Drama · Crime · Thriller · Mystery
Japanese (天国と地獄)
1963 · Directed by Akira Kurosawa · 142 min
A wealthy shoe executive in Yokohama is in the middle of a high-stakes business fight when a crisis forces a moral choice on him. What starts as a tense chamber drama becomes a sweeping police investigation across a whole city.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining film of Japan's early-1960s studio cinema and a model for the modern crime thriller, it shows how genre can carry serious social argument.
Watch with intention
Watch how the film uses space, height and position in the frame to tell you who holds power and who is looking at whom.
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