View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was the first position Akira took under Yamamoto Kajiro?
(a) Assistant director.
(b) Set dresser.
(c) Stand in.
(d) Makeup assistant.

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

3. What world event caused the Japanese to censor domestic film, including Kurosawa's A German at Daruma Temple?
(a) The Depression.
(b) The Pacific War.
(c) The accession of Hirohito.
(d) The Maoist revolution.

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

5. 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 was bombed.
(d) It collapsed in an earthquake.

Short Answer Questions

1. What era was Kurosawa trying to capture in The Stray Dog?

2. Why did the censors remove a gate from a Kurosawa film?

3. In A Story I Don't Want to Tell, who had a premonition that Akira's brother might kill himself?

4. The film One Wonderful Sunday reconnected Akira with whom?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How did Akira become disillusioned with the Proletariat Artists League?

3. Describe the incident with the censor and the gate?

4. How did Yanamoto help Akira grow as a director?

5. What controversy does Kurosawa have filming a night scene in Sugata Sanshiro?

6. What was the talent like at the PCL?

7. How did Akira find his brother in An Alleyway in the Floating World?

8. Why was the final fight of Sugata Sanshiro a challenge for Kurosawa?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,073 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample