1 / 8
ERA
Did you know
64 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Black Test Car
1962 1h 35m JA
👍
7.1
SOLID
★7.1TMDB · 33
ThrillerCrimeDrama
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Two car manufacturers spy on each other to try to find out details and prices of a new sports car each is about to launch.
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”
Cast
Jiro Tamiya
Yutaka Asahina
Junko Kano
Masako Usami
Eiji Funakoshi
Kimio Hiraki
Hideo Takamatsu
Toru Onoda
Ichirō Sugai
Mawatari
Kichijirō Ueda
Matoba Syumatsu
Reiko Shirai
Aiko Hiraki
Sachiko Meguro
Hisako Onoda
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Yasuzō Masumura
- Writers
- Kazuo Funahashi, Yoshihiro Ishimatsu
- 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 🍿
2 / 8
CINEMA
Did you know
Part of the "Black Series" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Yasuzō Masumura, shot by Yoshihisa Nakagawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Sei Ikeno. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Tatsuji Nakashizu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Jiro Tamiya and Junko Kano and Eiji Funakoshi carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0056158 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
Only 33 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Yasuzō Masumura directs. Yoshihisa Nakagawa behind the camera. Sei Ikeno scores. Tatsuji Nakashizu cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 164 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 2Part of the "Black Series" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
- 3Directed by Yasuzō Masumura, shot by Yoshihisa Nakagawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 4Original score by Sei Ikeno. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 5Editor Tatsuji Nakashizu shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Jiro Tamiya and Junko Kano and Eiji Funakoshi carry the top of the cast.
- 7IMDB entry: tt0056158 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 8Only 33 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
- 9Classified under 15 themes, including "businessman", "war veteran", "spy", "confession".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Yoshihisa Nakagawa
- Original score
- Sei Ikeno
- Editing
- Tatsuji Nakashizu
- Runtime
- 95 min · 1h 35m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- JA
Part of
Black Series
Social-suspense and corporate-espionage thrillers produced by Daiei in the 1960s.
Also by
Yasuzō Masumura
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Production companies
Who made it
Daiei Film
JP
Key crew
- NovelToshiyuki Kajiyama
- EditorTatsuji Nakashizu
- Lighting TechnicianShozo Izumi
- Art DirectionHikaru Yamaguchi
- Sound RecordistToshikazu Watanabe
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- businessman
- war veteran
- spy
- confession
- highway
- playground
- whiskey
- crash
- promotion
- corporate crime
- bar hostess
- loudspeaker
- prototype
- corporate greed
- corporate espionage
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1962-06-30
Also known as
International titles
- 黒の試走車JP
- Kuro no tesuto kâJP
