Q&A Hero

Q: All of the following are true of Tsui Hark EXCEPT a. he produced A Better Tomorrow. b. he brought modern special-effects technology to Hong Kong. c. he directed a series of films that starred Jet Li as Wong Fei-hung. d. he has worked exclusively in the martial-arts fantasy genre. e. he left Hong Kong for Hollywood but ultimately returned. f. all of the above

Q: Which of the following Hong Kong filmmakers was NOT one of the Seven Little Fortunes who emerged from the Peking Opera School of Sifu Yu Jim Yuen? a. Jackie Chan b. Ringo Lam c. Sammo Hung d. Tsui Hark e. Neither b nor d was a student of Sifu Yu Jim Yuen. f. All of the above were students of Sifu Yu Jim Yuen.

Q: Wong Kar-Wei a. makes more formal conventional films than his Hong Kong counterparts. b. has brought a renewed commercial vigor to the Hong Kong cinema. c. is practically neorealist in his avoidance of stars or contrived plots. d. always works on extremely small budgets. e. both c and d f. none of the above

Q: The dominant genre in the Taiwanese cinema of the 1960s and 1970s was a. the swordplay film. d. the historical costume film. b. the melodrama. e. both a and d c. the political propaganda film. f. none of the above

Q: The films of Hou Hiaso-hsien a. are more modern and stylistically daring than any other Taiwanese filmmaker. b. feature the use of long takes and off-screen space. c. include A Brighter Summer Day and Taipei Story. d. are known for their innovative use of montage-style editing. e. are all set in the present day. f. None of the above is true.

Q: The Taiwanese film industry of the 1990s a. operated with no government subsidies for production. b. had several competing studios each of which specializes in a certain genre. c. controlled less than 1 percent of its domestic box office. d. completely collapsed, managing only two or three films per year. e. both a and d f. none of the above

Q: As compared to the Fifth Generation films of China, the Sixth Generation films a. are more experimental and daring. b. are notably more commercial. c. are made in internationally popular genres like horror and action-adventure. d. have received very little distribution in the West. e. are made completely without the support or protection of the Chinese government. f. none of the above

Q: The Hong Kong director who combined Peking Opera and classical painting style with the swordplay genre in such films as Come Drink with Me and A Touch of Zen was a. Chen Kaige. d. Chang Cheh. b. Raymond Chow. e. King Hu. c. Ronny Yu. f. none of the above

Q: All of the following are true of Hong Kong produced kung fu films EXCEPT that they a. were extremely popular in the United States. b. employed separate directors and martial arts directors. c. shot their action sequences in short segments rather than in master shot and coverage. d. were most often skillfully shot and edited. e. were extremely authentic in terms of their use of martial arts. f. All of the above are true.

Q: All of the following are primary genres of the Hong Kong New Wave EXCEPT a. the family melodrama. b. the action comedy. c. the heroic bloodshed film. d. the martial arts fantasy film. e. the urban crime thriller. f. None of the above are genres of the Hong Kong New Wave.

Q: During the 1990s, Hong Kong cinema a. declined because of VCD piracy. b. declined because there was a serious decrease in government support for the film industry. c. declined because all of its major filmmakers emigrated to the United States. d. saw average film budgets increase from $300,000 to several million dollars. e. saw work slow to a near stop as a result of shrinking overseas markets. f. none of the above

Q: Hong Kong Category III films are a. childrens films. b. films featuring graphic sex and violence. c. films designated for export. d. films banned from public theatrical exhibition but available on videotape. e. the smallest category of films produced in Hong Kong. f. none of the above

Q: The Indian parallel cinema a. is the term for non-Hindi language, regionally-based film production. b. never produced films that were commercially popular. c. was a short-lived movement that was over by the mid-1960s. d. offered an alternative to the commercial industrys formulaic musicals. e. only c and d f. all of the above

Q: In the 1960s the Indian government founded the Indian Film Finance Corporation (FFC) for the purpose of a. training directors for the Indian film industry. b. preserving the Indian film heritage in the face of foreign encroachment. c. funding noncommercial films in order to create a high quality art cinema. d. supporting the producers of entertainment particularly in terms of foreign distribution. e. both a and b f. none of the above

Q: Shyam Benegal is a. the first Indian director to work in the parallel cinema. b. the most famous director to emerge from the Golden Age of Hindustani film. c. a radical Marxist filmmaker whose autobiographical films are among the most important Bengali films ever made. d. the most popular Bollywood director of curry westerns. e. the most commercially successful director of the parallel cinema. f. none of the above

