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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "High and Low" or "Tengoku to jigoku", "Heaven and Hell" or "The Ransom")'

 

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/direct-chair/kurosawa.htm
Japan 1963

 

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.

An anatomy of the inequalities in modern Japanese society, High and Low is a complex film noir, where the intense police hunt for the kidnapper is accompanied by penetrating insight into the kidnapper’s state of mind. Kurosawa’s virtuoso direction provides no easy answers, and in short, the police and the criminal as equally brutal, but nonetheless human.

***

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

Theatrical Release: March 1st, 1963

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Review: BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:23:29.809         
Video

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,803,974,202 bytes

Feature: 39,742,218,240 bytes

Video Bitrate: 30.00 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

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)
LPCM Audio Japanese 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Commentary:

Dolby Digital Audio English 320 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 320 kbps / DN -31dB

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
BFI

 

2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,803,974,202 bytes

Feature: 39,742,218,240 bytes

Video Bitrate: 30.00 Mbps

Codec: 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


Blu-ray Release Date: January 27th, 2025

Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 15

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: BFI Blu-ray (January 2025): BFI have transferred Akira Kurosawa's High and Low to Blu-ray. It's hard to believe the Criterion 1080P was transferred 14 years ago. We compared that BD to five different DVDs HERE. BFI's new Blu-ray image is pristine. This is a notable improvement; the image is darker but much crisper, tighter, cleaner and it shows occasional depth. I love how the contrast is delineated. I had 4K in my thoughts as I watched it one my system. Please see the full resolution capture comparisons with the 2011 Criterion Blu-ray.    

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 offers a new commentary by Japanese film expert Jasper Sharp (Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema, The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film.) He informs us of the directly translation of the title, Tengoku to Jigoku, as "Heaven and Hell", that the film was produced by Kurosawa's own production company, and the evolution of Toho Studios, that Stray Dog is a good companion piece to High and Low, how the film was a loose adaptation of the 1959 novel King's Ransom by Evan Hunter, plenty about Kurosawa, Toshiro Mifune and much more. It's an excellent commentary filling the, almost, 2.5 hours. Also included is the 37-minute High and Low segment of the Akira Kurosawa: It is Wonderful to Create Toho Masterworks documentary series narrated by Masayuki Yui. There is archive footage of Akira Kurosawa discussing 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 and others. The initial packages include an illustrated booklet with new essay on the film by Alex Barrett, archive essay by Philip Kemp (Cinema The Whole Story) and an original review from Monthly Film Bulletin.    

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 presentation. The best I have seen for this essential film plus new commentary, booklet etc.. This gets a very strong recommendation.

Gary Tooze

 


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3) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray - TOP

2) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


1) Mei Ah - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 


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Box Cover

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Bonus Captures:

Distribution BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray


 


 

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