Let's Anticipate Spike Lee's HIGHEST 2 LOWEST

https://i.imgur.com/QN6Gzs7.jpeg

He still insists on the score blaring at max-out levels, the script plods with early expository material, and the Denzel Washington's final embrace of mediocre R&B was blah, but a near-great movie. Watch it in a theater before Apple whisks it away.

Lol thought this was a poll for a minute

He still insists on the score blaring at max-out levels

EASILY the worst part of the film, Drossin's score. Unbearable in the first half especially.

FWIW I liked the more delicate bits of the score. But that may have been relief from the these-go-to-11 parts.

The DC-area theaters that showed H2L last weekend are holding it over and adding more showings. If you think you might interested in seeing this I'd recommend watching it on a big screen with an audience.

Also, High to Low will be at AFI Silver in November as part of a Kurosawa retrospective; I plan to be there.

God yeah, the score really is unbearable at times. This movie has a couple of great setpieces (the ransom drop-off and the face-to-face meeting) and a strong Denzel Washington performance, but that's about it. All of the hokey, heavily orchestrated scenes devoted to "King David's" family and business ventures did little to make me care about the character and his plight. I would've liked to have seen more A$AP Rocky.

I think it helps the Kurosawa interpretation -- worth remembering that this all goes back to an Ed McBain novel at base -- that we don't see Mifune's character *at* work, just at home.

The scenes with the cops, especially the blocking of their movements around David vs Paul, was terrific. I agree that the first 30 mins of world-building made me impatient, but there's much more.

and in the Kurosawa the chauffeur's way more pathetic than Jeffrey Wright's Paul.

It was nice to see Eddie Palmieri.

Nice little minidoc/promo thing on the A24 YouTube channel -- instead of being a usual 'making of' thing with the central cast and director, it's a bunch of on-set footage mixed in with interview clips in those spots with all kinds of behind-the-scenes crew lifers or longstanding folks who have worked with Lee/40 Acres over the decades. Downside is that the volume varies wildly between interviewees -- whoever did this shoulda just miked everyone up properly -- but the upside is more Eddie Palmieri footage as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WZrTVrHcng