Vin,
Yeah, I thought the regular maples are bred that way.
AndyM,
Search high and low for a good Japanese Maple, there are literally hundreds of varieties of Japanese Maples, and they are divided into several different classes. We have several on our property. Some are VERY slow to grow. Some are like Inspectors and have a wide canopy, some are nearly upright, many are green, yellow or variagated. Leaf shapes can range from almost needle like to very broad with little disection. I don't know a lot about regular maples, but we love the Japanese varieties. Bloodgood is a particular variety I like (we have 3 because I like them alot), it is probably too upright for what you want to plant as it is taller than it is wide, but it has great spring and summer red coloration if planted in full sun, and it grows faster than most Japanese varieties. If planted with afternoon sun the leaves will start our bright pinkish red in the spring, turn to deep red in early summer and then become blackened red and green in mid-late summer. Height can reach 25' but the spread will likely be closer to 15. There are some nursaries that specialize in breeding and developing Japanese Maples, do a web search. Each spring I get a couple catalogues, but for the life of me I can't remember the names of the nursaries now. Also, Japanese Maples do NOT like wind, especially winter wind which will dry them. Most also require full or nearly full sun.