows that he is indeed a man of good moral character. Truly outstanding work by the master, Akira Kurosawa. I love the handheld camera work. It always adds such a nice feel to a noir film like this one. High and Low also uses minimal theme music. The pink smoke coming from the pipe is a nice touch, of course, back in 1963, I'm sure it was just gray. I am curious if that is something Mr. Kurosawa did in his lifetime, or if that was a wish of his for the smoke to be seen in pink considering this film is in black & white. The scene at the end when the kidnapper is being crowded by all of the herion addicts resembles a scene from a zombie movie. Think The Walking Dead which came out some 47 years later. The reflection on the sunglasses when the kidnapper arrives at the house is a nice touch, which had to have been achieved in post. Akira Kurosawa was a visionary. He influenced so many great filmmakers in the generations to come. Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, just to name a couple. High and Low was one of his finest works. 100/100 Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/11/25 Full Review Insomniac X A chilling and masterful hybrid of social drama and procedural thriller. Kurosawa begins with a rarefied moral dilemma fit for Greek tragedy before taking his audience on a harrowing descent into the heart of poverty, violence and addiction that makes the torturous decisions of the first act seem trivial by comparison. Deftly balances an array of disparate tones before concluding with one of the most haunting final scenes in cinema. One of Kurosawa's finest. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/07/25 Full Review Leprechaun K A masterpiece by Kurosawa. Some 60+ years later and it still holds as a great crime-suspense thriller. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/28/25 Full Review Sam N It feels almost blasphemous to criticise anything Kurosawa touches, but High and Low didn't grip me as much as other works I've seen. That's not to say it isn't a fascinating film—its dual narratives make for an intriguing watch. The first is a morality play, dissecting how wealth and the threat to it can bend a person's ethics. At times, though, it feels like the film is too apologetic towards the wealthy, suggesting their moral compromises are innocent necessities. At the same time, the poor are portrayed mainly as a criminal underclass who cannot be reformed. The second narrative, a detailed police procedural with clear film-noir influences, is arguably the most impactful, having left its mark on countless films since and earning our appreciation and respect for its impact on the cinematic world. Despite its strengths, by the final act, I found myself enduring the runtime rather than thoroughly enjoying it. It's an undeniably solid film, but not quite Kurosawa at his most transcendent. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/09/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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