Q: Contemporary Indian cinema is moving toward a. an even greater emphasis on formulaic entertainment. b. a highly politicized cinema with much less emphasis on singing, dancing, and stars. c. a higher rate of film production and higher profits as distribution outlets proliferate. d. a greater degree of independence from Hollywood influence. e. both a and c f. none of the above

Q: Prior to the Japanese invasion of 1937, the film industry in China was a. nonexistent. b. extremely small due to the lack of interest of the Chinese people in cinema. c. still producing primarily silent films, as the industry did not adapt to sound until the 1950s. d. centered in Shanghai with outposts in other coastal cities. e. decidedly nonpolitical with the Communist ideology that was gaining ground in the country not evident in cinema. f. none of the above

Q: In the Peoples Republic of China from 1950 to 1966, the film industry was a. nonexistent. b. extremely active, producing opera films and adaptations of classic literature as well as socialist realist works. c. always highly controlled by the government so that only socialist realist films were made. d. held back by the fact that there was only one studio in the entire country. e. highly restricted and limited to the production of about ten feature films a year. f. none of the above

Q: After Maos death, the Chinese film industry a. ended fully subsidized production. b. collapsed. c. experienced an immediate surge in production and international prestige. d. did not change for at least ten years. e. moved immediately to a full market economy. f. none of the above

Q: In the cinema of the Peoples Republic of China, the term Fifth Generation refers to a. the first group of filmmakers to emerge after the end of Communism. b. the new wave of Chinese directors who emerged in the 1980s. c. the group of Chinese directors who began the Shanghai industry in the 1930s. d. the latest group of filmmakers to graduate from the Beijing Film Academy. e. the filmmakers who made revolutionary opera films during the Cultural Revolution. f. none of the above

Q: Zhang Yimou a. makes the most commercially successful films of the Fifth Generation. b. directed the first Fifth Generation film One and Eight. c. often sees his films banned in China as theyre winning international awards. d. is known for his ethnographic studies of the Mongolian and Tibetan peoples. e. makes films that are narratively engaging but not visually stylish. f. none of the above

Q: Almost all serious films from the Peoples Republic of China a. are made by Fifth Generation filmmakers. b. receive only limited distribution through the official government agencies. c. are made by auteurist writer-directors, who often shoot and edit their films as well. d. are based on published literary work. e. have ceased to be produced in the face of diminishing state subsidies. f. none of the above

Q: Since the 1980s, almost every significant filmmaker who has emerged in the Japanese cinema has gotten their start in a. television. d. sex films. b. commercials and music videos. e. studio apprenticeship programs. c. yakuza films. f. none of the above

Q: The largest film producing nation in the world, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the global film output is a. the United States. d. France. b. Japan. e. India. c. China. f. none of the above

Q: The average Indian film is a. a musical. d. sold on the basis of its stars. b. about three hours long. e. rigidly conventional in every way. c. filmed in bright, garish color. f. all of the above

Q: The Indian film industry in the 1930s a. grew rapidly, quickly becoming one of the most productive in the world. b. struggled with the coming of sound and didnt really take off until after World War II. c. was practically nonexistent. d. made films only in the Hindi language. e. both b and d f. None of the above is true.

Q: The Hindustani cinema a. did not produce musicals. b. offered directors a great deal of creative freedom. c. emerged in the 1960s and continued until the 1980s. d. was produced in the Bengali language. e. was characterized by the work of Satyajit Ray. f. none of the above

Q: Satyajit Ray was first influenced by a. American musicals. b. Italian neorealism. c. the French New Wave. d. the Japanese samurai film. e. the films of the Soviet montage movement. f. none of the above

Q: The Japanese director of satirical comedies whose film The Gangsters Moll resulted in an assault by the Yakuza and whose increasingly autobiographical films blurred the lines between life and art was a. Juzo Itami. d. Nagisa Oshima. b. Takeshi Kitano. e. Masahiro Shinoda. c. Ishii Sogo. f. none of the above

Q: The character that writer-director-star Takeshi Kitano plays in his films is a. an heroic samurai fighting for justice in Imperial Japan. b. an antihero who has seen so much violence that brutality hardly makes an impression on him anymore. c. a kindly yakuza who lives in a violent world but is himself a pacifist. d. a wry, comic commentator on the problems of modern Japan. e. a wise but stoic private detective who avoids violent confrontation. f. none of the above

Q: The filmmakers of the new Japanese New Wave a. shoot exclusively in 16mm. b. produce their work through the Japanese studio system. c. set up their own film schools. d. usually work at the one- to two-million-dollar budget range. e. adopted a style close to that of Italian neorealism. f. none of the above

