High and Low

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Jay W I like Kurosawa, he makes great films, even if they don't have samurai. "High and Low" is another great film from a legendary director. Everything is framed and staged to perfection. The dialogue is tightly written, and the setup is a clever premise. Kidnappers call "National Shoes" company manager ransoming his son. They then find out that the criminals abducted the wrong kid. The man, Kingo Gondo, then has the moral dilemma of what to do. The main problem in this film happens in the final 20 minutes. I won't go into spoilers but suffice it to say that after 2 hours of tight suspenseful writing, the movie takes an overly long detour. The ending itself is great, it is just the 20-minute extra step that kills its momentum. But overall, its highs definitely outweigh its lows. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/20/24 Full Review Milo F While innovative, Heaven & Hell/High & Low is also laboured & wildly uneven. It progresses through three or four genres, and not all of them work. Some of the 'policier' or crime procedural devices have made appearances in other Asian films, eg Dust for Dust. It is difficult to avoid bursting out in laughter at the corny ending, for which culty AK fans will not forgive you. Suggest sitting close to an exit. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/02/24 Full Review ben j Didn't expect this to instantly become one of my favorite movies of all time. It's almost overwhelmingly suspenseful and thrilling. I love both "halves" of the movie—the first 50 minutes of debating about what to do and answering calls from the aubductor, and the rest of the movie being the greatest police procedural I've ever seen as they track down the criminal. An otherwise basic story becomes infused with meaning about themes like duty, honor, existentialism, and most importantly the split between the "high" and "low" in society, whether that be class, status, moral nature, or how high one's house is, overlooking all the other ones "like it's laughing at them." Kurosawa is a master of his craft, everyone should see this. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/13/24 Full Review S R Interesting take on police work by Kurosawa. It transitioned from drama to police in a way that I didn't expect. Regardless, it entertained and showed a different aspect of Kurosawa that reminded me of Hitchcock at times. It was on HBO. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/19/23 Full Review Paulami A The legend, the master, Kurosawa san's 2hr 23m film kept us on our toes. We felt excited, eager and anxious every second. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/16/23 Full Review Yash B Among the films directed by Akira Kurosawa, "High and Low" is among the most entertaining. This is a very good crime thriller with an outstanding first half. I found myself so engaged with the beginning part of this movie that I felt like the second half just couldn't live up to it for me. I still think the whole story is good but something does happen that causes the focus of the movie to shift as it progresses. I think the movie tackles a lot of interesting topics outside of just being entertaining and think it is clear it influenced many other films that came after it. Overall, this is another film that showcases Kurosawa's versatility as a filmmaker and it just continues to make me wonder if there was anything he couldn't do. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews

High and Low

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