Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest and most influential directors in cinema history. During his career, spanning more than 50 years, he made 30 films, inspiring everyone from Sergio Leone's spaghetti Westerns to the new Hollywood directors, the so-called movie brats, including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and others. In this video, we will take a look at and break down some scenes from his 1963 police procedural High and Low, to show his excellence at crafting scenes through perfect blocking and movement. I will stay away from spoilers as much as I can and will only give context to the scenes, so it's easier to see why his compositions are brilliant. The plot revolves around Gondo, a successful executive of a shoe company who is planning to spend all of his money to fulfill his ambitions. But just before he's able to complete his plan, his son, or as we later find out, his chauffeur's son gets kidnapped and now he has to decide if his ambitions are more important than the life of a child. This story can be divided into two parts. The first act takes place in Gondo’s villa located high above the city, and the second act is mostly in the lower parts of Yokohama. as the police are trying to find the culprit. With this, the film is not just thematically connected to its title, but structurally separates it as well. High and Low, or as the original title suggests: Tengoku to Jigoku, Heaven and Hell is presented to us. Kurosawa isn't focused on ‘whodunit’, but rather on how society operates, how social status, ambition and injustice shape the world. That's what he reveals within the frame. First, let's look at how he shows power dynamics through blocking. In Act One, we see Gondo meeting with the company shareholders and his right-hand man, Kawanishi. The blocking of these scenes always represents the dynamic between these two. The assistant is always taking up more space as he stands behind Gondo. This not only shows how he is in a favorable position because he has the trust of Gondo, but the executives also need him to get their way. This next composition clearly shows this. The frame is divided by Gondo, who is in the foreground. His assistant is on his side of the frame. However, he's facing the opposite of him and is in the background with the executive's Kurosawa moves the characters in a way where we can always sense there's something more to what's happening and what's being said. After the executives leave and offer Kawanishi the chance to betray his boss, Gondo's position and demeanor shift instantly, he puts his own plan into action and we see this reflected in the composition. As Gondo makes a call in the foreground. His wife, Reiko, and Kawanishi stand on opposite sides of the frame, both kept in the dark about his intentions. Each is concerned about the call for different reasons, Reiko fears her husband is risking their livelihood while Kawanishi worries about losing his promised position. As we can see a bit later, Kawanishi and Gondo are on the opposite ends of the frame. From this, a loyal, close-knit partnership to an entire screen filled with empty space. A rift of questions, doubts, and distrust, The total transformation of the assistant happens at the 39-minute mark as he comes back to the villa in a dark suit. He's taking up the foreground of the frame. His look is fixed on the floor and he's unable to face his boss. As the season progresses, the divide between them becomes opposition. They stand next to each other once again, but facing opposite ways. When Gondo finds out about his betrayal, Kurosawa strengthens this by placing Reiko between them. There's another character in Act One I'd like to take a look at because it really contrasts Kawanishi’s presence well. He's always on the level or below Gondo. Respectfully following behind him, facing him, or looking in the same direction. Their goal is the same, and the inspector is always there to serve him as this is his duty. Also, it is important to note how Aoki, the chauffeur and the father of the kidnapped child is standing in the background to remind us that while Gondo is the one being extorted, the one suffering is the father whose position in this hierarchy is low. So he always occupies a small part of the frame. Kurosawa amplifies the tense moments Gondo faces in Act One through his masterful use of blocking. For the first time the strong-willed and high-status Gondo finds himself out of control, the competing demands of the other characters, all tightly packed within the frame, emphasize this The police trying to solve the crime, his wife and Aoki urging him to pay, and the culprit who takes over the space through phone calls that dictate Gondo’s every move. Kurosawa uses the limited space to create a tense and dynamic first act where characters from different social classes are brought together The entire 55 minutes of Act one is so carefully choreographed, it feels almost like a stage play, and it could be analyzed, shot by shot. All this is even more impressive considering how Kurosawa shot these scenes. In contrast to the traditional way, which consists of a master