Movies like Zatoichi

If you like "Zatoichi" you are looking for atmospheric, humorous and exciting movies about / with samurai, martial arts, sword fight, master warrior, fencing, zatoichi and violence themes of Action, Comedy and Crime genre shot in Japan.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps: 1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below). 2. Look for them in the presented list.
Zatoichi (2003)
 7.5
 51K
Zatoichi (2003)
Original name: 座頭市
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 116 min.
Story: Zatôichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master swordsman gifted with a lightning-fast draw and breathtaking precision. While wandering, Zatôichi discovers a remote mountain village at the mercy of Ginzo, a ruthless gang-leader. Ginzo disposes of anyone who gets in his way, especially after hiring the mighty samurai ronin, Hattori, as a bodyguard. After a raucous night of gambling in town, Zatôichi encounters a pair of geishas--as dangerous as they are beautiful--who've come to avenge their parents' murder. As the paths of these and other colorful characters intertwine, Ginzo's henchmen are soon after Zatôichi. With his legendary cane sword at his side, the stage is set for a riveting showdown.
Style: atmospheric, humorous, exciting, harsh, stylized, entertaining, retro, spiritual, epic, suspense ...
Plot: samurai, martial arts, sword fight, master warrior, fencing, zatoichi, violence, gang, good versus evil, protector, blind character, swordsman, medieval, japanese history, escapades, rivalry, assassin, violent, ninja, asian, gory, murder, kung fu, disability, martial artist ...
Time: 19th century, year 2003, 2000s, 1800s
Place: japan, east asia, asia, tokyo
Keyword: gangsters, reboot, retrospective, challenge, cup

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to Zatoichi

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, serious, exciting and rough films with plots about samurai, rivalry, violence, martial arts, heroes, sword fight and deadly mostly in Drama, Action and Thriller genres. Some movies like Zatoichi: Ichi (2008), Yojimbo (1961), Blind Fury (1989), Outrage (2010), Sanjuro (1962). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
 6.5
 4K
Ichi (2008)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min.
Story: 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 problems every step of the ...
Style: exciting, suspenseful, epic, rough, period piece ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, ninja, blind woman, sword fight, sword, female protagonist, rivalry, escapades, vengeance, heroes, danger, japanese woman ...
Time: 19th century
Place: japan, asia, ancient china
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min.
Story: The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
Style: cult classic, art house, grindhouse, captivating, serious ...
Plot: samurai, zatoichi, martial arts, medieval, yakuza, sword fight, ninja, badass, swordplay, international relations, handicapped, kung fu ...
Time: 19th century
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972)
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 89 min.
Story: In the third film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
Style: bloody, stylized, talky, manga, clever ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, kung fu, assassin, samurai, ninja, father son relationship, weapons, drifter, gory, master warrior, fight, warrior ...
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 8.2
 130K
Yojimbo (1961)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min.
Story: A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant ...
Style: black and white, visually stunning, visual, black comedy, cynical ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, sword fight, small town, ronin, martial arts, gangster, one against many, swordsman, gang war, mercenary, medieval, gang ...
Time: 19th century, year 1961, 1800s, future, 1860s
Place: japan, persia, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
exciting movies
14059
violence movies
15772
gang movies
4547
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min.
Story: With a price on his head, Ichi seeks tranquillity in a favorite village. Since his last visit, it has fallen prey to Boss Masagoro, the son of a merchant rumored to have stolen gold from the shogunate. The boss has hired Yojimbo as his hard-drinking ...
Style: cult classic, stylized, semi serious, realistic
Plot: samurai, zatoichi, martial arts, ninja, spy, gold, sword fight, handicapped, drifter, kung fu, ancient, clan ...
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 90 min.
Story: In the fifth film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto is challenged by five warriors, each has one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assassination.
Style: visual, rough, epic, stylized, suspenseful ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, martial arts, assassin, kung fu, warrior, ninja, fight, superhero, ancient, swordplay, weapons, drifter ...
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 134 min.
Story: Former legendary assassin Kenshin Himura has now become a wandering samurai. Offering aid & protecting those in need as atonement for his past deeds. During this time Kenshin Himura comes across and aides Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei). Her father ...
Style: exciting, serious, manga, realistic, anime ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, martial arts, master warrior, japanese culture, katana, drifter, swordsman, shogun, heroes, one man army, medieval, fight ...
Time: 1800s, 2010s, 1870s, 1860s, 19th century
Place: japan, asia, ancient china, tokyo, kyoto japan
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 6.3
 19K
Blind Fury (1989)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story: A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.
Style: exciting, cult classic, suspenseful, serious, fast ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, blind man, organized crime, vengeance, gangster, vietnam war, samurai, ninja, blindness, rescue, heroic mission, righting the wronged ...
Time: 80s, year 1989
Place: vietnam, asia, reno nevada
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
 6.8
 15K
Outrage (2010)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 109 min.
