Movies Like When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
If you liked When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960), a drama movie directed by Mikio Naruse, 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
Street of Shame (1956)
★ 7.7/10Also dramaFollows five prostitutes employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation debates the passage of an anti-prostitution law.
- 2
Sakuran (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also dramaKiyoha 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.
- 3
The End of Summer (1961)
★ 7.5/10Also dramaThe family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.
- 4
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
★ 7.9/10Also dramaWidower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.
- 5
Repast (1951)
★ 7.6/10Also dramaIn post-WWII Osaka, a middle-aged woman is forced to examine her dreary life and marriage when her husband's young and flirtatious cousin arrives for a brief stay to escape an arranged marriage.
- 6
High and Low (1963)
★ 8.4/10Also dramaA Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
- 7
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952)
★ 7.6/10Also dramaThe arranged marriage between a capricious woman from Tokyo high society and a quiet rustic man is tested by a marital crisis.
- 8
Pigs and Battleships (1961)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaIn the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.
- 9
Gate of Flesh (1964)
★ 6.6/10Also dramaIn the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos…
- 10
A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)
★ 6.8/10Also dramaA headstrong young woman returns to New Orleans after the death of her estranged mother.
- 11
The Woman in the Rumor (1954)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaAfter living a traumatic experience in Tokyo, Yukiko returns to Kyoto, where Hatsuko, her mother, runs a brothel, which upsets Yukiko very much.
- 12
Osaka Elegy (1936)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaAyako becomes the mistress of her boss in order to pay her father's debt and prevent him from going to prison for embezzlement.
- 13
Gate of Flesh (1988)
★ 6.2/10Also dramaProstitutes in burnt out Tokyo ghetto of post-WWII Japan peddle their flesh and save one-third of their money for a proposed dancehall to be named Paradise. The hookers live in a bombed-out building, but they accept…
- 14
A Geisha (1953)
★ 7.6/10Also dramaFleeing a distressing family situation, Eiko, a very young girl, becomes an apprentice to Miyoharu, a veteran geisha. Both, determined to preserve their professional integrity, must face the selfishness and ambition of…
- 15
The Insect Woman (1963)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaA woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps…
- 16
Marty Supreme (2025)
★ 7.4/10Also dramaMarty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.
- 17
Blue Moon (2025)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaOn the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator, Richard Rodgers, celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking…
- 18
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
★ 5.9/10Also dramaDorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.
- 19
Drunken Angel (1948)
★ 7.6/10Also dramaIn postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward…
- 20
Gosford Park (2001)
★ 6.8/10Also dramaIn 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.