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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which is not an additional job that assistant directors had on set with Yamamoto Kajiro?

2. What does Kurosawa say was Takizawa's great talent in Good People?

3. In what year did Kurosawa begin shooting Sugata Sanshiro?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What terrible experience does Kurosawa relate at the end of An Alleyway in the Floating World?

2. Describe Kurosawa's relationship with Japanese censors.

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

4. How did Akira accept japan's defeat in the war?

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

6. What demands did Kurosawa make of his actresses in The Most Beautiful?

7. What was the talent like at the PCL?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout much of the book, young Akira has difficulty choosing to take a stand, leading to his being called a crybaby, a coward, and a weakling. Write an essay about inaction in Something Like and Autobiography. How does Akira fail to stand up to a tyrannical teacher in his school when given the chance? Discuss how the War affords him many opportunities not to act. How, as a result of his brother's suicide, does Kurosawa nearly choose not to get into film.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Akira Kurosawa finds his way through the film industry with contemporaries. Write an essay about three individuals of approximate age to his. How did each affect his decisions regarding the career of filmmaking? To what extent is each a collaborator and a foil to him? Does he break company with any of them? If so, what is the reason for this parting, and how does it affect Akira?

Part 1) Akira's brother.

Part 2) Uekusa.

Part 3) Mifune Toshiro.

Essay Topic 3

Akira Kurosawa spends a large portion of SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY discussing his difficulties in class. Write an essay about these shortcomings and how he does or does not overcome them. What role did both his kendo instructor and Mr. Iwamatsu have in improving his performance in certain arenas? How did Kurosawa fair when military training was introduced into the curriculum? Was he able to overcome his incompetence in this realm?

(see the answer keys)

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