Highest 2 Lowest Release — Everything You Need To Know Before Watching
Highest 2 Lowest is finally here, and fans can't stop buzzing about when and where to stream it. The new release has everyone scrambling for details — from the exact premiere time to which platform will carry it.
Spike Lee has a new crime-thriller dropping this week, and yes, it is his spin on Kurosawa. If that sentence made your eyebrows go up, same here. Here is what to know before it hits your queue.
What it is
'Highest 2 Lowest' is Lee directing from a script by William Alan Fox, re-interpreting Akira Kurosawa's 1963 classic 'High and Low' through a modern New York lens. The story centers on David King, a powerful NYC music mogul whose life gets upended by a strange ransom scheme that forces him into a nasty moral corner. It is the kind of setup where every decision has a price tag.
Release date and time
It lands Friday, September 5, 2025 at 12:00 a.m. PT / 3:00 a.m. ET. So West Coast gets the true midnight drop, East Coast gets the bleary-eyed 3 a.m. option.
Where to watch
This one is streaming on Apple TV+. New to the service? There is a 7-day free trial, then it is $12.99 per month. If you just picked up a new Apple device (iPhone, iPad, etc.), you can snag a 3-month free trial.
Who is in it
- Denzel Washington as David King
- Jeffrey Wright as Paul Christopher
- Ilfenesh Hadera as Pam King
- Aubrey Joseph as Trey King
- Elijah Wright as Kyle Christopher
- A$AP Rocky as Yung Felon
- John Douglas Thompson as Det. Earl Bridges
- LaChanze as Sgt. Bell
- Dean Winters as Det. Higgins
Official synopsis
"When a titan music mogul, 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."
Between the Kurosawa lineage, Spike Lee behind the camera, and Denzel front and center, this is not a subtle swing. Expect a tense, pressure-cooker thriller more about choices than car chases.