High and Low

High and Low is a 1963 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune. I have a DVD, but you can watch it on HBO Max.

trailer:

Deep Focus Review opens with this:

A work of structural and thematic brilliance, Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low... considers a social and class divide present in postwar Japan, engaging its subject through that most Western of subgenres: the kidnapping thriller. The separation of classes and polarity of wealth become the impetus of a mesmerizing and noirish procedural, which—through the course of a tense negotiation, breathless ransom payoff, and subsequent manhunt—equalizes the film’s two divergent central characters: a wealthy shoe company executive who lives atop a hill, and a lowly kidnapper who lives in the slums at the hill’s base. High and Low dissects its characters through a diptych construction, involving its audience in a wealth of human drama to contemplate Kurosawa’s most prevalent, lingering questions about humanity and the factors that prevent us from relating to one another.

Slant Magazine says, "High and Low dedicates itself to the art of the rigorous pursuit, both of truth, revenge, and redemption" and "Not only does High and Low successfully bridge competing vantage points and motivations, it establishes an evocative discourse on class by demystifying classic genre conventions." Criterion says, "Kurosawa moves effortlessly from compelling race-against-time thriller to exacting social commentary, creating a diabolical treatise on contemporary Japanese society."

Empire Online gives it a positive review and closes by noting the "outstanding performances and stunning cinematography" Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 95%.