Summary
Denzel Washington and Spike Lee are reuniting to adapt a Japanese thriller, marking their fifth collaboration.
“High and Low” will be based on Akira Kurosawa’s work.
Set to debut in theaters before streaming, the new film must capture the complex themes of the original.
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Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, and Alan Fox are teaming up to remake Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, giving Washington a new opportunity to adapt a film by the legendary director. Washington’s first endeavor to adapt a Kurosawa film came in the form of 2016’s The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the 1960 classic western starring Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, which is itself a remake of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai.
High and Low is also a remake, insofar as being a loose adaptation of the 1959 novel King’s Ransom by Ed McBain. The Washington-Lee version will be their first team-up since 2006’s Inside Man.Washington and Lee’s previous films include Mo’ Better Blues (1990), Malcolm X (1992), and He Got Game (1998), making High and Low their fifth overall. The crime thriller begins filming in March, with Apple Original Films and A24 partnering to bring it to theaters before streaming on Apple TV+. Washington had also previously collaborated with A24 and Apple Original Films on 2021’s The Tragedy of Macbeth.
Related Denzel Washington & Spike Lee Reunite After 18 Years To Adapt 1963 Japanese Thriller Denzel Washington and Spike Lee are reuniting for their fifth film together and their first time in 18 years to adapt a 1963 Japanese thriller.
The Magnificent Seven Was An Underwhelming Remake From Denzel Washington
The Magnificent Seven featured a collaboration between Washington and director Anton Fuqua, a pair that also has Training Day and The Equalizer series to their names. Washington was hesitant to star in his first western until a lunch with Fuqua, during which Fuqua described the no-nonsense bounty hunter Sam Chisolm riding on a black horse to the sound of a remixed Ennio Morricone theme. Washington’s performance and the diverse casting were among the best choices in the remake, but the film gives little time to flesh out the characters beyond their fighting abilities.
The film showcases some entertaining action choreography — but the 1960 film and Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai used action to serve characters and to portray the futility of a life of violence. Seven Samurai ends with the villagers celebrating their victory over their bandit oppressors, while the surviving samurai have gained nothing. Similarly, the surviving gunslingers in The Magnificent Seven (1960) realize the villagers won, not them. The version Washington starred in traded introspection for spectacle, ultimately feeling more like a formulaic revenge film with an ending that opts to glorify the gunslingers’ deaths with stale narration.
The Magnificent Seven
(2016) is streaming on AMC+.
Why Denzel Washington’s High and Low Remake Can Do Better Than The Magnificent Seven
Where The Magnificent Seven (2016) couldn’t capture the heart of its predecessors, High and Low can faithfully adapt the original’s complex themes. Financially, The Magnificent Seven topped the opening weekend box office and steadied into moderate success. With High and Low set to debut in theaters before streaming, it could exceed this bar. It all depends on Washington and Lee’s execution of the Japanese classic.High and Low thrilled Japanese and worldwide audiences in 1963 — with a gap of over 60 years, it will be exciting to see how Washington and Lee bring this powerful thriller to new life.