Director: Spike Lee
Writer(s): Alan Fox, Evan Hunter (novel); Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Ryûzô Kikushima, Eijirô Hisaita (based on Akira Kurosawa’s film ‘High and Low’)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ilfenesh Hadera, Aubrey Joseph, Jeffrey Wright, Elijah Wright, Rick Fox, Rod Strickland, Nuri Hazzard, Jensen McRae, Jade Cayne, Imana Breaux, Andy McQueen, Ice Spice, Sunni Valentine, Frederick Weller, Michael Potts, Samm Davis, Allison Worrell, Dean Winters, LaChanze, John Douglas Thompson, Wendell Pierce, Eoin O’Shea, Gregory Dann, Don Lemon, A$AP Rocky, Nicholas Turturro, Rosie Perez, Anthony Ramos, Eddie Palmieri, Herman Olivera, Nelson Gonzalez, Joseph Gonzalez, Luques Curtis, Camilo Molina-Gaetan, Jose Claussell, Conrad Herwig, Jimmy Bosch, Brad Mason, Manuel Ruiz, Louis Fouche, Ivan Renta, Katia Washington, Jackson Lee, Kevin D. Benton, Princess Nokia, DeShawn Harold Mitchell, Kevin Sibley, Craig Castaldo, Imani Coleman, Nadera Johnson, Valerie Ryme, Jezziah Ubiles, Aiyana-Lee Anderson, Rickey Pageot, Faye Yvette McQueen, José Báez, Trevor E. Dickerson, Evan Frew, Jay Gaudi, Evyn George, Aurea González, Holden Goodman, Ian Grant, Jason Hewitt, Tom Johnson, Nichia Morales, Chyril Paulann, April A. Reeves, Jeremy Sample, Reinaldo Troya, Mahkah Wright
Synopsis: 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 5th 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.
Release Date: August 15, 2025 (USA) | Length: 133 min | Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | MPAA Rating: Rated R for language throughout and brief drug use. | Note(s): Original announcement. This film is complete and waiting for a poster, trailer and release date. Also known as “High and Low”. Spike Lee and Katia Washington are producers on this project. I wasn’t able to identify Jordan S. Walker. Release date moved from August 22, 2025 to August 15, 2025. Based on the novel ‘King’s Ransom” by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter)and Akira Kurosawa’s film ‘High and Low’. I wasn’t able to identify Imani Coleman or Valerie Ryme. Manny Joseph was in the original cast list but not in the final one.