What is the Metascore for High and Low?

High and Low has a Metascore of 80 out of 100 on Celluloid.

Where can I watch High and Low?

High and Low is available on HBO Max, The Criterion Channel. Availability varies by region — check your local streaming guide.

What countries is High and Low streaming in?

High and Low streams on U-NEXT in Japan; BFI Player in the United Kingdom; HBO Max, The Criterion Channel in the United States. Subscription availability only; rental and purchase options may differ.

High and Low

Item: High and Low
Rating: 4
Author: Kaiser Khan

Directed by Akira Kurosawa · 1963 · Last reviewed August 31, 2026

LLM fact sheet (.md)

Answer Summary

High and Low (1963) earns a 83% Celluloid Score — Recommended. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.Critics and audiences are closely aligned on this one.

Quick Verdict

Calculated from 4 available inputs: Celluloid editorial rating, Metascore, Letterboxd and IMDb. Audience sentiment is shown separately and never changes the composite. See how we calculate scores.

83%

Celluloid Score Recommended

4-input transparent breakdown

86% Editorial Rating

88% Audience snapshot · excluded

80 Metascore

★★★★☆ Letterboxd 4

8.4 IMDb /10

Watch Trailer

Runtime: 2h 22m
Cast: Toshirō Mifune , Tatsuya Nakadai , Kyōko Kagawa , Tatsuya Mihashi , Isao Kimura , Kenjirō Ishiyama , Takeshi Katō , Takashi Shimura , Jun Tazaki , Nobuo Nakamura
Streaming: HBO Max, The Criterion Channel
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese

Official theatrical poster for High and Low (1963)

Theatrical release

Where to watch

HBO Max
The Criterion Channel

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home

Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home

Where to watch High and Low by country

Country	Streaming on
Japan	U-NEXT
United Kingdom	BFI Player
United States	HBO Max, The Criterion Channel

Subscription availability, refreshed from TMDB. Rental and purchase options may differ.

Why this score?

Celluloid's editorial rating is positive (86/100).
General viewers mostly liked it (88%).
Metascore is generally favorable (80/100).
Letterboxd diarists rate it highly (4/5).
IMDb users score it 8.4/10.

Best for

Viewers who want a well-regarded drama, crime, thriller pick

Not ideal for

Scores reflect data indexed at build time. Component sources are shown on this page; Celluloid Score is our composite, not a third-party trademark. Scoring policy

Streaming availability, artwork and title metadata courtesy of TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Is High and Low worth watching?

Yes — High and Low earns a 83% Celluloid Score. Recommended — recommended by most critics and audiences.

Celluloid Verdict

IMDb Top 250 #72 (8.4/10) — High and Low remains one of the most highly rated films of all time.
Celluloid editorial verdict

Critics and audiences are closely aligned on this one.

What is High and Low about?

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

Watch the Trailer

Critic Reviews

critic High and Low

High and Low (1963) Review: Kurosawa’s Class Thriller in a Yokohama House

★★★★☆ 4/5

Toshiro Mifune’s shoe executive faces a ransom for the wrong child — a two-act masterpiece that turns a living room into a moral cliff and then into a police procedural.

Essential — still one of the best films ever made about money, duty, and a city.

High and Low stills

Official production imagery supplied through TMDB, kept with the movie instead of split into a thin gallery page.

Images courtesy of TMDB. TMDB does not endorse or certify Celluloid.

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