Q: The signature film genre of the new Japanese New Wave is a. the pinku-eiga. d. the horror film. b. the samurai film. e. animation. c. the shomin-geki. f. none of the above

Q: The Japanese studio system a. began to decline as early as 1961. b. is no longer monolithic but still strong, with the same five companies continuing to dominate the market. c. turned to the production of exploitation films in the mid-1960s. d. supported the work of the new Japanese New Wave. e. both a and c f. none of the above

Q: The Japanese pinku-eiga is a. a gangster genre. d. childrens films. b. a graphically violent horror genre. e. chivalry films. c. a genre of historical romance. f. none of the above

Q: The Japanese genres that comprised over half the industrys output between 1965 and 1975 were a. the pinku-eiga and the yakuza-eiga. b. the pinku-eiga and the shomin-geki. c. the yakuza-eiga and the horror film. d. the yakuza-eiga and the shomin-geki. e. the horror film and the pinku-eiga. f. none of the above

Q: The still surviving Japanese studio that revived its Godzilla franchise in the 1980s is a. Shochiku. d. Nikkatsu. b. Toho. e. Daiei. c. Toei. f. none of the above

Q: The most important director of Japanese anime who has been called the Japanese Walt Disney for the commercially and critically successful work produced at his studio is a. Takeshi Kitano. d. Kiyoshi Kurosawa. b. Kon Ichikawa. e. Seijun Suzuki. c. Hayao Miyazaki. f. none of the above

Q: During the 1990s the Japanese film industry a. lost almost its entire domestic market to U.S.-produced blockbusters. b. collapsed as a result of an ongoing economic crisis. c. turned away from the violence and sexual content that defined Japanese cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. d. enjoyed a wave of international popularity grounded in anime which constitutes 60 percent of total annual production. e. both a and b f. none of the above

Q: Which of the following Japanese filmmakers would not be considered one of the postNew Wave generation? a. Yoshimitsu Morita b. Juzo Itami c. Oguri d. Takeshi Kitano e. Masahiro Shinoda f. All of the above are postNew Wave filmmakers.

Q: The New Wave filmmaker whose Branded to Kill, with its confusing structure and hard to follow plot, got him fired from Nikkatsu studio was a. Seijun Suzuki. d. Masahiro Shinoda. b. Yoshishige Yoshida. e. Inoshiro Honda. c. Yasuzo Masumura. f. none of the above

Q: Politically radical filmmaker Koji Wakamatsu is known for his a. popular series of samurai films. b. true sex crime films. c. neorealist political melodramas. d. semidocumentary films of social alienation. e. monster films. f. none of the above

Q: The early films of Shohei Imamura a. were notable for their color cinematography. b. reflected the influence of his apprenticeship with Ozu. c. combined a documentary sense of detail with experimental visual composition. d. were lighthearted comedies of social manners. e. were so controversial as to prematurely end his career. f. none of the above

Q: The most influential figure to emerge from the Japanese New Wave, whose film, Naked Youth, challenged Japans changing society, was a. Shohei Imamura. d. Nagisa Oshima. b. Seijun Suzuki. e. Masahiro Shinoda. c. Yasuzo Masamura. f. none of the above

Q: The films of Nagisa Oshima a. have all been shot in Academy ratio black-and-white. b. celebrate traditional Japanese culture with their clear, though low-key, narratives. c. all deal with Japanese history and are set in the past. d. are the least formally experimental of the Japanese New Wave. e. use graphic sex as a vehicle for social protest. f. none of the above

Q: The Japanese director whose work most clearly expresses traditional Japanese values is a. Kenji Mizoguchi. d. Kon Ichikawa. b. Ozu. e. Teinosuke Kinugasa. c. Akira Kurosawa. f. none of the above

Q: The genre in which Ozu chose to work because of its ability to express a sympathetic sadness at the harshness of the natural order was a. the jidai-geki. d. the chanbara. b. the tendency film. e. the pinku-eiga. c. the shomin-geki. f. none of the above

Q: Which of the following is a stylistic characteristic of the cinema of Yasujiro Ozu? a. violation of the classical Hollywood 180 degree axis rule b. stationary camera set three feet off the ground c. the use of off-center framing d. centrifugal composition e. only a and c f. all of the above

Q: The cinematic style of Yasujiro Ozu is characterized by a. long, fluid tracking and crane shots. b. fast-paced editing during the action sequences. c. a wide variety of camera angles. d. empty scenes with no characters in them. e. complex use of dissolves and fades. f. all of the above

