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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 Bitter War, who did Kurosawa run into from his past?
(a) The teacher he hated.
(b) Mr. Tachikawa.
(c) Uekusa.
(d) His younger sister.

2. Which of the following was the first movie that Uekusa and Akira wrote together?
(a) Drunken Angel.
(b) No Regret for Our Youth.
(c) Sugata Sanshiro, Part II.
(d) One Wonderful Sunday,

3. 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.

4. Why did Fushimizu Shu suddenly stop making movies?
(a) He was blacklisted as a Communist.
(b) He was elected Mayor of his hometown.
(c) He renounced the art of cinema.
(d) He died.

5. Why was PCL first established?
(a) To stock chain stores with simple film.
(b) To provide film for spy planes.
(c) To research for sound films.
(d) To develop military technology.

6. What separated Akira from his contemporaries on set with Yamamoto Kajiro?
(a) He was the only Japan native.
(b) He was significantly younger.
(c) He had no degree.
(d) He had never seen Yamamoto Kajiro's films.

7. Who ordered Kurosawa to cut a scene from a movie, which he refused?
(a) The army.
(b) The governor of his Prefecture.
(c) Mifune Toshiro.
(d) His producers.

8. What happened to Akira and his wife's first house?
(a) It burned in a brush fire.
(b) It was condemned by the state.
(c) It collapsed in an earthquake.
(d) It was bombed.

9. Akira Kurosawa cannot recall the name of which of these influential people?
(a) His wife.
(b) His directing mentor.
(c) His favorite art teacher.
(d) His kendo instructor.

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

11. What does Kurosawa say was Takizawa's great talent in Good People?
(a) Staying under budget.
(b) Using silence.
(c) Directing actors.
(d) Setting atmosphere.

12. What does Kurosawa admit he suffers from at the very end of SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?
(a) Dyslexia.
(b) Auteurism.
(c) Egotism.
(d) Chronic laziness.

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

14. After working on Horses, what does Kurosawa spend his life doing besides writing?
(a) Directing radio shows.
(b) Dating women.
(c) Drinking.
(d) Reading Western philosphy.

15. Who did Uekusa and Akira base the antagonist of The Drunken Angel on?
(a) The teacher they both hated.
(b) An unlicensed doctor they knew.
(c) A bully who once attacked Uekusa.
(d) A Japanese war criminal.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who joined Kurosawa in forming Film Art Association?

2. What world event caused the Japanese to censor domestic film, including Kurosawa's A German at Daruma Temple?

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

4. In An Alleyway in the Floating World, how did the little girl respond to Akira's rescuing her?

5. Which Kurosawa film is not discussed in SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?

(see the answer keys)

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