or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
10 new from £14.76
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
High And Low [1963] [DVD] [1967]
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

High And Low [1963] [DVD] [1967]

DVD ~ Toshirô Mifune
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £14.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £5.01 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 10? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
10 new from £14.76
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

High And Low [1963] [DVD] [1967] + The Bad Sleep Well [1960] [DVD] + Stray Dog [1949] [DVD]
Total RRP: £59.97
Price For All Three: £49.55

Show availability and shipping details

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

High And Low [1963] [DVD] [1967]
64% buy the item featured on this page:
High And Low [1963] [DVD] [1967] 4.8 out of 5 stars (4)
£14.98
Rashomon [1950] [Special Edition] [DVD]
13% buy
Rashomon [1950] [Special Edition] [DVD] 5.0 out of 5 stars (7)
£4.98
Seven Samurai [1954] [DVD]
9% buy
Seven Samurai [1954] [DVD] 4.8 out of 5 stars (60)
£12.38
Ran [DVD] [1985]
8% buy
Ran [DVD] [1985] 4.2 out of 5 stars (15)
£6.98
Explore similar items

Product details

  • Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi
  • Directors: Akira Kurosawa
  • Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Ryuzo Kikushima, Eijirô Hisaita, Evan Hunter, Hideo Oguni
  • Producers: Akira Kurosawa, Ryuzo Kikushima
  • Format: Black & White, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language Japanese
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Bfi Video
  • DVD Release Date: 28 Mar 2005
  • Run Time: 143 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0007KI8SY
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 18,527 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Although best known for his samurai classics, Japanese master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa proved himself equally adept at contemporary dramas and thrillers, and 1962's High and Low offers a powerful showcase for Kurosawa's versatile skill. The great Toshiro Mifune stars as a wealthy industrialist who has just raised a large sum of money to execute his planned take-over of a successful shoe manufacturer. Fate intervenes when he receives a phone call informing him that his son has been kidnapped, and by unfortunate coincidence the ransom demand is nearly equivalent to the amount Mifune has raised for his corporate coup. A philosophical dilemma emerges when it is revealed that the executive's son is safe, and that it is actually his chauffeur's son who has been taken. What follows is both a tense detective thriller, as the police attempt to track down the kidnapper, and a compelling illustration of class division in Japan--the "high and low" of the title. Far be it from Kurosawa to make a mere thriller, however; this loose adaptation of the Ed McBain novel King's Ransom provides the director with ample opportunity to develop a visual strategy that perfectly enhances the story's sociological themes. --Jeff Shannon


Synopsis

Based on KING'S RANSOM, a crime novel by Ed McBain, HIGH AND LOW stars Toshiro Mifune as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy, hardworking businessman. As Gondo plans a coup that will secure his position as the head of his Yokohama shoe company, he is contacted by a criminal who informs him that he's kidnapped his son. The crook demands a huge ransom for the boy's return--an amount that has taken Gondo 30 years of labour to amass. As the worried industrialist prepares to pay the ransom, he discovers that his son is safe at home--the kidnapper has mistakenly snatched his chauffeur's son. The question quickly becomes: Does Gondo abandon his plans to pay off the criminal, or does he do the honourable thing and help save his driver's child

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Bad Sleep Well [1960] [DVD]

The Bad Sleep Well [1960] [DVD]

DVD ~ Toshirô Mifune
4.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £19.59
Ikiru [DVD] [1942]

Ikiru [DVD] [1942]

DVD ~ Takashi Shimura
4.6 out of 5 stars (15)  £12.58
Stray Dog [1949] [DVD]

Stray Dog [1949] [DVD]

DVD ~ Toshirô Mifune
4.3 out of 5 stars (7)  £14.98
Sanjuro [1962] [DVD]

Sanjuro [1962] [DVD]

DVD ~ Toshirô Mifune
5.0 out of 5 stars (8)  £12.88
Red Beard [1965] [DVD]

Red Beard [1965] [DVD]

DVD ~ Toshirô Mifune
4.2 out of 5 stars (9)  £12.98
› Explore similar items

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(6)
(3)
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An Epic Thriller, 10 Aug 2006
By Sordel (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
Kurosawa's modern dress movies are generally less well-known than his samurai masterpieces, but critically "Ikiru" (aka "Living") has long been regarded as one of his finest films, and the same is sometimes said of this intricate police thriller.

"High and Low" is really two films in one. The first an enclosed, philosophical drama in which Toshiru Mifune gives a restrained but powerful performance as the wealthy man being blackmailed. Stagey, slightly Bergmanesque, it will not suit all contemporary viewers but it sets up the second movie: a gripping police thriller that follows the dragnet tightening on the blackmailer.

Taken as a whole the film is epic in two senses: not only is it long, at 143 minutes, but also it has a grand vision. Japanese society from the top to the bottom is the subject, and although the source material (an American thriller) remains visible, it is the director's observations of his own country that work best and stick in the mind.

This film is not ultimately as humane as "Seven Samurai" or "Hidden Fortress", but fans, for example, of the morally serious thrillers of Sidney Lumet will want to add this DVD to their collection.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE DETECTIVE THRILLER LIKE NO OTHER, 23 Jan 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: High And Low [VHS] [1967] (VHS Tape)
This film is so huge and is executed with such depth and precision that you just cannot fault kurosawa.
His direction of this film is split, the first half of the film is shot looking up at the characters to suggest their power and life-style.
The second half looks down on the city and slums, as they seek the kidnapper and his or her associates. Mifune is flawless as is the whole film, its just brilliant, dynamic, tense, thrilling. This is the detective film by which all detective thrillers should be measured.
A real treat, enjoy.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is an extraordinarily fine film, 4 Jun 2007
By C. O. DeRiemer (San Antonio, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I watched this a few days ago for about the fifth time and have been thinking about it ever since. I think it probably is my favorite Kurosawa film.

Toshiro Mifune plays a top executive in a shoe company who is secretly planning to take over the company. He wants to keep making quality shoes and gradually expand the market. The other executives want to make cheaper shoes and take advantage of the company's reputation. Mifune has raised every yen he can, including using his house, for the buyout, but his son is kidnapped. For the ransome he'll need all the money he's raised. He's prepared to do this for the sake of his son.

Then he finds out that the kidnappers made a mistake. They kidnapped his driver's son, who is the same age as his own. What a terrible moral dilemma. Would you or I give up every bit of money we had to save a neighbor's or an employee's son? Mifune does, and this act has a great effect on the police and the public.

The first half of the movie takes place in his house on a hill while all this unfolds. The second half is the chase to find the boy before he's killed and to capture the kidnapper. We move from the intensity of the dilemma unfolding in Mifune's home to the gritty business of the search which takes us into some of the lowest parts of the Japanese underworld.

Mifune is powerful in the role of the father, at first torn by the decision he has to make, then commited to finding his driver's son. Tatsuya Nakadai plays the detective, handsome, smooth, professional, and ultimately deeply touched by Mifune's integrity. Years later Nakadai played the leads in Kurosawa's Kagemusha and Ran. And it was good to see Mifune out of samurai costume.

High and Low is the work of a master.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Stylishly presents a gritty dilemma...
Psychologically thrilling. Persona of kidnapper mysterious and fascinating. Beautifully shot. Deep in an subtly and seemingly casual way. A detective story with a soul.
Published on 9 Mar 2006 by TwirlySue

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject








i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.