Movies Like Sword for Hire

If you liked Sword for Hire (1952), a drama and action movie directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
★ 8/10Also drama and action
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
2
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and action
Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.
3
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and action
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of…
4
Kamui (2009)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and action
A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.
5
Chûshingura (1962)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and action
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
6
Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally (1989)
★ 6.4/10Also action and drama
Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation…
7
13 Assassins (2010)
★ 7.3/10Also adventure and drama
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country…
8
Zatoichi (2003)
★ 7.2/10Also adventure and drama
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
9
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)
★ 6.8/10Also adventure and action
Zatoichi treks to a village that has always been a favorite spot of his, only to discover that it’s become a living hell, plagued by feuding father and son yakuza as well as the younger crime boss’s bodyguard, scruffy…
10
Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends (2014)
★ 7.7/10Also action and adventure
Shishio sets sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the government. In order to stop him, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.
11
New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
★ 7/10Also action and drama
Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
12
Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978)
★ 7/10Also action and drama
Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his…
13
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
★ 7.7/10Also action and adventure
In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.
14
47 Ronin (2013)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and action
Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the…
15
The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
★ 7.3/10Also adventure and action
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
16
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1952)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and adventure
A fugitive lord and his six retainers disguise themselves as monks to bluff their way through a hostile checkpoint.
17
Picnic (1996)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and adventure
Believing that the world will end that very day, three mental patients Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru set out upon a journey. Walking upon the tops of the walls of the city, they seek to find a picnic spot with the best…
18
Zatoichi Challenged (1967)
★ 7/10Also adventure and action
Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a…
19
ICHI (2008)
★ 6.8/10Also action and adventure
Ichi is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters…
20
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- (2024)
★ 6.5/10Also action and adventure
Tanjiro undergoes rigorous training with the Stone Hashira, Himejima, in his quest to become a Hashira. Meanwhile, Muzan continues to search for Nezuko and Ubuyashiki. A recap of Kimetsu no Yaiba episodes 55–56, with…