Legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low gets a modern New York City music industry twist courtesy of director Spike Lee and star Denzel Washington, according to the new teaser trailer for the Highest 2 Lowest movie Apple TV+ posted Monday.
The new movie hits theaters August 22 before streaming on Apple TV+ September 5.
Stylish trailer shows Spike Lee and Denzel Washington going <em>Highest 2 Lowest</em> movie in Kurosawa remake
Japanese director Kurosawa’s police procedural crime drama High and Low (“Heaven and Hell” in Japanese) — involving the kidnapping of a wealthy shoe magnate — came out in 1963 to modest acclaim and high box office sales in Japan. Eventually it went on to become the second-highest ranking Kurosawa film — after the classic Seven Samurai — on at least a couple of film websites, including Rotten Tomatoes.
Now, Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest resets the story in modern-day New York City. This time a music mogul (Washington) faces a ransom plot. In two scenes in the trailer establishing his music biz cred, he’s seen wearing what appear to be gold-plated Beats headphones. Will there be a product tie-in? Maybe not involving actual gold?
Highest 2 Lowest movie: 5th time ‘brothers’ Lee and Washington pair up
Interestingly, Apple’s description on the YouTube page refers to Washington and Lee as “brothers,” in what could draw some jibes over cultural language appropriation on the iPhone giant’s part:
“When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the ‘best ears in the business,’ is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma. Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the fifth time in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller High and Low, now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City.”
Watch the trailer for Highest 2 Lowest movie:
Watch dramas on Apple TV+
While you wait for this new Spike Lee Joint, you can watch plenty of other dramas on Apple TV+. The service is available by subscription for $9.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. Customers who buy a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After launching in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 471 wins and 2,090 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
More than 200 exclusive movies and TV shows call Apple TV+ home (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso). The service also offers documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.
Source: Apple TV+ YouTube channel
