High and Low

Movie Information

In Brief: For his 1963 suspense film High and Low, Akira Kurosawa seems to have been actually trying to draw the wrath of those who find his work too “Western” by choosing the Ed McBain novel King’s Ransom for his source material. What could possibly be more Western — indeed, more downright American — than a McBain novel? Then again, High and Low is Kurosawa taking a shot at a kind of Hitchcock suspense thriller, and he was so sufficiently good at it that the film was one of the few works singled out for detailed attention in William K. Everson’s 1972 pioneering book on the genre, The Detective in Film. It may not be one of Kurosawa’s best works, but it’s certainly a worthy one. This excerpt was taken from a review by Ken Hanke published on Jan. 25, 2011.
Score:

Genre: Suspense Thriller
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Isao Kimura
Rated: NR

Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present High and Low on Friday, June 22, at the new Flood Gallery location in Black Mountain, 850 Blue Ridge Road, Unit A-13, Black Mountain.

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About Ken Hanke
Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Author of books "Ken Russell's Films," "Charlie Chan at the Movies," "A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series," "Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker."

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