The Viper Brothers: Prison Gang 13

1972 1h 33m JA

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 1

CrimeAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Part 3 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Bunta Sugawara
Tamio Kawachi
Shigeru Amachi
Yuriko Mishima
Asao Koike
Kanjūrō Arashi
Masahiko Tanimura
Kenji Ushio

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sadao Nakajima
Writers: Kōji Takada, Sadao Nakajima
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

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Viper Brothers Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sadao Nakajima, shot by Toshio Masuda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Tadao Kanda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi and Shigeru Amachi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0323170 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sadao Nakajima directs. Toshio Masuda behind the camera. Kenjiro Hirose scores. Tadao Kanda cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

154 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "The Viper Brothers Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Sadao Nakajima, shot by Toshio Masuda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Kenjiro Hirose. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Tadao Kanda shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi and Shigeru Amachi carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0323170 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 1 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.