Tengoku to jigoku (High and Low)

I am a big Kurosawa fan and by almost automatic extension a Toshiro Mifune fan. I watched Shichinin no samurai back to back the first time i watched it. I have been hooked onto Kurosawa movies in general and his samurai movies ever since. So, when i picked up High and Low I was sure i was going to watch a nice movie, but didn't quite know what to expect of a script based on a 37th Precinct kidnapping/police procedural novel.

The movie was made in 1963, based in Japan. A rich industrialist about to make a hostile takeover of his shoe company, after mortgaging all he has, recieves a phone call that his son has been kidnapped and is demanded a 30 million yen ransom. Despite the horribly low value of the post war yen, we are told in the movie that it is an awesomely huge amount with the prior ransom record being 1 million. And more pertinently, it is roughly the same amount needed by Gondo (the industrialist) to make his takeover. The twist is that the boy kidnapped turns out to be his driver's son who is Gondo's son's playmate. The rest of the movie is a combination of some of the best police procedural i have seen along with the expected psychological drama.

The first third of the movie shows the high..i.e. the life of a businessman making deals in corporate post-war japan. Most of it takes place in a single room of a hilltop-house with large beautiful windows looking down on the low life; shantytowns and small apartment blocks, chimney stacks etc. The next part immediately after the kidnapping gets the cops into the picture. Instead of individual heroes, we have teams of cops. Very believable and brilliant procedural drama as they trace the kid and the kidnapper while talking to him all the time on the phone. Law and Order and other two a penny TV dramas should take a leaf out of these pages. The scenes where Gondo agrees to give the money if he can see the boy alive are very nicely shot. *spoiler alert--next line* It happens on a bullet train and he is forced to throw the money out of a bathroom window. The speed at which the whole scene is shot is unbelievably realistic and gets this movie into an all-time cinematic best list.

Once the kid is found, the focus is on the lone kidnapper who not only is shown as evil but also without remorse. The way they retrace his steps is very interesting. It is this part of the movie that has a feel very similar to "Sin city" with it's very discernible noir movie feel. Or maybe it's just the fact that the villian has a few scars on him and wears shades most of time that made me feel that way. (elijah wood style). Anyways..once again, very well shot.

And here is a general comment about watching Kurosawa movies: get the Criterion collection version. They have the original soundtrack with very good english subtitles. I have suffered through some horrible translations on non Criterion versions.

BTW...I am still searching for "Battle of Algiers". My local video store lost it within their store. Apparently, ever since the Iraq war started going wrong, it has been a very highly watched movie in this store and they are trying to get another copy.