High and Low
An executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Studio
N/A
Release
26 Nov 1963
Runtime
143 min
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast & Characters
Toshirô Mifune
Yutaka Sada
Tatsuya Nakadai
Did You Know?
Critical Assessment
High and Low holds 8.4/10 on IMDb (70,373 votes), 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 90/100 on Metacritic.
Not enough independent critic/audience score breakdown available.
Ratings as of 2026-07-30
AI Verdict
AI-generatedBased on aggregated scores (8.4/10 on IMDb (70,373 votes), 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 90/100 on Metacritic), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.
Fan & Critic Buzz
Critics praise the movie's engaging and simple yet enjoyable story, solid performances, and direction. Reviewers note the film's well-worked premise and Kurosawa's commentary on human nature through his use of dramatic tension and personal stakes. The overall tone is described as one of high-stakes thrillers with a strong focus on character development.
Reviews
I didn't take to this initially. The scenario reminded me a little of an episode of "Columbo" - a rather sterile, studio-set environment that came across as quite limiting. Once it gets going, though, it's one of the best crime thrillers I've seen in ages. It all centres around t…
CinemaSerf · 7/10A well worked, high stake crime thriller. The stakes are deeply personal to our main characters and puts them in an impossible situation. The performances and direction are very solid, the story is engaging and ultimately, it's a simple yet enjoyable film. Kurosawa comments on mo…
Zak_Jaggs · 8/10I’m always amazed at how a single film can be fundamentally characterized in multiple ways, but that’s understandable when the picture combines an array of diverse elements, each of which has a validity all its own that can subsequently lead to different overarching interpretatio…
Brent Marchant · 7/10