Q: The concept of offscreen space is central to the cinematic style of which Japanese director? a. Kenji Mizoguchi d. Masahiro Shinoda b. Akira Kurosawa e. Yasujiro Ozu c. Kon Ichikawa f. none of the above

Q: Yasujiro Ozu a. was an extremely conservative director who did not make his first sound film until 1936. b. had varying degrees of control over his films between the mid-1930s and the end of his career. c. made films with a great deal of stylistic innovation. d. worked for nearly all the Japanese studios and in most Japanese genres over the course of his fifty-four-film career. e. all of the above f. none of the above

Q: Kaneto Shindo is known for his a. yakuza films. d. shomin-geki. b. poetic semidocumentary films. e. both b and c c. violent and sexually graphic jidai-geki. f. none of the above

Q: The Japanese New Wave a. emerged before the French New Wave. b. produced films of remarkable stylistic similarity. c. generally worked independently of the Japanese studio system. d. was a small and short-lived movement but was very influential in Japan. e. both b and d f. none of the above

Q: The Japanese New Wave director whose films are violent but visually stylish and who has worked in nearly every major Japanese genre from youth films and historical comedies to mythological fantasy and bunraku films is a. Hiroshi Teshigahara. d. Masahiro Shinoda. b. Susumu Hani. e. Seijun Suzuki. c. Wakamatsu. f. none of the above

Q: The films of Yasuzo Masumura are characterized by a. a naturalistic plainness of visual style. b. a very serious dramatic tone. c. their unflinching exploration of alienation among Japanese youth. d. long takes with very minimal editing. e. all being set during the Meiji restoration period. f. none of the above

Q: Akira Kurosawa a. is often considered the most Japanese of all Japanese directors. b. made films with an unwavering sense of optimism and hope. c. made films that portrayed the bushido codes of loyalty and sacrifice. d. was a filmmaker who enjoyed critical but not commercial success throughout his career. e. both c and d f. none of the above

Q: The central thematic concern in the films of Kenji Mizoguchi is a. the position of women within the Japanese social order. b. the destruction of traditional Japanese values by the forces of modernization. c. the bushido codes of loyalty and sacrifice. d. pacifism and the destructive effects of war. e. only b and c f. all of the above

Q: Mizoguchis films a. overwhelmingly have been unseen in the West. b. are shot in a long takes with fluid and thematically significant tracking shots. c. reveal a mastery of mise-en-scne that places him alongside Murnau and Welles in the history of the medium. d. were primarily antifeudalist in theme regardless of whether there was a period or contemporary setting. e. only b and d f. all of the above

Q: Which of the following was a type of jidai-geki? a. the shomin-geki d. the historical romance b. the childrens film e. both a and c c. the yakuza-eiga f. none of the above

Q: The coming of sound to the Japanese cinema a. meant the immediate end of the benshi. b. was smoother and more gradual than in Western countries. c. caused silent films to no longer be produced by 1930. d. came as a shock to Japanese audiences who preferred silent films. e. only b and d f. all of the above

Q: The organization of the Japanese film industry in the 1930s a. was based on a centralized governmental control. b. was a loose grouping of dozens of small production companies. c. was dominated by a single giant production company. d. was highly volatile, as production companies started up and went out of business very quickly. e. changed dramatically as the two dominant companies fragmented into about ten smaller ones. f. none of the above

Q: The way an individual became a director in the Japanese industry from the 1920s until the contemporary era was a. attending the Japanese film school and graduating as a director. b. first becoming a successful theater director then crossing over to film. c. apprenticing with an older, more experienced director who then determined when he was ready to direct. d. starting at the entry level in a department such as camera or editing and then working up one step at a time. e. raising enough money to finance a film. f. none of the above

Q: During World War II some leading Japanese directors protested the war by a. making antiwar films set in the feudal past. b. ignoring the war as a subject in their films. c. refusing to make films for the war effort. d. making pacifist documentaries. e. making war films with subtle messages that undermined their militaristic themes. f. none of the above

Q: During the American occupation of Japan, the CIE put an end to a. the sempai-kohai system. d. Japanese feature film production. b. the SCAP. e. the production of Meiji-mono. c. the zaibatsu. f. all of the above

Q: The genre that was virtually eliminated by the American censorship restrictions on Japanese film production was a. the Meiji-mono. d. the jidai-geki. b. the gendai-geki. e. the nansensu-mono. c. the shomin-geki. f. none of the above

Q: The film that began the postwar emergence of the Japanese cinema as one of the most creatively important in the world was a. Seven Samurai. d. Ugetsu. b. Tokyo Story. e. Rashomon. c. Sanjuro. f. none of the above

Q: At the end of Kurosawas Rashomon a. the woodcutter tells the truth about the rape and murder. b. the wife tells the truth about the rape but not the murder. c. the bandit denies killing the man and raping the woman. d. the husbands ghost appears and tells the truth about the rape and murder. e. the audience cannot be certain as to what really happened regarding the rape and murder. f. None of the above; Rashomon is about samurai, not rape and murder.

