What is the iRankMovies score for High and Low?

Name: High and Low
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Genre: crime, drama, thriller
Released: 1963
Duration: 2 h 22 min
Rating: 8.4

High and Low has an iRankMovies score of 88.6/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

High and Low (1963)

天国と地獄

Stark, intense drama almost beyond belief!

Release:1963

Runtime:2h 22m

Country:Japan

Director:Akira Kurosawa

Language:Japanese

Genre

CrimeDramaThriller

See the best crime movies →

Keywords

ChauffeurPoliceRansomManagerKidnapping BlackmailHeroinFilm Noir

iRank89

High and Low rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.4/10· 70K votes

Rotten Tomatoes97%

Metacritic90%

TMDb8.363/10· 1K votes

With 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.4/10 on IMDb and 90/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About High and Low

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

Cast of High and Low

Toshirō Mifune
as Kingo Gondo
Tatsuya Nakadai
as Chief Detective Tokura
Kyōko Kagawa
as Reiko Gondo
Tatsuya Mihashi
as Kawanishi, Gondo's secretary
Isao Kimura
as Detective Arai
Kenjirō Ishiyama
as Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi
Takeshi Katō
as Detective Nakao
Takashi Shimura
as Chief of Investigation Section
Jun Tazaki
as Kamiya, National Shoes Publicity Director
Nobuo Nakamura
as Ishimaru, National Shoes Design Department Director
Yūnosuke Itō
as Baba - National Shoes Executive
Tsutomu Yamazaki
as Ginjirô Takeuchi - Medical Intern

High and Low facts

Original title: 天国と地獄
Budget: $250K

Our take on High and Low

Kurosawa's 1963 thriller traps a wealthy executive in an agonising dilemma when kidnappers seize his chauffeur's son by mistake — yet still demand the ransom that would ruin him. It shifts from a taut chamber drama to a methodical police procedural, dissecting class and conscience along the way. If its moral tension and procedural rigour gripped you, Memories of Murder and other meticulous crime thrillers share its blend of ethics and investigation.

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•Kurosawa crafts audacious blackmail thriller with escalating psychological tension throughout
•Criminal investigation unfolds methodically across both wealthy and working-class landscapes
•Black and white cinematography emphasizes class anxieties central to narrative