Where was Highest 2 Lowest shot? Revisiting key filming locations of Spike Lee's upcoming crime thriller

Highest 2 Lowest marks the fifth collaboration between actor Denzel Washington and filmmaker Spike Lee. It’s been almost two decades since the star appeared in a Spike Lee joint. Even now, they both seem to be at the top of their game.

The 70-year-old actor has played a character of every conceivable shade. Whether a naive jazz musician, a conflicted police detective, or a real-life revolutionary, he brought his restrained gravitas to all his collaborations with Lee. In He Got Game (1998), Washington played a convict trying to mend the relationship with his son. Highest 2 Lowest shows him being confronted by a criminal to save his young son.

It brings Spike Lee back to New York, especially Brooklyn, where he filmed his upcoming neo-noir crime thriller.

In 2024, after receiving the Board of Governors Award, Lee revealed that he will collaborate with Matthew Libatique again on his latest film, set to resume filming the next day (March 4). Later, Lee revealed on Instagram that he officially wrapped the film's production on May 31.

Highest 2 Lowest filming locations explored

Brooklyn, New York

Denzel Washington in a new crime thriller (Image via YouTube/A24)

Spike Lee has shot most of his films in Brooklyn, whether it's Do the Right Thing (1989), Crooklyn (1994), or She's Gotta Have It (1986). Although born in Atlanta, NYC has been an integral part of his mental and cinematic landscape. That's where he earned his MFA in film education. According to 4 Filming, he returned to the city to shoot Highest 2 Lowest.

There are no official reports available on the specific filming locations across the city. However, the trailer gives us enough of an idea about them. It features a few shots of Denzel Washington's character walking over the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. He lives in a high-rise apartment, but his chauffeur drives him through different localities within the city.

Spike Lee’s new film is set in New York (Image via YouTube/A24)

It all seems to be in service to the film's themes of social hierarchies, suggested by its title. Whether the highest of ceilings or the modest boroughs, the film likely covers everything through its filming locations. It also features NYPD cars rushing through the streets, along with shots from a subway station.

Overall, the film might have captured the essence of the city. On one hand, you see a vibrant and colorful display of culture, while on the other, you see the bleaker parts of the town, followed by the well-lit interiors of a music mogul's home. It all highlights how all of these worlds co-exist in this populous county.

More details about Spike Lee's Highest 2 Lowest

Spike Lee’s new film with Denzel Washington was shot in New York (Image via YouTube/A24)

Highest 2 Lowest is the second time that director Spike Lee reimagines an Asian film. In 2013, he adapted Park Chan-wook's Oldboy, and with his latest, he offers a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's High and Low.

Kurosawa's 1963 crime thriller followed a wealthy shoe executive in an existential crisis. Lee's film offers a modern interpretation of his narrative through the eyes of a music mogul. The film's official plot synopsis reads:

"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. 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."

Apart from Denzel Washington as David King, the Highest 2 Lowest cast and chracters include:

Ilfenesh Hadera as Pam King
Jeffrey Wright as Paul Christopher
ASAP Rocky as Yung Felony
Wendell Pierce as Gabe
LaChanze as Det. Bell
Dean Winters as Det. Higgins
Aubrey Joseph as Trey King
Michael Potts as Patrick Bethea
John Douglas Thompson as Det. Earl Bridges

After a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025, ahead of its theatrical release from A24, slated for August 15. Later, it will debut on Apple TV+ on September 5.