Story: The story begins with Sekiuchi, boss of the Sannokai, a huge organized crime syndicate controlling the entire Kanto region, issuing a stern warning to his lieutenant Kato and right-hand man Ikemoto, head of the Ikemoto-gumi. Kato orders Ikemoto to ...
Style: serious, tense, cynical, realistic, rough ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: yakuza, gang member, organized crime, gangster, hanging, gang war, danger, rivalry, gory, merciless, criminal's revenge, violence spree ...
Time: 21st century
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 8.0
 41K
Sanjuro (1962)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min.
Story: Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of ...
Style: black and white, atmospheric, witty, tense, stylized ...
Plot: samurai, sword fight, corruption, one against many, betrayal, drifter, rescue, martial arts, police investigation, medieval, visceral, culture clash ...
Time: 19th century, year 1962, future, 1800s
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 7.6
 16K
Lady Snowblood (1973)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. ...
Style: grindhouse, suspenseful, bloody, exciting, melancholic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: vengeance, martial arts, revenge, prison, childbirth, rape and revenge, murder, female killer, female protagonist, samurai, female assassin, rape ...
Time: 19th century, year 1973, 1800s, 1870s, 1890s
Place: japan, east asia, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
75%
 7.5
 68K
13 Assassins (2010)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan, UK
Duration: 141 min.
Story: A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
Style: intense, suspense, harsh, tense, visually appealing ...
Plot: samurai, sword fight, samurai sword, warrior, seppuku, swords and armor, shogun, battles, martial arts, revenge, swordsman, medieval ...
Time: 19th century, year 2010, 2010s, 2000s, 1800s ...
Place: japan, east asia, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Zatoichi: The Last (2010)
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 132 min.
Story: A blind master swordsman attempts to lead a quiet life with his wife but he is provoked back into battle.
Style: serious, realistic, exciting, captivating, tense ...
Plot: samurai, zatoichi, martial arts, homecoming, medieval, forced into action, village, blind man, save the day, protector, murder, danger ...
Time: 19th century
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.9
 6K
The Hunted (1995)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story: A businessman on a trip to Tokyo ends up in the middle of a centuries old feud between a criminal Ninja cult and a Samurai when he witnesses a assassination performed by the Ninja-cult leader.
Style: exciting, suspense, intense, serious, rough ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: ninja, samurai, sword fight, assassin, murder, survival, vengeance, martial arts, master warrior, sword duel, violence, brutality ...
Time: 90s
Place: japan, asia, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
The Return of Masseur Ichi (1962)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 72 min.
Story: Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love: his own brother. He must face in combat not only the pursuing retainers but his own ...
Style: cult classic, realistic, serious, captivating, exciting ...
Plot: samurai, zatoichi, martial arts, handicapped, adventurer, ancient, swordplay, sword fight, one man army, yakuza, criminal, violent content ...
Time: 19th century
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 7.5
 23K
Sonatine (1993)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 94 min.
Story: Kitano plays Murakawa, a Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life. Along with a few of his henchmen, he is sent by his boss to Okinawa to help end a gang war, supposedly to mediate between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans ...
Style: bloody, neo noir, art house, stylized, controversial ...
Plot: yakuza, mafia, organized crime, beach, death, gang, medieval, gunfight, dark humor, asian gangster, criminal, revenge ...
Time: year 1993, 90s, 20th century
Place: japan, east asia, asia, okinawa japan, okinawa ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
26%
Boiling Point (1990)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min.
Story: Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself. There he meets Uehara, a tough gangster, who is in serious debt to the yakuza and planning revenge.
Style: bloody, art house, neo noir, crime drama, hood ...
Plot: yakuza, revenge, gangster, gang, mafia, sex crime, organized crime, ghetto, asian, car crash, explosions, japanese mafia ...
Time: 80s
Place: japan, okinawa, east asia, asia, okinawa japan ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
 7.1
 24K
Brother (2000)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Japan
Duration: 114 min.
Story: A Japanese Yakuza gangster’s deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, California, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother’s gang. This is the first English film by Takeshi Kitano.
Style: harsh, intense, serious, rough, exciting ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: yakuza, gangster, mafia, culture clash, organized crime, gang, samurai, suicide, sibling relationship, family relations, gang war, siblings relations ...
Time: 20th century, 90s
Place: japan, los angeles, usa, california
⇓ similarity ⇓
23%
Movie in collections
Ichi the Killer (2001)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 129 min.
Story: As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.
Style: disturbing, controversial, dark comedy, bloody, splatter ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: gory, violence, psychopath, organized crime, gangster, yakuza, massacre, mob boss, danger, rage, insanity, sadism ...
Time: year 2001, 2000s, 21st century
Place: japan, east asia, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
50%
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (1989)
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 116 min.
Story: This 26th film installment of the Zatoichi series sees Shintaro Katsu return to this classic role after a 10 year hiatus. The blind masseur Ichi gets caught between rival Yakuza clans.
