A couple of nights ago I and my 15 yr old son watched Akira Kurosawa's 1954 masterpiece, THE SEVEN SAMURAI. My son loved it and I was again struck by how brilliant Kurosawa was as a visual storyteller. THE SEVEN SAMURAI has more key and important minor characters than most films and probably more than most filmmakers can effectively handle, but Kurosawa was such a craftsman that he was able to keep the viewer focused and the story clear.
With that in mind, here's a great look at another of Kurosawa's films, HIGH AND LOW (1963), and how he was a master at blocking and framing actors:
