High & Low

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High & Low ★★★½ Tengoku To Jigoku 1962 (R)

Fine Japanese film noir about a wealthy businessman who is being blackmailed by kidnappers who claim to have his son. When he discovers that they have mistakenly taken his chauffeur's son he must decide whether to face financial ruin or risk the life of a young boy. Based on an Ed McBain novel. In Japanese with English subtitles. 143m/B VHS, DVD . JP Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Mihashi, Tatsuya Nakadai; D: Akira Kurosawa; W: Evan Hunter, Ryuzo Kiku-shima, Hideo Oguni, Akira Kurosawa; C: Asakazu Nakai, Takao Saito; M: Masaru Sato.