Movies Like The Retired Samurai
If you liked The Retired Samurai (1987), a drama and history movie directed by Akinori Matsuo, 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
Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle (2001)
★ 6.8/10Also historyBenkei, a master fighter and killer, vows never to take another life after his conversion to Buddhism. His faith in pacifism, however, is shaken and ultimately broken by the attacks from a trio of fighters known only…
- 2
Kamui (2009)
★ 6.1/10Also dramaA rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.
- 3
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
★ 8.2/10Also dramaThe mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.
- 4
ICHI (2008)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and historyIchi 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…
- 5
Zatoichi (2003)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaBlind 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.
- 6
Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
★ 7.5/10Also historyIn 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.
- 7
Taboo (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and historySet during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a…
- 8
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1952)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and historyA fugitive lord and his six retainers disguise themselves as monks to bluff their way through a hostile checkpoint.
- 9
Chûshingura (1962)
★ 7.1/10Also history and dramaAfter their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
- 10
Radium Girls (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and historyYoung women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
- 11
Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and historyThe story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and…
- 12
Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally (1989)
★ 6.4/10Also dramaOlder, 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…
- 13
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaStruggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.
- 14
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaAfter 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…
- 15
Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)
★ 7.6/10Also dramaKenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left…
- 16
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
★ 7.7/10Also history and dramaIn 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.
- 17
Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaThe true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
- 18
Adventures of a Mathematician (2021)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and historyThe warmhearted story of Polish immigrant and mathematician Stan Ulam, who moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. Stan deals with the difficult losses of family and friends all while helping to create the hydrogen bomb and…
- 19
Buddha 2: The Endless Journey (2014)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and history2500 years ago, in India, Siddhartha was born as a prince of the Shakya clan, but he gives up his position as a prince to see the world. He meets a strange boy named Assaji, who can predict the future, a monk with only…
- 20
Inu-Oh (2022)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and historyA cursed dancer and a blind musician — both ostracized by society — become business partners and inseparable friends as their larger-than-life concerts propel them to stardom in 14th century Japan.