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Denzel Washington’s new movie will hit theaters everywhere on August 22, but the classic masterpiece that inspired it is climbing streaming charts ahead of its premiere. Washington will star alongside Jeffrey Wright in Highest 2 Lowest, the upcoming police procedural that’s inspired by High and Low, the 1963 film written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. High and Low is streaming on Max, and the film has begun climbing streaming charts around the world ahead of its remake’s debut, particularly in Taiwan, where it’s one of the 10 most popular films in the country. Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller earned a nearly flawless 96% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and enough early reviews have come in to give Highest 2 Lowest an 89% rating on the aggregate site, which sets a record for Washington and director Spike Lee.

The original High and Low was based on the novel Kingu no minoshirokin by Evan Hunter,...

“High and Low” received nominations for the Golden Lion at the 24th Venice Film Festival, and the Best Foreign Film at the 21st Golden Globe Awards. It was also awarded at the Mainichi Film Awards for the Best Film, and for the Best Screenplay. Upon its release in Japan, it earned approximately $1.3 million and became the top-grossing film of 1963.

on Amazon by clicking on the image below

The script, written by Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Eijiro Hisaita, and Ryuzo Kikushima, is loosely based on Evan Hunter's novel from 1959, “King's Ransom”. Toho, the film company that Kurosawa was working with at the time, acquired the film rights for $5,000. The first half of the story revolves around Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune), a board member of a Japanese shoe company, facing a critical dilemma. He must decide whether to use his considerable wealth to secure executive control in the company or help his chauffeur,...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Cowboys & Aliens - Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde

Crazy, Stupid, Love - Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore

The Smurfs - Hank Azaria, Katy Perry, Jonathan Winters

Movie of the Week

Cowboys & Aliens

The Stars: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde

The Plot: In 1873, aliens land in Arizona with plans to take over the Earth. A posse of cowboys is all that stands in their way.

The Buzz: The latest offering from director Jon Favreau (Iron Man).

When I first saw the original Iron Man trailer, I’ll be honest, my gut reaction was, “wow, that looks horrible.” However, upon the film’s release I was pleasantly surprised, and found Iron Man to be extremely entertaining. I found it to be excellent on all fronts really, and the general populace certainly agreed.

When I first saw the Cowboys & Aliens trailer, my gut reaction was “wow,...