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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What innovation in movies arrived in the chapter An Alleyway in the Floating World?
(a) Talkies.
(b) Color photography.
(c) 3-D.
(d) Panorama.

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

4. Where did Kurosawa choose to shoot the fight scene from Sugata Sanshiro?
(a) On a mountain.
(b) On the roof of his house.
(c) In a thick forested area.
(d) On a soundstage.

5. On what does Kurosawa blame the loss of so many good Japanese directors?
(a) Government intervention during the War.
(b) The high salaries paid in Hollywood.
(c) A terrible national work ethic.
(d) The film strike.

Short Answer Questions

1. At the end of A Salmon's Old Stories, what does Kurosawa accuse Japanese directors of emulating?

2. Which famed director observed the filming of The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail while the US was occupying Japan?

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

4. What happened to Akira and his wife's first house?

5. After working on Horses, what does Kurosawa spend his life doing besides writing?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who were Akira's major influences in becoming the man he became?

2. How is Akira Kurosawa angered by the state of Japan's film industry?

3. How did Rashomon catapult Kurosawa to a new level of international recognition?

4. How did Kurosawa end up directing Sugata Sanshiro?

5. How did an army major and Akira Kurosawa come to an agreement regarding cutting a scene from one of his films?

6. Describe Kurosawa's relationship with Japanese censors.

7. What was the break from the Toho, and how did it affect Kurosawa?

8. How did Mifune Toshiro and Kurosawa begin work together?

9. What was Kurosawa trying to evoke, visually, with Rashomon?

10. How did Akira discover the similarity he had to his brother?

(see the answer keys)

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