Style: cult classic, tense, captivating, exciting, serious ...
Plot: samurai, martial arts, zatoichi, swordsman, ninja, medieval, yakuza, female nudity, ronin, swordplay, clan, handicapped ...
Time: 19th century
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
22%
 7.1
 13K
Violent Cop (1989)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min.
Story: Detective Azuma is a Dirty-Harry style rogue cop who often uses violence and unethical methods to get results.
Style: neo noir, bloody, detective, bleak, witty ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: police, police corruption, violence, yakuza, drug dealer, police officer, mafia, gangster, vigilante, drug, corrupt cop, criminal ...
Time: year 1989, 80s
Place: japan, east asia, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
22%
Beyond Outrage (2012)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min.
Story: As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now become a nationwide war in Outrage ...
Style: tense, realistic, serious, rough, noir ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: yakuza, gangster, criminal heroes, law enforcement, rivalry, gang, danger, elimination, japanese mafia, power struggle, police, organized crime ...
Time: 2010s, 21st century
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
The Warrior's Way (2010)
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Western
Country: New Zealand, South Korea
Duration: 100 min.
Story: An Asian assassin (Dong-gun Jang) is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands. Also starring Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston, Tony Cox and Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush.
Style: stylized, absurd, serious, exciting, surreal ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: ninja, samurai, martial arts, assassin, sword fight, kung fu, good versus evil, forest, desert, violence, fight, master warrior ...
Time: 19th century, year 2010
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
escapades movies
11788
rivalry movies
14557
assassin movies
2771
year 2003 movies
370
New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min.
Story: Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
Style: cult classic, captivating, exciting, serious, realistic ...
Plot: samurai, zatoichi, martial arts, medieval, ninja, ancient, handicapped, ronin, swordplay, murder, village, kidnapping ...
Time: 19th century
Place: japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
The Streetfighter (1974)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min.
Story: Terry is a tough mercenary and a master of martial arts. When an important business magnate dies, leaving billions to his daughter, the Mafia and Yakuza try to hire Terry to kidnap the daughter. When they refuse to meet his exorbitant price, then ...
Style: grindhouse, cult classic, bloody, stylized, perverse ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: kung fu, martial arts, karate, samurai, yakuza, mafia, kidnapping, exploitation, fight, violence, violent, vengeance ...
Time: 70s, 20th century
Place: japan, hong kong, bolivia, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
Glory to the Filmmaker! (2007)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 108 min.
Story: Takeshi Kitano plays a version of himself in which he's a struggling director cycling through a number of different genres in an effort to complete his latest project.
Style: semi serious, humorous, captivating, exciting, surreal ...
Plot: heroes, gangster, escapades, danger, parents and children, police, yakuza, escape, filmmaking, asian, moving, samurai ...
Time: 1950s, 50s
Place: japan, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
 6.7
 3K
Sex and Fury (1973)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 88 min.
Story: Sex & Fury chronicles Ocho's exploits as she searches for her father's killers, each identified by unique tattoos on their backs (a deer, a boar, and a butterfly). Along the way, she also crosses paths with Shonusuke, a radical set on ...
Style: grindhouse, erotic, sensual, cult classic, crime drama ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: yakuza, female yakuza, nun, martial arts, revenge, sexploitation, murder, exploitation, erotica, forced sex, bondage, gambler ...
Time: 1900s, 19th century, 1880s
Place: japan, asia, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
50%
The Sword of Doom (1966)
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min.
Story: Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopathic samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
Style: black and white, visual, cerebral, tense, stylized ...
Plot: samurai, martial arts, ninja, medieval, violent, swordplay, vengeance, fencing, japanese history, kung fu, master warrior, sword fight ...
Time: 19th century, 1800s, year 1966
Place: japan, east asia, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
 7.2
 10K
The Yakuza (1974)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story: Harry Kilmer returns to Japan after several years in order to rescue his friend George's kidnapped daughter - and ends up on the wrong side of the Yakuza, the notorious Japanese mafia...
Style: neo noir, intense, harsh, realistic, serious ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: yakuza, gangster, kidnapping, friendship, culture clash, organized crime, rescue, sword fight, mafia, haunted by the past, unrequited love, medieval ...
Time: 70s, 20th century, post world war two
Place: japan, kyoto japan, asia, los angeles, tokyo
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
The Last Samurai (2003)
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: USA, New Zealand, Japan
Duration: 154 min.
Story: Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the ...
Style: epic, breathtaking, serious, exciting, captivating ...
Audience: girls' night, manly, adult
Plot: samurai, sword fight, military, battles, war, japanese history, courage, warrior, katana, self discovery, pride and honor, human spirit ...
Time: 19th century, year 2003, victorian era, 1800s, middle ages ...
Place: japan, asia, africa, san francisco, tokyo ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
18%
Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie