'High and Low' | Critics' Picks | The New York Times

[@brucejackson6451]

This is a great, great film. Kurosawa made many, many great movies, but I think this is his best. It started out as an Ed McBain potboiler novel, then Kurosawa got ahold of it, added the great Toshiro Mifune, and turned it into one of the great artistic statements about the interconnectivity of all human beings and the responsibility we have towards each other. It's a tragedy most people won't see this movie because, (1) it's old, (2) it's in black and white, and (3) it's in Japanese, which means you have to "read it." Some works of art are WORKS, and you have to work a little bit, but the gift you're given at the other end makes it all worthwhile. I bought this at a VHS discount store 30 years ago and it opened my eyes to the great works of Kurosawa, and from there to the unbelievably rich treasure trove of "foreign" films, a lifetime's worth, just so long as you don't mind subtitles. It's a thriller and a drama and a melodrama and a course in humanism all at once.

[@tl8211]

This movie is endlessly entertaining too. There's not a single empty second, the action is slick and the themes are all presented clearly: you don't need a dictionary, a lot of experience with cinema or to understand some meta-linguistic point. It's a masterclass. Stray Dog is an example of a very good action movie by him, but with far less interesting morality the main attraction is the technical skill and the super beautiful presentation of Tokyo. And The Bad Sleep Well has technical skill in spades and loads of depth, but is far too slow and brutal to entertain. For one to ally both entertainment and depth in one movie is just exceptional, yet Kurosawa did it in modern action movies, historical action movies AND historical epics.

[@deckofcards87]

It's my favourite too on par with Throne Of Blood and Seven Samurai... Honestly I can't choose which of those films I prefer

[@Njbear7453]

@@deckofcards87 throne of blood is AWESOME!!!!!!!!

[@ahonaotokodesu7719]

Many JAPANESE won't see this movie, either, because, (1) it's old, (2) it's in black and white, and (3) it's in Japanese, ... no, it's seldom shown in theaters. I strongly recommend you see it on big screen because every single shot has a lot of information packed you can't take it all on small display, say, a smart phone.

[@wa6tkq]

The sequence on the bullet train is terrific. Good pacing and editing.

[@Njbear7453]

2.75 inches !!

[@sinpetit]

incredible

[@nickstoli]

This movie is really two films. The first is a drama starring Toshiro Mifune and the second is a police procedural starring Tatsuya Nakadai. It probably defies all the conventions of storytelling, but it works. It's hard not to agree with Coppola that very few filmmakers made more masterpieces than Kurosawa.

[@Mooseman327]

Coppola got that right.

[@clarkness77]

I feel ikiru is 2 films too

[@sudhirpv]

Superb performance by Toshiro Mifune..

[@welshtoro3256]

True but Mifune never delivered less in any film by Kurosawa.

[@emmanuelsalazar9424]

My favourite Mifune performance in a Kurosawa film. His eyes say so much.

[@MrGrass97]

I’d say this and Red Beard are Mifune’s deepest roles. Though my personal favorite will always be Yojimbo + Sanjuro

[@Njbear7453]

Just watched last night; like every Kurosawa film, it was GREAT.

[@garrison6863]

Excellent piece of genre film making. Two hours and 23 minutes of faultless entertainment. Not one flaw in the shooting or editing. Take a look at the composition at 2:52, note the balance of the shot from foreground into the backgrounds e.g. the colors on each side of the dark curtains. Note also at 4:04. This is one of Mifune's quietest but strongest performances. And the kid who played the antagonist was just about perfect. A really fine film, which shows Kurosaw's wide range.

[@kh884488]

The placement of actors on the frame is also significant in the two scenes you mentioned. Both of them visually show Gondo as isolated from the rest which reflects on how his ethical dilemma isolates him from the rest.

[@murtazarizvi368]

never knew a B&W movie like high and low would keep me captivating all night long. love this film and the soundtrack.

[@Decetop]

Murtaza Rizvi you'd be surprised. Kurosawa's best work was in B&W.

[@Meesterlijker]

Another great example of this is _8 ½ (1963)_ . Incredible film too.

