The trailer for Spike Lee and Denzel Washington’s Highest 2 Lowest immediately got us pumped for the 2025 new movie. Part of the reason for that is it’s the first movie pairing the Oscar-winning filmmaker and two-time Oscar-winning actor in almost 20 years. The other part is that Highest 2 Lowest is Spike Lee’s interpretation of the work of another master filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low.
Kurosawa is one of the most revered filmmakers of all time, responsible for a number of classics that include Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo and Ran. Also among those was 1963’s High and Low, a crime drama that has a 96% “Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes and ranks as the 84th best movie of all time on IMDb as voted by IMDb users.
High and Low stars frequent Kurosawa collaborator Toshirô Mifune as a high powered Tokyo businessman who is extorted when the son of his chauffeur is kidnapped by mistake (they were after his son). He works with the police to figure out if/how he can pay the ransom and find the culprit. Lee and Washington’s will follow a similar plot, but the filmmaker is calling it more of a reinterpretation than a straight remake.
If you want to try and watch Kurosawa’s original movie before you catch Lee’s version, we’ve got all the details on how to watch High and Low right now.
Where to stream High and Low
US viewers can stream High and Low right now on Max. In fact, a number of Kurosawa’s classic movies are available to stream on Max at this time, including Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress and Yojimbo.
In order to stream High and Low on Max, you must have a subscription to the platform. Max is available as a standalone service, but you can also get it as an add-on channel through YouTube TV, Prime Video and other services.
If you aren’t a Max subscriber and don’t want to sign up just to watch High and Low, the movie is also available to rent via digital on-demand platforms, including Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home and YouTube.
Elsewhere, High and Low is streaming in the UK on BFI Player, which is available through Apple TV and Prime Video. The movie is also available via digital on-demand.
Highest 2 Lowest is set to premiere in select movie theaters on August 22, with it then premiering two weeks later, September 5, on Apple TV Plus.
