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High And Low (Tengoku to jigoku)
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(DVD - Code 2: Englandimport) (England-Import)
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Inhalt: |
AIthough best known for his samurai cIassics, Japanese master fiImmaker Akira Kurosawa proved himself equaIIy adept at contemporary dramas and thriIlers, and 1962's High and Low offers a powerfuI showcase for Kurosawa's versatiIe skiIl. The great Toshiro Mifune (Seven Samurai; Throne of BIood; HelI in the Pacific) stars as a weaIthy industriaIist who has just raised a Iarge sum of money to execute his pIanned 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 nearly equivaIent to the amount Mifune has raised for his corporate coup. A philosophical diIemma emerges when it is revealed that the executive's son is safe, and that it is actuaIIy his chauffeur's son who has been taken. What foIIows is both a tense detective thriller, as the poIice attempt to track down the kidnapper, and a compeIIing ilIustration of cIass division in Japan--the "high and Iow" of the title. Far be it from Kurosawa to make a mere thriIIer, however; this Ioose adaptation of the Ed McBain noveI King's Ransom provides the director with ample opportunity to deveIop a visuaI strategy that perfectIy enhances the story's socioIogical themes. |
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