[@sdinesh28]

This movie is ahead of its time

[@wierd_fishez]

This film left me speechless. Just amazing

[@emmanuelagudo4918]

This is one of the finest script writing I have ever seen, not to mention the inspiration (true art of acting) that comes from conjuring the feebleness of the human condition.

[@roo7227]

Just saw this a couple weeks ago at the Paramount Theatre, in Austin, on the back end of a double bill with Rashomon.. Love Kurosawa..

[@rsalus1453]

cut off the best part of dialogue in the film, right at the beginning... "I don't know. I'm not interested in self-analysis. I do know my room was so cold in winter and so hot in summer I couldn't sleep. Your house looked like heaven, high up there. That's how I began to hate you."

[@Drforrester31]

Best not to give away the kidnapper's motivation if for some reason someone hasn't seen the movie yet

[@mrblue___]

Best scene is the ending. The acting by the student 🔥

[@nmuthukrishnan3347]

spellbinding magic on screen! Saw it about 10 years ago, still etched on my memory.

[@eyesofpicasso]

yes. i will watch this. thank you

[@Mooseman327]

This is a great film. One of Kurosawa's very best. A must view.

[@65g4]

Great film one of Kurosawa's best i just saw it for the first time. Really interesting film

[@Daniel-df8lj]

My favourite film ever

[@christinaluna2055]

RIP Akira Kurosawa you inspired so many films and filmmakers we miss you

[@manuelgonzales2570]

Excellent presentation! Thank you very much!

[@muthusid]

This movie is a master craftsman's tribute master craftsmen. Kurosawa is one of the greatest cinematic craftsmen. Gondo is at heart a craftsman of shoes. Tokura is a craftsman of investigation.

[@cnbank]

Did you really just show the ending of the movie in the first clip? Other than that a good review.

[@georgemorley1029]

Out of context, it’s meaningless and gives nothing away. If anything, your comment reveals more by indicating to people (who otherwise wouldn’t understand what they were seeing) that they are looking at the final scene.

[@monkberrymoon4042]

@@georgemorley1029 Fine, but really..... What's the statute of limitations on a sixty-year-old movie. I mean, no one pretends that talking about Soylent Green or Empire Strikes Back is going to lead to spoilers, right?

[@dan-mb2ne]

Why would you watch this before seeing the film? Makes no sense

[@bikerbudjr]

A Brilliant Piece of Film

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

A fantastic film. Very untypical of Kurosawa but undoubtedly one of his best.

[@Derl30]

Greatest ending all time

[@sourandbitter3062]

Absolutely. The dialogues and the acting from Tsutomu Yamazaki who played Takeuchi the criminal, both were perfect.

[@Derl30]

@@sourandbitter3062 Yes, phenomenal performance.

[@koomo801]

As many fans of the film know, the ending was not supposed to be the actual ending. There was an additional scene or two in the script where Gondo and the detective spoke to one another, but after seeing Yamazaki's performance in the cell they agreed to stop it there.

[@yen9659]

Spike Lee brought me here

[@bpheavyrocker1]

The police visit in High And Low inspired the scene in The Batman where Batman visits The Riddler in Arkham Asylum

[@SameerShaikh-un3uu]

Great movie ..just finished ..wat a acting by all actors..great police work m great business man

[@leonrizal8194]

one of my favorite movie

[@pioneer7777777]

Sweet, this is on Netflix InstaWatch. I've got my movie entertainment for the night!

[@manjunathprasadcv3332]

Kurosawa - The Blockfather...

[@mikecolin3983]

Denzel Washington brought me here.

[@roygbiv330]

in akira kurosawas high and low toshiro mifune plays mr. gondo, a japanese buisiness executive, who is confident in his ability to do the right thing. then something happens that forces this man to grab of? his deepest beliefs and tries to figured out what his basic values really are.

[@siennajohanna]

This critique feels unfinished

[@nanami-773]

1:18　このシーンの香川京子がものすごい美人！！

[@goback3spaces]

Thumbs up if you turned off the clip the minute the critic starts talking.

[@SniperGhost]

can you explain this comment?

[@amphitheatre]

Just watched this. It was good but not great. Kurosawa is excellent at suspense no matter what genre he's tackling...

[@フクカ]

外人の分析など笑止千万