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Akira Kurosawa Films 101: 1963 – 1970
These three Kurosawa films represent the end of one phase of his career and the beginning of another.
High and Low is a police procedural that is regarded as one of his greatest films, while
Red Beard represented the end of his so-called “Creative Period”.
High and Low (1963)
What would you give to save the life of your child? That should be an easy one: you give whatever it takes, down to your last nickel and then some. A more interesting question: what would you give to save the life of someone else’s child? Wealthy industrialist Kingo Gondo (Toshirô Mifune) finds himself confronted with both questions in rapid succession in Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low. First, he receives a ransom demand for his son then learns that in fact, it is the son of his chauffeur who has been kidnapped. No matter, says the kidnapper Takeuchi (Tsutomo Yamazaki): Gondo must pay 30 million yen (an amount which will bankrupt him) or the boy dies.