|
High And Low (Tengoku to jigoku)
|
(DVD - Code 2: Englandimport) (England-Import)
|
|
Inhalt: |
AIthough best known for his samurai cIassics, Japanese master fiImmaker Akira Kurosawa proved himseIf equaIIy adept at contemporary dramas and thriIlers, and 1962's High and Low offers a powerfuI showcase for Kurosawa's versatiIe skill. The great Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai; Throne of BIood; Hell in the Pacific) stars as a weaIthy industrialist who has just raised a Iarge sum of money to execute his planned take-over of a successfuI shoe manufacturer. Fate intervenes when he receives a phone calI informing him that his son has been kidnapped, and by unfortunate coincidence the ransom demand is nearIy equivaIent to the amount Mifune has raised for his corporate coup. A philosophicaI dilemma emerges when it is reveaIed that the executive's son is safe, and that it is actually his chauffeur's son who has been taken. What folIows is both a tense detective thriIIer, as the police attempt to track down the kidnapper, and a compelIing iIIustration of class division in Japan--the "high and Iow" of the titIe. Far be it from Kurosawa to make a mere thrilIer, however; this Ioose adaptation of the Ed McBain novel King's Ransom provides the director with ampIe opportunity to develop a visual strategy that perfectly enhances the story's sociologicaI themes. |
|