# High and Low (1963)

> A wealthy Japanese executive faces an impossible ransom decision when a kidnapper demands payment for the chauffeur’s son, forcing private privilege into collision with public justice.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/7138

## Facts

- Runtime: 142 min
- Genres: Drama, Crime, Thriller, Mystery
- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- Cast: Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Isao Kimura, Kenjirō Ishiyama, Takeshi Katō, Takashi Shimura
- TMDB rating: 8.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057565/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Mood: tense, austere, paranoid, focused movie night, classic cinema evening

## Synopsis

A gripping tale of moral conflict unfolds when a businessman faces an impossible choice: wealth or a child's life.

## Movies like High and Low

- [Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)](https://ember.film/movie/40506)
- [The Lower Depths (1957)](https://ember.film/movie/16108)
- [Ikiru (1952)](https://ember.film/movie/2312)
- [I Live in Fear (1955)](https://ember.film/movie/12917)
- [Bullet Train Explosion (2025)](https://ember.film/movie/7304175)
- [Pale Flower (1964)](https://ember.film/movie/42282)
- [The Yakuza (1974)](https://ember.film/movie/17360)
- [The Sword of Doom (1966)](https://ember.film/movie/11990)
- [Samurai Rebellion (1967)](https://ember.film/movie/16210)
- [The Third Murder (2017)](https://ember.film/movie/293447)

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