In High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku, 1963), Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune) is a powerful executive in the Japanese shoe industry. However, a failed attempt to take over the company he works for leaves him almost broke. To compound problems his chauffeur’s child is kidnapped and he’s hit with a huge ransom. He’s now forced to decide between paying the ransom, throwing himself into complete poverty, or allowing an innocent child to die for the sake of his financial status.

Region 1, NTSC, anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1, black & white, fully restored/remastered DVD-9, 2 discs. Japanese Dolby Digital 4.0 audio with English subtitles. Features include audio commentary by Stephen Prince, making-of (37 min.), rare Toshiro Mifune interview, new Tsutomu Yamazaki interview, and trailers. Also includes booklet.

Available at the following retailer(s) on July 21, 2008:

• Amazon.com
• Amazon.ca
• YesAsia

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Tags: akira kurosawa, criterion, eijiro tono, hiroshi unayama, isao kimura, jun tazaki, kenjiro ishiyama, kidnapping, kyoko kagawa, minoru chiaki, nobuo nakamura, takashi shimura, takeshi kato, tatsuya mihashi, tatsuya nakadai, toshiro mifune, tsutomu yamazaki, yunosuke ito