Review of High and Low (1933) by Kevin P — 13 Jul 2007

I have a lot of nostalghia for this movie. I was sixteen when I first watched it. This movie was important because it taught me my beginning lessons about filmmaking and film aesthetics. People have one film that they consider to be their unofficial film school.

This one was mine. The story is a simple investigation about a ransom gone wrong. Kurosawa is fully blossomed into the filmmaker of graceful movements and simple editing. A far departure from Seven Samurai and a predecessor to his visionary work in Ran.

The story has social implications which makes it more than just a genre story, but is more well known for it's perfect craftmanship.