Movies Like Heat Wave
If you liked Heat Wave (1991), a drama and crime movie directed by Hideo Gosha, 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

Outrage (2010)
★ 6.9/10Also crime and dramaWhen a tough yakuza gangster is betrayed by his bosses, it means all out war. Bodies pile up as he takes out everyone in his way to the top in a brutal quest for revenge.
- 2

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode (1974)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and crimeWhile Hirono is in prison, his rival Takeda turns his own crime organization into a political party, whose two executives stir up new tensions in their thirst for power.
- 3

Yojimbo (1961)
★ 8.1/10Also dramaA nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin…
- 4

Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
★ 7.3/10Also crime and dramaIn the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.
- 5

Miller's Crossing (1990)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and crimeSet in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
- 6

The Blood of Wolves (2018)
★ 7.2/10Also crime and dramaSet in 1988 in Hiroshima, Japan, prior to the enactment of the anti-organized crime law. A rumor exists that Detective Shogo Ogami has ties with the yakuza. He is partnered with Detective Shuichi Hioka and they…
- 7

Gate of Flesh (1964)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and crimeIn the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos…
- 8

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics (1974)
★ 7/10Also crime and dramaAs Japan gears up for the 1964 Olympic Games, the cops start to crack down on the gangs, under pressure from the public and the press, adding a new dimension in the war for power among the yakuza families of Hiroshima.
- 9

Beyond Outrage (2012)
★ 7/10Also crimeAs the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now…
- 10

High and Low (1963)
★ 8.4/10Also drama and crimeA Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
- 11

Vengeance Is Mine (1979)
★ 7.5/10Also crime and dramaA thief, a murderer, and a charming lady-killer, Iwao Enokizu is on the run from the police.
- 12

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and crimeRepeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog…
- 13

Sword of the Beast (1965)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaLegendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him…
- 14

A Family (2021)
★ 7.4/10Also crime and dramaTaken in by the yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times.
- 15

The Outsider (2018)
★ 6.1/10Also crime and dramaA former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
- 16

Hoodlum (1997)
★ 6.5/10Also crime and dramaIn 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When Madam Queen—the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem—is arrested, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson takes over the business and…
- 17

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War (1973)
★ 7/10Also drama and crimeShozo Hirono has managed to separate from the Yamamori family and create his own small family, and extend his circle of acquaintances. These new friendships include a powerful underboss of the Muraoka family, Noboru…
- 18

Fireworks (1997)
★ 7.7/10Also crime and dramaBeleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With those close to him suffering their own tribulations, Nishi's methods become increasingly extreme.
- 19

Gonin (1995)
★ 6.6/10Also crime and dramaFive men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza, but everything does not go as planned and the men find themselves hunted down by contract killers.
- 20

Black Rain (1989)
★ 6.6/10Also dramaTwo New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and…