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(aka "High and Low" or "Tengoku to jigoku", "Heaven and Hell" or "The Ransom")'
Based on an Ed McBain novel, High and Low is a gripping police thriller starring
Toshiro Mifune. Wealthy industrialist Kingo Gondo (Mifune) faces an agonizing
choice when a ruthless kidnapper, aiming to snatch his young son, takes the
chauffeur’s boy by mistake – but still demands the ransom, leaving Gondo facing
ruin if he pays up. *** Toshiro Mifune is unforgettable as Kingo Gondo, a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper in Akira Kurosawa’s highly influential High and Low (Tengoko to jigoku). Adapting Ed McBain's detective novel King's Ransom, Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary, creating a penetrating portrait of contemporary Japanese society. |
Posters
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Theatrical Release: March 1st, 1963
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray | |
Runtime | 2:23:29.809 | |
Video |
2.35 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 46,803,974,202 bytesFeature: 39,742,218,240 bytes Video Bitrate: 3 0.00 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
DTS-HD Master
Audio Japanese 2340 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2340 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 /
48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio English 320 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 320 kbps / DN -31dB |
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Subtitles | English, None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: BFI
2.35 :1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rayDisc Size: 46,803,974,202 bytesFeature: 39,742,218,240 bytes Video Bitrate: 3 0.00 MbpsCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • Newly recorded audio commentary by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp• Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create – High and Low (2002, 37:00): the director discusses how High and Low came to exist, and how specific sequences were filmed. Also features interviews with actors Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa, Takeshi Kato, and Tatsuya Mihashi, as well as cameraman Takao Saito and Masaharu Ueda and script supervisor Teruyo Nogami **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new essay on the film by Alex Barrett, archive essay by Philip Kemp and an original review from Monthly Film Bulletin
Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 15 |
Comments: |
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
NOTE: We have added 52 more large
resolution Blu-ray captures
(in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE
The film had 4-Track stereo (Westrex
Recording System) and, on their
Blu-ray,
BFI offer the choice of a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround adding some depth
and separation to Mifune's imposing grunts. There is also a linear PCM
2.0 channel option - both are in the original Japanese and both 24-bit.
The score by Masaru Sato (The
Hidden Fortress,
The Bad Sleep Well,
Yojimbo,
Sanjuro,
Red Beard,
The Sword of Doom,
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep,) adding a sophisticated edge to the
narrative. In the initial scene of the kidnapper, Schubert's Trout
Quintet is on the radio and when the police are pursuing the
kidnapper, the Neapolitan song 'O sole mio can be heard. BFI offer optional English subtitles on their
Region 'B'
Blu-ray.
The BFI
Blu-ray
Akira Kurosawa's High and Low
is a brilliant Japanese police procedural suspense drama dealing with
kidnapping while exporting themes involving class struggle, corporate
greed, moral dilemmas, mistaken identity and post-war Japanese
industrialization. The monochrome CinemaScope is a Masterclass in itself
with a frequent trifecta of characters positioned, and effectively
blocked, within the frame. Include Gondo's home overlooking Yokohama and
utilization of multiple cameras simultaneously for flexibility in post
edits. The film is worth watching for this alone. Along with
Red Beard, High and Low
remains one of my favorite of the director's films. I believe that
this 4K UHD of High and Low doesn't not offer English
subtitles (Amazon
Japan link.). I am very
pleased with the BFI Blu-ray
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Menus / Extras
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
1) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - TOP 2) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) Mei Ah - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) Madman - Region 4 - PAL - TOP 2) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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1) Mei Ah - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - MIDDLE3) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM |
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More full resolution (1920 X 1080) Blu-ray Captures for DVDBeaver Patreon Supporters HERE
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Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures: |
Distribution | BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |