An expertly crafted mystery thriller whose story of a kidnapping and its aftermath is woven through with a particularly acute portrait of the decay of modern Japan, High and Low is Hitchcock by way of Kurosawa (partially because it is based on an American pulp novel). The story is structured into three acts, each of which shifts focus to a different character and creates its own unique form of tension and suspense, and while film’s thriller elements are honed to a razor-sharp edge, it is society’s gaps between the have’s and the have-not’s that constitute the film’s primary subject. It is also notable for Kurosawa’s amazing use of the ‘Scope frame, particularly during the opening hour, which takes place almost entirely within a single room. (DVD)