Movies Like The Samurai and the Prisoner

If you liked The Samurai and the Prisoner (2026), a drama and history movie directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 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
Throne of Blood (1957)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and history
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses…
2
Kagemusha (1980)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and history
A feudal epic presenting the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. The impostor becomes comfortable living his life among…
3
Bushido (2024)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and history
Kakunoshin, renowned for his skills with a sword and in the game of go, embodies the samurai code. Falsely accused of a theft, he is forced to become a lowly ronin. Years later, when a case of missing gold pulls him…
4
Buddha: The Great Departure (2011)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and history
Prince Siddhartha is heir to the Shakya kingdom, which is constantly at war with the more powerful Kosala kingdom. His father tries to raise as him as a warrior leader and to shield him from the miseries of the world…
5
Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot 1 Wandering; Agateram (2020)
★ 7/10Also history and drama
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…
6
Lonely Castle in the Mirror (2022)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and mystery
Shy outcast Kokoro has been avoiding school for weeks when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and finds herself transported to an enchanting castle where she is joined by six other…
7
The Girl from the Other Side (2023)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and mystery
Once upon a time, in a far, faraway place, there were two lands. The world was divided into an inner land and an outer land. People feared the outer land, inhabited by eerie beings, the carriers of curse. One day, on…
8
A Call to Spy (2020)
★ 6.8/10Also history and drama
The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These…
9
Detective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century (1999)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and mystery
Kaitou Kid dares to challenge the police once more, setting his sights on the Russian Imperial Easter Egg. With the date, time, and place, the Osaka police force scrambles to stop him. But this time, Kid may have…
10
Detective Conan: Dimensional Sniper (2014)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and mystery
A rash of sniper attacks leaves the streets of Tokyo empty and the public terrified to go outside. It’s up to Conan and his friends to find the culprit, but the case goes deeper than it seems. Military cover-ups…
11
Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot 2 Paladin; Agateram (2021)
★ 6.2/10Also history and drama
The second part in a two-part anime film project adapting the "Sixth Singularity - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot" story from the game.
12
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and history
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the…
13
A Man (2022)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and mystery
Akira works as a lawyer. One day, he meets with his former client Rie, who asks Akira to perform a background check on her late husband Daisuke.
14
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and history
Young sailor Edmond Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes, finds treasure, and reinvents himself as the wealthy Count of Monte Cristo to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.
15
Sakuran (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also history and drama
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
16
Emperor (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and history
As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years…
17
Giant (2026)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and history
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership…
18
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…
19
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…
20
Rashomon (1950)
★ 8/10Also drama and mystery
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.