Everyone says that they want original stories to watch at the movies, but what they really mean is that they want good stories, engaging stories, stories that they can’t stop talking about or thinking about when they leave the theater. In the more than 10 years I’ve been involved in film criticism, I’ve heard about the “death of the theater” and how “there’s nothing new” to see, when, in reality, there’s always something new to see and often in the form of original stories. That doesn’t stop people, however, from celebrating good stories, fresh or adapted, such as the new Spike Lee film, Highest 2 Lowest. Led by Denzel Washington and now on Apple TV+, this film is frequently discussed as a remake of filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 Toshiro Mifune-led High and Low (天国と地獄) when both films are adaptations of the 1959 Ed McBain novel King’s Ransom. Ready to tap into the conversation, The Criterion Collection now offers a 4K UHD edition of Kurosawa’s adaptation, bringing along the special features from their past two releases which include past essays, featurettes, a documentary, and commentary track.
Toshiro Mifune as Kingo Gondo in HIGH AND LOW. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
On the same day that Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) is set to make his move to consolidate his shares in National Shoes in order to ascend to CEO and move the company in a new direction, he receives a call claiming that his son has been kidnapped and will require ¥30 million in exchange. Except it’s not his son, Jun (Toshio Egi), but Shinichi (Masahiko Shimazu), the son of his chauffeur, Aoki (Yutaka Sada), necessitating a choice to be made between Gondo and his family’s future or restoring Aoki’s as the kidnapper’s demands don’t wavier in light of the realization. As the sharks swim around Gondo and the stock acquisition and Gondo’s fortune entwines with the outcome, the pressure rises to decide which matters more: honor or family.
L-R: Tatsuya Mihashi as Kawanishi, Toshiro Mifune as Kingo Gondo, Masahiko Shimazu as Shinichi, Toshio Egi as Jun, and Kyoko Kagawa as Reiko Gondo in HIGH AND LOW. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Criterion has a pre-existing relationship with this title as it has released a prior DVD and Blu-ray (July 2011). As Criterion’s been adding 4K UHD titles to the collection, some have been for new additions entirely, while others are re-releases of titles in the latest format. Overall, there are few complaints with titles like Sorcerer (1977), Brazil (1985), and Ugetsu (1953) among the crop of 2025 4K UHD titles. As such, what follows will focus primarily on what’s new with this release: the 4K UHD digital restoration on-disc presentation.
Starting from a technical perspective, the 4K UHD disc offers a 4K digital video presentation and 4.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. It’s worth noting at this point that there are no bonus features on the 4K UHD disc, so there’s nothing included that eats up any additional space which would create a reduced bitrate as a result. Much like Ugetsu, the bitrate for High and Low primarily hovers in the 70s and 80s (Mbps) with occasional bumps in the 90s. This matters only in the comparative sense that Blu-rays max out around 40 Mbps and 4K UHDs max out around 128 Mbps, so while the bitrate is roughly twice that of a Blu-ray, it’s not nearly close the max bitrate for a 4K UHD presentation. This doesn’t diminish the presentation at all as the video elements are clean and clear with strong details within a sharp image, the monochrome color palate unaffected by image flickering. This is particularly important in the stakeout sequence within the second half of the film when the police follow the suspect through the evening streets of Yokohama, Japan. The improved clarity of the image allows for the blacks to be quite deep without losing the characters within them. The 4.0 surround sound is rarely noticeable. Since Kurosawa uses scoring sparsely, focusing more on performance and staging to convey intention and intensity, any sound coming out of the back is negligible, the bulk of the dialog-heavy audio coming from the front, not really requiring an immersive experience. Everything else that’s included is as-expected from the prior Blu-ray release. The same artwork from Lucien S. Y. Yang, the same essays, the same bonus features, the same packaging, and liners. The primary difference is that this edition has a place for two discs, both of which have the same on-disc art.
R: Tatsuya Nakadai as Inspector Tokura in HIGH AND LOW. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
With a single watch of the film, there’s little doubt of its value, even now. It’s a story about honor, social responsibility, and the ways in which greed turns the heart. Each time one thinks that they understand who Gondo is, he provides a reason to confirm that his morals and ethics drive him, even if it means bringing his family to ruin due to poor timing. The choice to save Shinichi is hard for him because he knows that doing so will mean he’ll likely not be able to buy the company, at best, and will be forced out, at worst. He doesn’t even conceive that his right-hand, Kawanishi (Tatsuya Mihashi), would betray his confidence or that his investors would see the use of the money to save the boy as cause to ruin him. While it’s totally possible to do the right thing and still lose, Gondo (and the audience along with him) finds himself repeatedly floored by the consistent hits he takes because they don’t see the value in saving the life of the boy. Granted, it does take Gondo time to wrestle with the right thing, but he makes the choice when it counts and walks the path of having made the choice, never once complaining or asking for aid beyond what’s reasonable. Curiously, it’s because of Gondo’s commitment to doing the right thing that Inspector Tokura (Tatsuya Nakadai) and his team work as diligently in the case — not just to save the boy, but to see if they can help made Gondo whole. In concert with directorial choices that demonstrate the caste system of wealth vs. poor, how close or removed from each other characters are, and place the audience right in the hunt, High and Low is a thriller that keeps you guessing with an ending that satisfies all of its thematic questions.
Tsutomu Yamazaki as Takeuchi in HIGH AND LOW. Photo courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
Time for a final recommendation: if you already own High and Low, there’s little reason to add this edition to your collection beyond the desire to have the best home release edition Criterion offers. As such, you’re best off waiting for either one of their random 30% 4K UHD discs site-only sales or one of their biannual 50% sales through Barnes & Noble. If you’ve yet to add the title to your collection and have 4K UHD capability, then this is an easier recommendation as you get two disc formats (4K UHD and Blu-ray) with all of the supplements in one package.
High and Low 4K UHD Special Features:
- *NEW* 4K digital restoration, with 4.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary featuring Akira Kurosawa scholar Stephen Prince
- Documentary on the making of High and Low, created as part of the Toho Masterworks series Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create
- Interviews with actors Toshiro Mifune and Tsutomu Yamazaki
- Trailers and teaser
- PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien and an on-set account by Japanese-film scholar Donald Richie
- Cover by Lucien S. Y. Yang
Available on 4K UHD Blu-ray September 9th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official The Criterion Collection High and Low webpage.
Share this:
Categories: Home Release, Recommendation
Leave a Reply