High and Low
“Stark, intense drama almost beyond belief!”
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
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Cast
49 people
Toshirō Mifune
Kingo Gondo
Known for
Seven Samurai
Rashomon
Satoshi Suzuki
Detective Koike
Tatsuya Nakadai
Chief Detective Tokura
Known for
Ran
Harakiri
Kyōko Kagawa
Reiko Gondo
Known for
Sansho the Bailiff
Tokyo Story
Tatsuya Mihashi
Kawanishi, Gondo's secretary
Known for
What's Up, Tiger Lily?
Dolls
Isao Kimura
Detective Arai
Known for
Seven Samurai
Ikiru
Kenjirō Ishiyama
Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi
Known for
Kwaidan
Takeshi Katō
Detective Nakao
Known for
The Bad Sleep Well
Yojimbo
Takashi Shimura
Chief of Investigation Section
Known for
Seven Samurai
Ikiru
Jun Tazaki
Kamiya, National Shoes Publicity Director
Known for
Destroy All Monsters
The War of the Gargantuas
Nobuo Nakamura
Ishimaru, National Shoes Design Department Director
Known for
Tokyo Story
Ikiru
Yūnosuke Itō
Baba - National Shoes Executive
Known for
Sanjuro
Ikiru
Akira Kurosawa Director · Hideo Oguni Screenplay Ryuzo Kikushima Screenplay
Budget $250K · United States release November 26, 1963 · Produced in Japan
Box office
Budget
$250,000
Production
TOHO
Production
Kurosawa Production
Production
Japan
Produced in
Languages
Original title
天国と地獄
Original language
Japanese
Spoken on screen
Japanese
Release dates
Japan · March 1, 1963
Theatrical
United States · November 26, 1963
Theatrical
Argentina
November 20, 2000 · Theatrical · (Clasicos del Cine Japones)
September 8, 2002 · Theatrical · (De Kurosawa a Kitano: 50 años de Cine Japonés)
Australia
October 24, 2024 · Limited theatrical · Re-Release
Czechia
February 24, 2018 · Premiere · Eiga-Sai Film Festival
Denmark
October 27, 1969 · Theatrical
Finland
March 27, 1981 · Theatrical
France
June 9, 1976 · Theatrical
July 21, 2004 · Theatrical · (re-release)
March 9, 2016 · Theatrical · (re-release) (restored version)
Germany
February 1, 1993 · Theatrical · (Berlin International Film Festival)
Italy
August 27, 1963 · Premiere · Venice Film Festival
January 27, 1967 · Theatrical
Japan
February 27, 2016 · Theatrical · (Nihon Meisaku Eigasai)
Mexico
June 12, 1968 · Theatrical
Netherlands
September 20, 2008 · Physical · DVD
June 26, 2025 · Theatrical · 4K restored
June 26, 2025 · Digital · Eye Film Player
Philippines
February 25, 2005 · Theatrical · (Manila Eiga Sai)
Spain
July 23, 1967 · Theatrical · (Madrid)
November 3, 1967 · Theatrical · (Barcelona)
September 22, 2008 · Theatrical · (Donostia-San Sebastian International Film Festival)
Sweden
December 13, 1968 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
April 1, 1967 · Theatrical
January 27, 2025 · Digital
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Some details come from TheTVDB.