Movies Like Sanshiro Sugata

If you liked Sanshiro Sugata (1965), a action and drama movie directed by Seiichiro Uchikawa, 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
Black Belt (2007)
★ 6.7/10Also action and drama
Set in 1932, amid the rise of militarism after the establishment of the Manchukuo colony in Northeast China, the story centers on a trio of karateka. Studying under their aging master in a small dojo in the woods of…
2
Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945)
★ 6/10Also action and drama
A few years after his breakthrough, Sanshiro resumes his path to judo mastery—testing his discipline against an American prizefighter and later facing vengeful karate brothers. As rival schools and public spectacle…
3
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…
4
Never Back Down: No Surrender (2016)
★ 7/10Also drama and action
Picking up after the events of Never Back Down 2, former MMA champion Case Walker is on the comeback trail to become champion once again.
5
Born a Champion (2021)
★ 6.9/10Also action and drama
After a blood- soaked jujitsu match in Dubai, fighting legend Mickey Kelley falls to superstar Blaine. But years later, an online video proves that Blaine cheated, and the world demands a rematch. Can the aging…
6
Batman Begins (2005)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and action
Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol…
7
Tokyo Fist (1995)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
A businessman, Tsuda, runs into a childhood friend, Kojima, on the subway. Kojima is working as a semiprofessional boxer. Tsuda soon begins to suspect that Kojima might be having an affair with his fiancée Hizuru…
8
Transporter 3 (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also action
Frank Martin puts the driving gloves on to deliver Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian government official, from Marseilles to Odessa on the Black Sea. En route, he has to contend with thugs who want to…
9
In the Blood (2014)
★ 5.8/10Also action
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
10
Mexicali (2026)
★ 7.7/10Also action and drama
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
11
The Challenge (1982)
★ 5.9/10Also action and drama
Rick, a down-and-out American boxer, is hired to transport a sword to Japan, unaware that the whole thing is a set up in a bitter blood-feud between two brothers, one who follows the traditional path of the samurai and…
12
Birth of the Dragon (2017)
★ 5.8/10Also action and drama
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man.
13
The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
★ 5.9/10Also action and drama
Despondent over the closing of his karate school, Cobra Kai teacher John Kreese joins a ruthless businessman and martial artist to get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
14
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution (2025)
★ 6.1/10Also action
A veil abruptly descends over the busy Shibuya area amid the bustling Halloween crowds, trapping countless civilians inside. Satoru Gojo, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer, steps into the chaos. But lying in wait are…
15
44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out (2003)
★ 6.6/10Also action and drama
After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes.
16
Jawbone (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also action and drama
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner…
17
Ninja (2009)
★ 6.2/10Also action and drama
A westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.
18
Jane Got a Gun (2015)
★ 5.9/10Also action and drama
After her outlaw husband returns home shot with eight bullets and barely alive, Jane reluctantly reaches out to an ex-lover who she hasn't seen in over ten years to help her defend her farm when the time comes that her…
19
Redbelt (2008)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Martial artist Mike Terry lives by a strict code of no competitions, for he feels that such contests weaken fighters. After saving a famous action star from a brutal attack, Mike takes a job in the film industry. He…
20
Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978)
★ 7/10Also action and drama
Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his…