Tengoku To Jigoku (aka High And Low) (1963)

A wealthy executive (Toshiro Mifune) of a shoe company finds himself at odds with his board of directors and secretly makes plans to gain control of the company. But all this takes second place when the son (Masahiko Shimizu) of his chauffeur (Yutaka Sada) is mistaken for his son (Toshio Egi) and kidnapped in his place. Loosely based on the novel KING'S RANSOM by Ed McBain and directed by Akira Kurosawa. This is a terrific thriller worthy of Hitchcock (the similarities to THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH don't go unnoticed). Perhaps an atypical film in his filmography, obviously Kurosawa wasn't interested in making a mere thriller. The kidnapper (Tsutomo Yamazaki) is revealed to us about halfway through the film but his true motive isn't. That's saved for the very last scene. An intense and perfectly crafted film experience. With Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuya Nakadai and Eijiro Tono.