Some films move from script to screen faster than one can lose interest in them. Others, however, take their sweet, glacial time, dragging through decades of script revisions, abandoned shoots, and financing that vanishes faster than a free canapé at Cannes. From the 29-year ordeal of The Thief and the Cobbler to Francis Ford Coppola’s decades-long Megalopolis marathon, cinema has a long history of stubborn dream projects. Now, Denzel Washington’s Highest 2 Lowest has stepped into that elite, maddeningly patient circle.

The thirty-five-year wait for Highest 2 Lowest may seem absurd, but knowing the reason transforms it into something almost inevitable.

The journey of Highest 2 Lowest to the screen was a decades-long relay race of unproduced scripts, shifting directors, and tangled rights issues. Beginning as an attempted remake of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, the project cycled through celebrated filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols, and Walter Salles, while heavyweight screenwriters including David Mamet and Richard Price contributed drafts. Disney’s development costs climbed to over $10 million, only for the film to languish in limbo for years.

What ultimately bridged the gap was producer Jason Michael Berman’s 2019 gamble to secure the rights, enlisting screenwriter Alan Fox for a fresh concept. Faced with a narrow window to sway Denzel Washington, a man who bagged $35 million on Netflix payday, Alan Fox’s late-stage capitalism reimagining won him over, prompting Washington to enlist director Spike Lee. Negotiations with the Kurosawa estate, script adjustments, and budget hurdles made the thirty-five-year wait unavoidable yet, in the end, decisive.

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With an eye for perfection and its release on August 15, one wonders how audiences will receive a film thirty-five years in the making.

Thirty-five years is a long time to wait for anything, least of all a film, but Highest 2 Lowest arrives with enough vitality to almost justify the delay. Spike Lee turns New York into a living, breathing conspirator, while Denzel Washington renders his music mogul with such authority that one half expects the Academy to send over a tuxedo immediately. The social commentary lands with precision, as if sharpened during those decades of waiting.

However, the long gestation has not made the film immune to criticism. Some reviewers note a sluggish first act and occasional tonal imbalance. For admirers of Kurosawa’s original, Lee’s version may not reach the same narrative depth, leaving inevitable comparisons. Yet, given the powerful performances, vivid cinematography, and timely exploration of race and class, the decades-long development emerges as an investment that, for many viewers, yields considerable artistic returns.

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Do you think working on Highest 2 Lowest for 35 years was worth it? Let us know in the comments down below!