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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In An Alleyway in the Floating World, what bothered Akira about his brother's tenement?
(a) It is in a Korean area of town,
(b) It is incredibly overpriced.
(c) It is barely ventilated.
(d) It is riddled with crime.

2. What was the man who inspired a character in Scandal distraught over?
(a) His lost job.
(b) His own sense of mortality.
(c) His dying daughter.
(d) His wife's affair.

3. Which of Akira's family members died during the filming of The Drunken Angel?
(a) His mother.
(b) His Aunt.
(c) His older sister.
(d) His father.

4. The film One Wonderful Sunday reconnected Akira with whom?
(a) Mr. Tachikawa.
(b) Mr. Iwamatsu.
(c) Yamamoto Kajiro.
(d) His father.

5. In what time period does Rashomon take place?
(a) The 11th century.
(b) The 19th century.
(c) Modern Tokyo.
(d) Prehistoric times.

6. How did Kurosawa learn of Japan's defeat in the war?
(a) The studio head announces it.
(b) By a newsreel.
(c) A newspaper.
(d) Via radio.

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

8. Which famed director observed the filming of The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail while the US was occupying Japan?
(a) John Ford.
(b) Howard Hawks.
(c) Frank Capra.
(d) Orson Welles.

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

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

11. What is the primary memory Kuosawa has of a Yamamoto Kajiro set?
(a) Fear of firing.
(b) Sleeplessness.
(c) Chaos.
(d) Serenity.

12. After the war, what did Akira make a conscious effort to learn about?
(a) European drama.
(b) Japanese art.
(c) Confucian philosophy.
(d) American democracy.

13. According to Kurosawa at the end of this section, what is the key to getting good work from actors?
(a) Calm.
(b) Respect.
(c) Passion.
(d) Clarity.

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

15. In Negative and Positive, what did an actor tell Akira his first day as an assistant director?
(a) He'll never make it in the industry.
(b) He should write for the movies.
(c) He looks like his brother.
(d) He is smarter than the director.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which on-set worker was moved to tears while filming the final scene of The Quiet Duel?

2. Where was Akira directing when Yamamoto Kajiro took ill and died?

3. What does Kurosawa blame for the failure of Sugata Sanshiro, Part II?

4. In A Coward and A Weakling, what position was Akira given at the League newspaper?

5. What adjective did the censors use to describe their problems with Sugata Sanshiro?

(see the answer keys)

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