High and Low
![Watch film High and Low — High and Low (1963) Original Trailer [4K]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ELsgPvgDBoY/sddefault.jpg)
Short description
Kingo Gondo is a wealthy shoe company executive in Yokohama, on the verge of taking control of his firm through a leveraged buyout that would consume his entire personal fortune. His plans collapse when he receives a call from someone who claims to have abducted his son and demands a large ransom. Gondo soon learns that the kidnapper took the wrong boy: the child in his hands is the son of Gondo's chauffeur. The demand stands, and the kidnapper threatens to kill the boy if the money is not paid. Paying would ruin Gondo and end his career, while refusing would cost an innocent child his life. Police, led by Chief Detective Tokura, begin a discreet investigation while Gondo wrestles with the decision.
Akira Kurosawa directed and co-wrote the film with Hideo Oguni and Ryūzō Kikushima, producing it with Tomoyuki Tanaka and Kikushima. It is the sixteenth of the twenty-three features he directed in chronological order, following Sanjuro and preceding Red Beard. Toshirō Mifune plays Gondo, with Tatsuya Nakadai as Tokura, Kyōko Kagawa as Reiko Gondo, and Tatsuya Mihashi, Isao Kimura and Kenjirō Ishiyama among the forty-eight credited cast members.
Made in Japan by TOHO and Kurosawa Production, the film runs 142 minutes. On IMDb it holds 8.4 out of 10 from roughly 71,000 votes, and on TMDB 8.4 out of 10 from about 1,200 votes. A critics' rating of 8.5 out of 10 from 70 reviews places it in line with those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Most of the train scenes were filmed on location. Extras for the roles of passengers were selected from the upper classes of Tokyo society so that they would look the part – as very wealthy passengers.
- For filming scenes in the home of the character played by Toshiro Mifune (1920-1997), a miniature model of Yokohama was built – complete with bridges, a moving train, and even lanterns for night shoots. Most of the daytime filming took place inside a studio building in Yokohama itself, offering a direct view of the city from the windows.
- Most of the Yokohama filming was done on location – exceptions to this rule were rare and usually explained by the onset of cold weather. The scene in which Toshiro Mifune’s character accidentally encounters a kidnapper on the street was filmed indoors.
- To film scenes in the home of the character Toshiro Mifune, a miniature model of Yokohama was built – complete with bridges, a moving train, and even lanterns for nighttime filming. Most of the daytime filming took place inside a studio building in Yokohama itself, so the view of the city was directly visible from the windows.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
