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IMDb > Tengoku to jigoku (1963)
Tengoku to jigoku
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Tengoku to jigoku (1963) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   6,990 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 8% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Hideo Oguni (screenplay) &
Ryûzô Kikushima (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for High and Low on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 November 1963 (USA) more
Genre:
Plot:
An executive mortgages all he owns to stage a coup and gain control of the National Shoe Company, with... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
3 wins & 3 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
This Week On DVD and Blu-ray: December 8, 2009
 (From Rope Of Silicon. 8 December 2009, 1:20 AM, PST)

Holiday Preview: A Repertory Calendar
 (From IFC. 3 November 2009, 1:01 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Great suspenceful crime story. Fine performances early in the careers of future stars. more (53 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Toshirô Mifune ... Kingo Gondo
Tatsuya Nakadai ... Chief Detective Tokura
Kyôko Kagawa ... Reiko Gondo
Tatsuya Mihashi ... Kawanishi - Gondo's Secretary
Isao Kimura ... Detective Arai
Kenjiro Ishiyama ... Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi (as Kenjirô Ishiyama)
Takeshi Katô ... Detective Nakao
Takashi Shimura ... Chief of Investigation Section
Jun Tazaki ... Kamiya, National Shoes Publicity Director
Nobuo Nakamura ... Ishimaru, National Shoes Design Department Director
Yûnosuke Itô ... Baba - National Shoes Executive
Tsutomu Yamazaki ... Ginjirô Takeuchi - Medical Intern
Minoru Chiaki ... First Reporter
Eijirô Tôno ... Factory Worker
Masao Shimizu ... Prison Warden
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Heaven and Hell (International: English title) (literal title)
High and Low (USA)
The Ransom (UK)
more
Runtime:
USA:142 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor) (inserts only)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Filming Locations:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
There is one shot of the movie that is in color - the scene of the colored smoke rising from the incinerator. Some television prints botch this and have the scene in black and white instead, diluting its impact. more
Quotes:
Chief Detective Tokura: That Gondo is all right.
Chief Detective 'Bos'n' Taguchi: Usually I waste no love on the rich. I didn't like him at first.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Obsession (1976) more
Soundtrack:
The Magic Begins more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
Great suspenceful crime story. Fine performances early in the careers of future stars., 19 February 1999
Author: fuyuno from Oita, Japan

A child of a chauffeur is mistakenly kidnapped in the place of a businessman's son. The businessman, involved in a high-stakes takeover of his company from his erring bosses, chooses to risk losing his shirt to pay the ransom for a child not his own. While the clock is ticking on both the businessman's fortune and the child's life, the police decide that they want a sure conviction rather than a quick arrest.

A suspenseful crime story based on a novel by Evan Hunter (aka Ed McBain) transported to 1960's Japan. The soon to be famous "Economic miracle" is in full swing as Japan rebuilds its war-ravaged landscape. The mix of optimism and despair of the people in the thick of this economic transformation is palpable beneath the multiple story lines of scrappy cops following their hunches, the inventive kidnapper and the businessman.

Toshiro Mifune shines as the businessman while Tatuya Nakadai makes a fine appearance as Inspector Tokura. Tsutomu Yamazaki as the kidnapper debuts into a glorious career. Many of the bit players who appear only briefly eventually became big stars notably Eijiro Tono as the worker in a shoe factory and Nekohachi Edoya as the charming engineer who identifies a train, gesturing with chopsticks, by merely listening to recorded sounds.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Tengoku to jigoku (1963)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Remake in the Works Xuesheng
One thing troubles me Adrian
Inaccurate title? FZ-FX
Three reasons I had a hard time keeping a straight face shaggy61
Are movie execs rating this movie a 1? chamelion7
Has anyone read the original Ed McBain story, 'King's Ransom'? debblyst
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