Cinema Atlas Connection

Before shooting began, J.J. Abrams gathered his entire crew to watch High and Low. Not because it was Star Wars, but because it was Kurosawa — which is the same thing. Kurosawa's command of camera movement, of how a frame tells the audience exactly where to look and how to feel, became the operational manual. Abrams cited this film explicitly in a 2015 DGA interview, acknowledging that The Force Awakens was his education in visual storytelling happening in real time. High and Low remains available on Criterion Channel.