Movies Like The Last Emperor
If you liked The Last Emperor (1986), a drama and history movie directed by Li Han-Hsiang, 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 Chinese Widow (2017)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and romanceIt’s 1941 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has destroyed America’s morale. The US President Franklin D. Roosevelt then decides to risk it all by bombing Tokyo and raise more hope for his citizens. After…
- 2
Maria's Lovers (1984)
★ 6/10Also drama and romanceA World War II prisoner returns home to his childhood sweetheart. However, back home, he discovers that he has to compete to win her love.
- 3
The Last Emperor (1987)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and historyA dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and…
- 4
Lust, Caution (2007)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and romanceDuring World War II, a secret agent must seduce, then assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai. Her mission becomes clouded when she finds herself falling in love with the man…
- 5
The Eight Hundred (2020)
★ 7/10Also history and dramaIn 1937, eight hundred Chinese soldiers fight under siege from a warehouse in the middle of the Shanghai battlefield, completely surrounded by the Japanese army.
- 6
Walking with the Enemy (2014)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and historyRegent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent…
- 7
Summer Palace (2007)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and romanceYu Hong leaves her home village and starts university in Beijing, where she develops a consuming and compulsive relationship with another student. The student riots from 1989 then ensue and take a toll on their lives.
- 8
Empire of the Sun (1987)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and historyJamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the…
- 9
The Golden Era (2014)
★ 6.7/10Also history and dramaThe story of writer Xiao Hong comes alive through memories of her great love affair, literary influence and escape from China during World War II.
- 10
Rescue at Dongji (2025)
★ 8.3/10Also drama and historyInspired by the real life rescue of over 300 British soldiers in 1942, Dongji Rescue is a rousing, action-packed story of heroism on the high seas. When the Japanese warship Lisbon Maru is torpedoed off the coast of…
- 11
Suite Française (2015)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and romanceFrance, 1940. In the first days of occupation, beautiful Lucile Angellier is trapped in a stifled existence with her controlling mother-in-law as they both await news of her husband: a prisoner of war. Parisian…
- 12
Chinese Box (1997)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and romanceThe story of Hong Kong, from New Year's Day to June 30th, 1997, when the British left their colony and turned it over to the People's Republic of China.
- 13
The Secrets We Keep (2020)
★ 6/10Also history and dramaIn post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.
- 14
To Live (1994)
★ 8.2/10Also drama and romanceMarried couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.
- 15
Coming Home (2014)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and romanceLu and Feng are a devoted couple forced to separate when Lu is arrested and sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner during the Cultural Revolution. He finally returns home only to find that his beloved wife no…
- 16
Mr. Turner (2014)
★ 6.6/10Also history and dramaEccentric 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
Hidden Blade (2023)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and historyFollows the story of underground workers who risked their lives to send intelligence and defend the motherland, set after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor when the Wang Jingwei regime declared war on Britain and the U.S.
- 18
The Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and romancePregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
- 19
Ashes in the Snow (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and romanceThe coming-of-age tale of 16-year-old Lina Vilkas who is deported to Siberia amid Stalin's reign of terror in the Baltic region during WWII. An aspiring artist, she secretly documents her harrowing journey with her…
- 20
Brotherhood of Blades (2014)
★ 6.7/10Also romance and dramaIn the late Ming Dynasty, three sworn brothers who serve as the imperial secret police are dispatched to hunt down Wei Zhongxian, a eunuch politician who had been forced to resign from his influential post and exiled…