''Highest 2 Lowest'' is a 2025 American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a film genre that adapts the visual style and themes of 1940s and 1950s American film noir for contemporary audiences, often with more graphic depictions of violence and sexuality. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, the term ...

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

film directed by

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

and written by William Alan Fox. It is an English-language reinterpretation of

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

's 1963 Japanese film '' High and Low'', itself loosely based on the 1959 novel '' King's Ransom'' by Ed McBain (Evan Hunter). It stars

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

Ilfenesh Hadera Ilfenesh Hadera is an American actress. Early life Hadera was raised in Harlem, New York. She identifies as half Ethiopian and half white. Her father is an Ethiopian refugee and founder of the African Services Committee, a Harlem-based organizat ...

Jeffrey Wright Jeffrey Wright (born December 7, 1965) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. Wright began his career in theater, where he g ...

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop music, hip hop coll ...

, and

Ice Spice Isis Naija Gaston (born January1, 2000), known professionally as Ice Spice, is an American rapper and songwriter. Born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, she began her musical career during college in 2020, after meeting record producer ...

(in her film debut). The film had its world premiere out of competition of the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

on May 19, 2025, and is scheduled be released theatrically in the United States by

A24 A24 Films LLC, commonly referred to as A24, is an American Privately held company, independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. The studio is based in Manhattan. The company ...

on August 22, 2025, before it will be made available on

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

on September 5, 2025.

Cast

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Corsican and Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. ...

Anthony Ramos Anthony Paul Ramos Martinez (born November 1, 1991) is an American actor and singer. After graduating in musical theater from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, he began performing in stage musicals. In 2015, he originated the dual role ...

, and

Rosie Perez Rosa Maria Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress. Her breakthrough came at age 24 with her portrayal of Tina in the film '' Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's performance in '' Fear ...

appear as themselves.

Production

received the original script by Alan Fox prior to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and was involved with rewriting it after

became attached to star. In February 2024, the film was announced, to be produced by

, Todd Black for

Escape Artists Escape Artists Productions, LLC, commonly known as Escape Artists, is an American independently financed motion picture and television production company that has a first look non-exclusive deal at Sony Pictures Entertainment, headed by part ...

, and

Jason Michael Berman Jason Michael Berman is an American film producer and executive. He serves as the President and Founder of A/Vantage Pictures and previously served as the President of Mandalay Pictures, where he is responsible for developing and structuring fin ...

for

Mandalay Pictures Mandalay Pictures (formerly known as Mandalay Entertainment) is an American independent film production company founded on May 27, 1995, which is part of producer and businessman Peter Guber's Mandalay Entertainment. From 1997 until 2002, Lion ...

, with Lee as director and executive producer through his 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks label. It is the fifth collaboration between Lee and Washington, and their most recent since ''

Inside Man ''Inside Man'' is a 2006 American crime thriller film directed by Spike Lee and written by Russell Gewirtz. It centers on an elaborate bank heist-turned-hostage situation on Wall Street. The film stars Denzel Washington as Detective Keith Fr ...

'' (2006).

, and

joined the cast in the following months. According to Lee,

has the "main role" in the film.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began in New York City on March 4, 2024, with

Matthew Libatique Matthew José Libatique (born July 19, 1968) is an American cinematographer. He is best known for his collaborations with director Darren Aronofsky on the films '' Pi'' (1998), '' Requiem for a Dream'' (2000), '' The Fountain'' (2006), ''Black S ...

as cinematographer, and wrapped on May 31.

Release

In April 2025, Thierry Frémaux, artistic director of the

, confirmed that ''Highest 2 Lowest'' would be premiering out of competition at the

on May 19, 2025. The festival's official lineup announcement did not include the film as it was awaiting confirmation on

's attendance for the premiere. The film will be released theatrically by

on August 22, 2025, before it is available to stream on

September 5, 2025.

Reception

Robert Daniels of ''

RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...

'' gave the film three and a half out of four stars and wrote, " ile many will come to ''Highest 2 Lowest'' craving the angst of Kurosawa's masterpiece, for once Lee isn't setting out to copy what was great before. He is using the past as a starting point to launch into what may be the final phase of his career. He is wielding a plethora of inspirations—musical, cinematic, and historical—to reunite with an old friend. He is making a Spike Lee joint. And it's exceptional."

References

External links

* {{Apple TV+ 2025 crime thriller films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks films A24 (company) films African-American drama films American crime thriller films American remakes of Japanese films Apple TV+ original films Escape Artists films Films based on adaptations Films based on novels by Evan Hunter Films based on works by Akira Kurosawa Films directed by Spike Lee Films shot in New York City Mandalay Pictures films