Listen this week as your hosts Erich and Krishiv approach the work of a legendary filmmaker. While many may remember Akira Kurosawa for Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), and Ran (1985), High and Low (1963) remains one of his best, and surely one of the greatest procedurals of all time. From its jaw-dropping black and white cinematography to Toshiro Mifune's commanding demeanor, High and Low's tense atmosphere unveils the ostensible highs and lows of Japanese society. It lingers in the shadows, basks in the sunlight, but ultimately settles in the murky grey area in between.

Geoffrey O'Brien's essay "High and Low: Between Heaven and Hell," for Criterion.