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Kurosawa Akira Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Kurosawa Akira Quizzes, Trivia

Akira Kurosawa Trivia

Akira Kurosawa Trivia Quizzes

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2 Akira Kurosawa quizzes and 20 Akira Kurosawa trivia questions.
1.
  The Film History of Akira Kurosawa   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Kurosawa is, simply put, one of the greatest film directors of all time, if not the greatest. This quiz will review some interesting facts about Kurosawa's films. Good luck!
Average, 10 Qns, thejazzkickazz, Feb 21 07
Average
thejazzkickazz gold member
837 plays
2.
  Filmography of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Spanning from 1948 till 1965, the partnership of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa has provided one of the silver screen's most powerful actor-director duos of all time. I'll describe the Mifune role, you give me the Kurosawa film.
Average, 10 Qns, gentlegiant17, Jan 07 08
Average
gentlegiant17
388 plays

Akira Kurosawa Trivia Questions
1. Matsunaga, a small-time delinquent, gets shot in his hand. He is treated by a doctor who has his own share of problems, having been diagnosed with tubercolosis. The two engage in a charged relationship which is bent on destruction.

From Quiz Filmography of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Drunken Angel

Released in 1948, "Drunken Angel" is the first collaboration between Mifune and Kurosawa. The hard and cruel life below the poverty line is mirrored for the viewer without use of cosmetics. Toshiro Mifune's fresh appearance serves as an excellant background to Takashi Shimura's masterful performance as Sanada, the drunken physician.

2. General Makabe Rokurota, a faithful master of tactics, leads his capricious Princess to safety beyond enemy lines.

From Quiz Filmography of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa

Answer: The Hidden Fortress

Released in 1958, "The Hidden Fortress" is an ultimate show of strength with perfect passages between storytelling, humour, suspense and action. This film had a huge influence on George Lucas and his "Star Wars" series. see: http://moongadget.com/origins/kurosawa.html

3. Tajomaru, a reckless bandit involved in a rape and murder case, lays out his version of the events. The man who finds the body, the raped woman, and even the murdered husband (through a medium) also presents his version of the same chain of events.

From Quiz Filmography of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Rashomon

Released in 1950, "Rashomon" has won the Golden Lion Award of the Venice Film Festival the following year and familiarized Kurosawa and Mifune with the Western audience. The script is based on two short stories by Ryonusuke Akutagawa - "Rashomon" and "In A Grove". What exactly happened in that forest? Who is mislead by his memory and who is simply lying? It is up to the viewer to decide.

4. Sanjuro Kuwabatake, a cunning samurai who has had enough of unemployment, arranges parallel payments for himself from two rival village gangs - serving as a bodyguard for both.

From Quiz Filmography of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Yojimbo

Released in 1961, "Yojimbo" is a classic Kurosawa East-West bridging film, much influenced by 1940s' western movies, and in turn influencing 1960s' movies of the same genre ("A Fistful of Dollars" is a 1964 remake of "Yojimbo" by Sergio Leone). Mifune displays here one of the most natural and eloquent roles ever - poetry-in-motion style. Sorry if I have mislead you with Sanjuro, which is the 1962 sequel to Yojimbo (where Mifune plays Sanjuro Tsubaki).

5. Kurosawa was very keen on adapting the works of Western authors to the silver screen. Upon which Shakespeare play was Kurosawa's film 'Kumonosu Jô', aka 'Throne of Blood' based?

From Quiz The Film History of Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Macbeth

This was the first of two film adaptations of Shakespeare from Kurosawa. Once again, the acting of Toshirô Mifune is featured in this film, that takes place during the Japanese medieval times. Especially watch for the performance of Isuzu Yamada as Lady Asaji Washizu (the Lady Macbeth role).

6. Murakami, a rookie detective, gets his pistol pick-pocketed on a Tokyo bus. The pistol in turn is used by a criminal for robbery and murder. The movie reaches its climax when the two meet face to face.

From Quiz Filmography of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Stray Dog

Released in 1949, this movie hides a handfull of motifs on post-war Japan. Murakami is made a better man by the war, while the criminal Yusa gets corrupted. Who will win? What will Japan's new face look like? Again, Mifune's fine acting here is an excellant companion to Takashi Shimura's masterful display playing Sato, Murakami's veteran chief.

7. In 1960, Kurosawa created a very cynical view of Japanese corporate society with his film 'Warui Yatsu Hodo Yoku Nemuru'. What is the English title for this rather dark film?

From Quiz The Film History of Akira Kurosawa

Answer: The Bad Sleep Well

'The Bad Sleep Well' is a tale obviously inspired by Shakespeares' 'Hamlet', though the bard is not featured among the writing credits. In this film, a young corporate-type attempts to expose the corruption occurring within his company. Clearly, Kurosawa was disturbed by the growing unscrupulousness within the post-war business environment in Japan, and this was his protest.

8. Denkichi Akama and Sutekuchi are two characters played by Toshiro Mifune in two Kurosawa films which were based on the works of two great Russian authors - who are they?

From Quiz Filmography of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Fyodor Dostoyevski and Maxim Gorky

Denkichi Akama is the tragic hero of "The Idiot" (1951) based on Fyodor Dostoyevski's book. Sutekuchi is one of the characters in "The Lower Depths" (1957) based on Maxim Gorky's play (Kurosawa's production of the film is as near to a play as a film can be).

9. This 1985 film by Kurosawa was probably his grandest production, featuring amazingly filmed battle scenes. Roughly based on Shakespeare's 'King Lear', to which of the great Japanese film director's works do I refer?

From Quiz The Film History of Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Ran

Once again back in the limelight after the international success of 'Kagemusha', Kurosawa embarked on this great project that was finally completed by 1985, and is known to us as 'Ran'. For this film, once again, Lucas and Coppola (along with Steven Spielberg) helped provide the funding for its completion. The story is roughly based on 'King Lear', Kurosawa's second film directly based on the bard's work (or third, if you count 'The Bad Sleep Well'). Unlike in 'King Lear', however, the three children of the king are male rather than female.

10. Dr. Kyojio Niide is a doctor running a small clinic in one of Edo's neighbourhoods. His external roughness is a mere manifestation of his earnest love of his profession, his patients and his rebel apprentice.

From Quiz Filmography of Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Red Beard

Released in 1965, "Red Beard" ("Akahige") is the last Mifune-Kurosawa film. It's a three hour long masterpiece with a five minute on-tape intermission!. Two years of production took their toll and broke the relationship between the two, leaving a bitter taste. Thanks for taking this quiz. Do go and watch these films if you haven't done so yet. Sorry about the ones I had to leave out.

11. One of the final films of Kurosawa's career was his haunting 'Yume', aka 'Dreams', from 1990. This surrealistic film featured an appearance by which Hollywood director as Vincent van Gogh?

From Quiz The Film History of Akira Kurosawa

Answer: Martin Scorsese

'Dreams' was probably Kurosawa's most personal and certainly his least coherent work, in terms of story. Kurosawa literally features his own dream sequences in this haunting and beautiful film. Another fan of Kurosawa's work, Scorsese appears in this film as Vincent van Gogh in one dream sequence, fitting considering that van Gogh was on the cusp of the modern art movement.

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