Q: Kurosawas Seven Samurai a. is a symphony of movement with complex tracking shots and fast-paced editing. b. is staged as a series of remarkably complex tableaux with most of the action choreographed within the frame rather than being constructed through editing. c. is a fatalistic account of the last months in the life of a dying bureaucrat. d. was popular in the United States but not Japan or Europe. e. both b and c f. none of the above

Q: Kurosawas Throne of Blood is adapted from which of the following Shakespearean plays? a. Hamlet b. Macbeth c. King Lear d. Romeo and Juliet e. The Merchant of Venice f. None of the above; Throne of Blood is based on an ancient Japanese folktale.

Q: In the late 1960s and early 1970s Akira Kurosawa a. had an unprecedented string of successful films including Yojimbo and High and Low. b. went into voluntary retirement, not attempting to make another film until 1976. c. suffered a disappointment that led him to abandon his own Kurosawa Production unit until 1990. d. had a successful American career culminating in his codirection of Tora! Tora! Tora! in 1970. e. dissolved his own production company and went back to work for the major studios. f. none of the above

Q: Kurosawas Ran a. was the last film he ever directed. b. marked Kurosawas return to the gendai-geki genre. c. was made with a tiny cast and crew on Kurosawas smallest budget since the 1950s. d. was the most expensive film ever made in Japan. e. was not critically recognized until after Kurosawas death. f. all of the above

Q: The Japanese genre of films about contemporary life is called a. jidai-geki. d. keiko-eiga. b. chanbara. e. yakuza-eiga. c. gendai-geki. f. none of the above

Q: Larisa Shepitko a. is the only important woman director to emerge from the Russian cinema. b. made films that incorporated the iconography of the Orthodox church. c. was Russian but studied cinema at the Kirghiz film school where she made her first feature film. d. made films that were both spiritual in nature but overtly critical of religion. e. both a and c f. none of the above

Q: The important Moldavian-born director whose film Brief Encounters was banned until perestroika is a. Dinara Asanova. d. Aida Manasarova. b. Larisa Shepitko. e. Alla Surikova. c. Kira Muratova. f. none of the above

Q: Elem Klimovs films are a. subtle psychological character studies that are not overtly political. b. fast-paced action films set in the near future. c. stylistically restrained melodramas dealing with interpersonal relationships. d. iconoclastic and formally inventive combining documentary, old photographs, and staged tableau. e. chamber films dealing with the disillusionment of Soviet youth. f. none of the above

Q: Klimovs film Rasputin was shelved because a. it portrayed Rasputin and Tsar Nicholas sympathetically. b. in the film Rasputin bore a close resemblance to Khrushchev. c. it was so formally experimental that it seemed an insult to Russian history. d. it failed to mention Lenin or the Bolsheviks. e. both a and d f. none of the above

Q: Elem Klimovs Come and See a. was an enormous hit with the Soviet audience. b. has no distinct sounds on the audio track after the midway point in the film. c. is about Nazi oppression of Belorussia. d. contains wildly experimental montage and camera movement. e. affirms some of the central myths of the Soviet state. f. all of the above

Q: During the 1970s and early 1980s, the cinema of the Soviet Union a. drew over fifteen million viewers for the average theatrical release. b. was completely free to express a diversity of political perspectives. c. was not considered an important art form since relatively few people went to the movies. d. contracted considerably from the production boom of the 1960s. e. moved away from centralized studio control toward more independent production. f. none of the above

Q: The Gorbachev regime changed all the following regulations concerning cinema EXCEPT a. releasing formerly banned films. b. abolishing the Film Workers Union. c. encouraging coproduction with the West. d. moving studios toward self-financing. e. ending the freeze on ownership of VCRs. f. none of the above

Q: The Russian films often containing sex, violence, and drugs, which focused on the morbid effects of the collapse of the Soviet Union, were called a. Boeviki. d. chamber films. b. bytovoy. e. social fiction films. c. chernukha. f. none of the above

Q: Aesthetically, the cinema of the Russian glasnost era a. was entirely lacking in formal innovation or experimentation. b. was only concerned with box-office returns and no longer interested in art cinema. c. made films with very little political messages. d. was dominated by directors who were formerly considered difficult. e. both a and b f. none of the above