Wolves of the City: Checkmate

1970 1h 27m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1

CrimeActionDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

This is the sixth film in the series. There were seventeen Wolves of the City films between 1968 & 1974, in the main aimed at shock-value & “pinku” soft-core with sex, nudity, violence, gunplay, & a lot of mainly pointless foolishness when the biker gang coopts racist or nazi imagery, inventing a non-existent youth culture void of morality…

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Tatsuo Umemiya
Hayato Tani
Tamami Natsu
Fumiko Sakakibara
Shingo Yamashiro
Jun Nagasawa
Yasushi Suzuki
Kiyoshi Hitomi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Makoto Naito
Writers: Isao Matsumoto, Eimei Yamamoto
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

56 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Wolves of the City Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Makoto Naito, shot by Ichirō Hoshijima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Masao Yagi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tatsuo Umemiya and Hayato Tani and Tamami Natsu carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0204334 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Makoto Naito directs. Ichirō Hoshijima behind the camera. Masao Yagi scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
256 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Wolves of the City Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Makoto Naito, shot by Ichirō Hoshijima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Masao Yagi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Tatsuo Umemiya and Hayato Tani and Tamami Natsu carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0204334 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ichirō Hoshijima
Original score: Masao Yagi
Runtime: 87 min · 1h 27m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: Wolves of the City: Checkmate (1970)

Part of

Wolves of the City Collection

Also known as the Wolves of the City series, Tatsuo Umemiya starred as the leader of a motorcycle youth gang called the Capones in seventeen between 1968 and 1974.