This is a brilliant, thrilling film made by Kurosawa in 1963. An executive is poised to take over a company on the brink of financial disaster when his chaffeur's son is kidnapped by men who mistakenly believe it to be his son. The great Toshiro Mifune plays the executive. The train scene is one of the best ever.
This is based on an Ed McBain novel, KING'S RANSOM but Kurosawa and his writers have made some choices of their own. This is an exciting film about a moral dilemma. It was recently remastered.
Patti - Oh, now this one I really have not heard of! Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I know of the novel, but didn't know it was made into a film, and a Korosawa one at that!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great movie. The body language by the police while the victims are arguing among themselves is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThis movie was mentioned in a later McBain novel. It was called a great movie based on some old trashy novel.
Hunter had it right, there...
ReplyDeleteSounds pretty good. Definitely one I've never heard of.
ReplyDeleteLet's play a game: Let's count the number of McBain books that make reference to HIGH AND LOW and/or Hitchcock's THE BIRDS. What's that? You ran out of fingers? Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteEd was meta before there was meta.
ReplyDeleteAnother great Kurasawa movie from this period: "The Bad Sleep Well." Don't you want to watch a movie with a title like that?
I saw that too at the same festival.Deb.
ReplyDeleteMy memory isn't good enough, Jerry
Great choice - Easily the best movie made from a McBain novel (which itself is suspiciously similar to RANSOM, the TV play filmed with Glenn Ford not long before this book came out)
ReplyDeleteKurosawa was a hero when I was in grad school (YOJIMBO), but I've grown to love Ozu.
ReplyDeleteI adore Ozu. He is just magnificent. Graceful, pithy, heart-breaking in what he tells us about family.
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