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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. At the end of A Salmon's Old Stories, what does Kurosawa accuse Japanese directors of emulating?
(a) Television.
(b) The theatre.
(c) American films.
(d) His work.

2. What enemy of Kurosawa's disappeared with the end of World War II?
(a) The military tribunal.
(b) An unscrupulous producer.
(c) A rival director.
(d) The censor board.

3. What is the PCL?
(a) A film school.
(b) A sales firm.
(c) A massage parlor.
(d) A photo lab.

4. When does Kurosawa traditionally use the song The Cuckoo Waltz in his films?
(a) When a character is elated.
(b) When a character is falling asleep.
(c) When a character is distraught.
(d) When a character is killed.

5. What was Fushimizu Shu's film specialty?
(a) Romances.
(b) Family dramas.
(c) Horror films.
(d) Musicals.

6. What is the subject of The Drunken Angel?
(a) The Second World War.
(b) The samurai.
(c) The yakuza.
(d) Two young lovers.

7. Which individual's death does Kurosawa not describe in the book?
(a) His older brother.
(b) His father.
(c) His mother.
(d) His older sister.

8. What natural disaster nearly ends the shoot of The Stray Dog?
(a) Typhoon.
(b) Tsunami.
(c) Earthquake.
(d) Hurricane.

9. What era was Kurosawa trying to capture in The Stray Dog?
(a) Wartime Japan.
(b) Medieval Japan.
(c) Turn of the century Japan.
(d) Post-war Japan.

10. How did young Akira look different than his brother?
(a) He parted his hair on the other side.
(b) He was paler.
(c) He was shorter.
(d) He had a positive expression.

11. Why did Akira apply to PCL at 26?
(a) He lost faith in his art.
(b) He discovered his girlfriend was pregnant.
(c) He wanted to learn the science behind film-making.
(d) He incurred gambling debts.

12. What was different about The Most Beautiful's shooting concept?
(a) It was shot using only natural light.
(b) It was shot without tripods or cranes.
(c) There were documentary portions.
(d) There was no dialogue.

13. Why did Akira choose to leave the Proletariat Artists League?
(a) It didn't pay enough.
(b) He did not agree with its politics.
(c) He was more talented than his colleagues.
(d) It though he was a government agent.

14. What terrifying job did Yamamoto Kajiro give Akira as chief assistant?
(a) Scheduling shoot dates.
(b) Delivering notes to the lead actors.
(c) Interfacing with the studio heads.
(d) Editing the film.

15. What does Kurosawa blame for the failure of Scandal?
(a) His plot was severely trancated in editing.
(b) A supporting character dominates the film.
(c) His own lack of narrative clarity.
(d) Mifune Toshiro's overacting.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail based on?

2. Why was Akira angered the first time he saw Rashomon on television?

3. According to Kurosawa at the end of this section, what is the key to getting good work from actors?

4. Who did Uekusa and Akira base the antagonist of The Drunken Angel on?

5. What does Kurosawa admit he suffers from at the very end of SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?

(see the answer keys)

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