Movies Like Private Detective DOBU 5: The Pinwheel Murder Case

If you liked Private Detective DOBU 5: The Pinwheel Murder Case (1983), a drama and action movie directed by Yūsuke Watanabe, 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
Beast (2026)
★ 7.5/10Also action and drama
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal…
2
Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
★ 7.5/10Also action and history
In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.
3
Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle (2001)
★ 6.8/10Also action and history
Benkei, 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…
4
The Kill Team (2019)
★ 6.5/10Also action and drama
When Andrew Briggman — a young soldier in the US Army during the invasion of Afghanistan — witnesses the murderous behavior of fellow soldiers, under the direction of a malevolent Sergeant, he faces a moral dilemma…
5
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
★ 7.7/10Also action and history
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.
6
ICHI (2008)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
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…
7
Chûshingura (1962)
★ 7.1/10Also history and drama
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
8
Radium Girls (2020)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
9
Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
★ 6.9/10Also action and drama
Zatoichi is sworn to protect the life of a young girl and without any real allies finds himself in the middle of a bloody turf war.
10
Munich - The Edge of War (2021)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and history
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
11
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also action and drama
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
12
The Last Rifleman (2023)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his…
13
Outlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
★ 7/10Also history and drama
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
14
Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot 1 Wandering; Agateram (2020)
★ 7/10Also action and history
The wandering knight, Bedivere, reaches the end of his journey. It is A.D. 1273 in Jerusalem. The Holy Land has been transformed into a massive desert and its people have been forced out of their homes as three major…
15
Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and history
The 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…
16
Mr. Turner (2014)
★ 6.6/10Also history and drama
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
17
The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and history
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him…
18
The Organization (1971)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and action
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for…
19
McQ (1974)
★ 6.1/10Also action and drama
Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
20
No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.