#490: Kings' Ransoms, Pt. 1 — High and Low (1963) - The Next Picture Show

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#490: Kings' Ransoms, Pt. 1 — High and Low (1963)

September 9, 2025 • 63 mins

The new HIGHEST 2 LOWEST includes an onscreen credit for “the master” Akira Kurosawa as inspiration for a film that has the same basic shape and mistaken-identity kidnapping premise of 1963’s HIGH AND LOW, but is still unmistakably a Spike Lee joint. So in order to better evaluate Lee’s modernization of a crime classic, we’re returning to the master’s version to see how Kurosawa himself reshaped HIGH AND LOW from its pulp-novel origins, utilizing a bifurcated structure and leading man Toshirō Mifune to challenge viewers’ assumed sympathies towards a villain and a victim on opposite sides of the class divide. Then in Feedback, a letter from a listener underlines a point about storytelling that HIGH AND LOW handily illustrates: the necessity of a three-act structure has been greatly exaggerated. Please share your thoughts about HIGH AND LOW, HIGHEST 2 LOWEST, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email or voice memo to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00:00-00:06:18 High and Low Keynote: 00:06:18-00:13:10 High and Low Discussion: 00:13:10-00:52:06 Feedback/outro: 00:52:06-end Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}#490: Kings' Ransoms, Pt. 1 — High and Low (1963)