WOW! This is my first time watching a Akira Kurosawa film and I've instantaneously converted into being a massive fan of his after witnessing this! High and Low plays out almost as if it was two different movies; the first half being an intense, claustrophobic thriller and the second half being a detailed crime investigation. The mystery and eminently realistic atmosphere surrounding the film's story-which is greatly achieved thanks to its extraordinarily written screenplay-is gruesomely gripping. High and Low is the original Chinatown/Se7en/Fargo/Blue Velvet/Prisoners. Imagine those movies all combined into a single package and you can essentially picture how brilliantly eccentric I found this film to be. (Verdict: A+)

my review (it's in Portuguese) ... /watch? v=J3fDhtjEmAkPlot from wikipedia: A wealthy executive named Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) is in a struggle to gain control of a company called National Shoes. One faction wants the company to make cheap, low quality shoes for the impulse market as opposed to the sturdy but unfashionable shoes currently being produced. Gondo believes that the long-term future of the company will be best served by well made shoes with modern styling, though this plan is unpopular because it means lower profits in the short term. He has secretly set up a leveraged buyout to gain control of the company, mortgaging all he has.Just as he is about to put his plan into action, he receives a phone call from someone claiming to have kidnapped his son, Jun. Gondo is prepared to pay the ransom, but the call is dismissed as a prank when Jun comes in from playing outside. However, Jun's playmate, Shinichi, the child of Gondo's chauffeur, is missing and the kidnappers have mistakenly abducted him instead.In another phone call the kidnapper reveals that he has discovered his mistake but still demands the same ransom. Gondo is now forced to make a decision about whether to pay the ransom to save the child or complete the buyout. After a long night of contemplation Gondo announces that he will not pay the ransom, explaining that doing so would not only mean the loss of his position in the company, but cause him to go into debt and throw the futures of his wife and son into jeopardy. His plans are weakened when his top aide lets the "cheap shoes" faction know about the kidnapping in return for a promotion should they take over. Finally, under pressure from his wife and the chauffeur, Gondo decides to pay the ransom. Following the kidnapper's instructions, the money is put into two small briefcases and thrown from a moving train; Shinichi is found unharmed.Gondo is forced out of the company and his creditors demand the collateral in lieu of debt. The story is widely reported however, making Gondo a hero, while the National Shoe Company is vilified and boycotted. Meanwhile, the police eventually find the hideout where Shinichi was kept prisoner. The bodies of the kidnapper's two accomplices are found there, killed by an overdose of heroin. The police surmise that the kidnapper engineered their deaths by supplying them with uncut drugs. Further clues lead to the identity of the kidnapper, a medical intern at a nearby hospital, but there is no hard evidence linking him to the accomplices' murders. The police lay a trap by first planting a story in the newspapers implying that the accomplices are still alive, and then forging a note from them demanding more drugs. The kidnapper is apprehended in the act of trying to supply another lethal dose of uncut heroin to his accomplices. Most of the ransom money is recovered, but too late to save Gondo's property from auction. With the kidnapper facing a death sentence, he and Gondo finally meet face to face. Gondo has gone to work for a rival shoe company, earning less money but enjoying a free hand in running it. The kidnapper reveals that envy from seeing Gondo's house on the hill every day led him to conceive of the crime.

An executive of a shoe company (Toshiro Mifune) becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and held for ransom.The first thing to notice is the interesting screen dimensions (which are handy for subtitles). Few films seem to have such a wide screen and narrow top-to-bottom height.The film is loosely based on "King's Ransom" (1959), by Ed McBain. Others see different influences. The Washington Post wrote of the film, "High and Low is, in a way, the companion piece to Throne of Blood—it's Macbeth, if Macbeth had married better. The movie shares the rigors of Shakespeare's construction, the symbolic and historical sweep, the pacing that makes the story expand organically in the mind." No matter what you see, this is definitely a strong addition to Kurosawa's resume, and a great police procedural that deserves more praise than it seems to get.

High and Low is an interesting film noir-type thriller, based on the novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain. Like Ikiru, it's split in two parts, and again the first one is better. The first part is more minimalistic but more thrilling. It has fewer characters, only one set, simple dialogues and some really intense moments. The second part has more characters, locations, long-winded explanations and dragged-out scenes, which made me lose interest a few times. I do, however, like the ending, as well as the pink smoke scene (I mean, who doesn't love that one?). Like many other Kurosawa's films concerning social issues he filmed beforehand, High and Low also criticizes the post-war intrusion of American culture on Japan, often through subtle moments such as the two boys at the start playing cowboys, or sometimes a bit more bluntly, like in the night club scene, where American music is played and there are many Americans among the crowd.However, the most important aspect of the film, brought up even in its title, concerns social classes. The two halves of the movie are completely different as I mentioned, in every way imaginable. The first half is set in Gondo's luxurious home which oversees the rest of the town. Gondo's home is very empty and quiet. The camera is static and timid. The second half moves locations frequently, is very loud and messy, and the camera is dynamic. All of those effects are here to further describe the difference between the two worlds. The film ends with a confrontation between Gondo and the kidnapper (High and Low), when Gondo realizes that the kidnapper is very similar to him and with that moment of realization Kurosawa sends the message that the people of both classes should be considered equal.7,5/10