High and Low
Encyclopedia
is a 1963 film directed by Akira Kurosawa
, starring Toshirō Mifune
, Tatsuya Nakadai
and Kyōko Kagawa
. It was loosely based on King's Ransom, an 87th Precinct
police procedural
by Ed McBain.
) is caught between two sides 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 while the founder of the company wants it to stick with sturdy but unfashionable shoes. 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. Jun's playmate Shinichi, the child of Gondo's chauffeur, is missing however and it's apparent that 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 warns the others in return for promotion. 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 no hard evidence with which to make an arrest. 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 he is given 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.
-- 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.'
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
, starring Toshirō Mifune
Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
, Tatsuya Nakadai
Tatsuya Nakadai
is a Japanese leading film actor.He became a star after he was discovered working as a Tokyo shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the early 1950s...
and Kyōko Kagawa
Kyôko Kagawa
is a Japanese actress. She has appeared in leading and supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well and High and Low, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, and Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff.- Filmography :...
. It was loosely based on King's Ransom, an 87th Precinct
87th Precinct
The 87th Precinct is a series of police procedural novels and stories written by Ed McBain. McBain's 87th Precinct works have been adapted, sometimes loosely, into movies and television on several occasions.-Setting:...
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
by Ed McBain.
Plot
A wealthy executive named Kingo Gondo (Toshirō MifuneToshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
) is caught between two sides 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 while the founder of the company wants it to stick with sturdy but unfashionable shoes. 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
Leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
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. Jun's playmate Shinichi, the child of Gondo's chauffeur, is missing however and it's apparent that 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 warns the others in return for promotion. 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 no hard evidence with which to make an arrest. 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 he is given 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.
Reception
The Washington Post wrote of the film: "High and Low is, in a way, the companion piece to Throne of BloodThrone of Blood
Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa. Its original Japanese title is Kumonosu-jō , which means "Spider Web Castle". The film transposes the plot of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth to feudal Japan.-Plot:...
-- 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.'
Cast
- Toshirō MifuneToshiro MifuneToshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
- Kingo Gondo - Tatsuya NakadaiTatsuya Nakadaiis a Japanese leading film actor.He became a star after he was discovered working as a Tokyo shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the early 1950s...
- Chief Detective Tokura - Kyōko KagawaKyôko Kagawais a Japanese actress. She has appeared in leading and supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well and High and Low, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, and Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff.- Filmography :...
- Reiko Gondo - Tatsuya Mihashi - Kawanishi, Gondo's secretary
- Isao KimuraIsao Kimura, also known as Ko Kimura, was a Japanese actor. He appeared in several films directed by Akira Kurosawa. The first was Stray Dog as Yusa the criminal...
- Detective Arai - Kenjiro Ishiyama - Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi
- Takeshi KatōTakeshi Katowas a Japanese gymnast and Olympic champion.-Olympics:Kato competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City where he received a gold medal in team combined exercises, and a bronze medal in floor exercise....
- Detective Nakao - Takashi ShimuraTakashi Shimurawas a Japanese actor.He was born in Ikuno, Hyogo, Japan.His debut as actor was the film Akanishi Kakita and cast in the Kenji Mizoguchi's film Osaka Elegy ....
- Chief of Investigation Section - Tsutomu Yamazaki - Ginjirô Takeuchi
External links
- High and Low at the Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie DatabaseThe , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...
- Film CommentFilm CommentFilm Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
essay by Chuck Stephens at Criterion Collection