shot and different angles and closeups to show the performances and break up the scene in editing, Kurosawa shoots the whole scene with two cameras at the same time in one long take, and the movement of the characters and the camera breaks up the scene into smaller portions. Of course, he's cutting between the two angles, but by mostly using wider shots, we can always see the nuanced performances and precisely choreographed movements of multiple characters at the same time. His visual storytelling isn't limited to showing characters’ emotional states and relationships, but larger themes as well. Sometimes in one simple shot. In the beginning of Act Two, Kurosawa once again shows his genius with this shot. Where we see the culprit looking out from the slums to the villa, and in one image we understand the two opposing forces: high and low. From his point of view, the house is in the sky is the heaven he cannot reach. And it frustrates him. With this, All of Act One is put into a different perspective and the major sociological theme of Act Two and the whole film is also set up. The other major scene I want to focus on is the bar scene in the final third of the film. The police are tailing the suspect, Takeuchi, as he attempts to make a drug deal. The way this deal will go down is unknown to the cops. So we have three sides to look out for: The suspect, Takeuchi, the undercover policeman, and the dealer, who we have yet to see. In this sequence, there's barely any dialog. Kurosawa uses visual storytelling exclusively to show how this tense moment goes down. He builds tension by giving the audience information that the characters don't have. The suspect doesn't realize he's being followed, and at the same time, the police don't know who the dealers are. Hence, the deal takes place in a crowded public setting. The stage is set: three groups, each with their own motivations and a range of possible outcomes. The suspect enters first, wearing sunglasses to hide his face and a flower in his pocket. Next, three undercover policemen enter dressed in marine caps and sit close to the suspect. Finally, two more officers enter wearing buttoned-down Hawaiian shirts and sit right next to the others. Notice how each group has a distinct look. The suspect with eerie sunglasses and flower, the officers with marine caps and the others in Hawaiian shirts. When everything's in place, we get this shot. The lower third of the frame is occupied by the crowd, dancing in the foreground. In the middle, we can see the two sets of men surveilling the suspects without his knowledge. And in the background, but clearly in focus with his white shirt, separated from the crowd, we see the suspect. Looking at this without any prior knowledge, the viewers would only notice this part of the image. He's standing out because everything is pointing towards him. He's the only character facing us and the only one whose body is revealed. The dark colors around him establish a clear contrast as well, and the blocking creates small rectangles that shrink the composition bit by bit into only this small part of the frame where his shape takes up the space. But since we know the context of this scene, after noticing the suspect, our eyes wander and Kurosawa creates a triangle of composition where we can see all the players of this tense moment. This is where the costume choices come in. But those only support the brilliant blocking of this scene. The crowd is positioned in a way where the leaves small gaps in front of the police. so they create their own smaller compositions facing the camera and connecting everything together while also blending in. Then the mule arrives, the woman who appears out of nowhere. We have a shot where the characters are all lined up, and after the suspect gets the sign and goes dancing, the woman is waiting for him in the background, right behind the police. Kurosawa tells the story in a packed dynamic setting like the bar, using nothing but perfectly orchestrated images. I won't spoil the rest of the scene for you if you haven't seen High and Low. I highly recommend watching it for yourself. These are just a few examples of the films beauty and brilliance. My goal was to show how even the most seemingly simple shots in Kurosawa's films are crafted with incredible care and precision. His entire filmography is filled with this level of artistry, and High and Low is no exception. Every frame, every movement is deliberate, revealing layers of meaning beneath the surface. The next time you watch one of his films, pay close attention to how he stages his scenes, his theatrical approach to blocking. I guarantee you will start to see how every gesture, every position in the frame reflects the character's motivations, mental state and emotional journey. Kurosawa doesn't just tell stories. He shows us the inner workings of his character's minds through visual storytelling and that's what makes his work one of the best. If you enjoy these kinds of breakdowns and want to see more, let me know in the comments. Also, make sure to subscribe to get notified when I upload. Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.