Samurai movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant samurai movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out serious, stylized, jidai geki, epic, realistic and exciting films and TV shows about / with samurai, martial arts, katana, medieval, heroes, sword fight, swordplay, rivalry, master warrior and ronin plots mostly in Drama, Action and Adventure genres shot in Japan, UK, USA and other countries.
samurai
 803
samurai movies
TOP 10 movies tagged as samurai: 13 Assassins (2010), The Twilight Samurai (2002), Sanjuro (1962), The Warrior's Way (2010), 47 Ronin (2013), Zatoichi (2003), The Last Samurai (2003), Killing (2018), The Hidden Blade (2004), Shogun (1980).

List of samurai movies

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 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
Is relevant ?
The Twilight Samurai (2002)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 129 min.
Story: Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the ...
Style: tense, emotional, realistic, atmospheric, sincere ...
Plot: samurai, sword fight, feudal japan, poverty, love, friendship, medieval, character study, tragedy, visceral, love story, assassination ...
Time: 19th century, 2000s, year 2002, y2k, 1800s
Place: japan, east asia, asia
Is relevant ?
 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
Is relevant ?
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
Is relevant ?
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 6.2
 170K
47 Ronin (2013)
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK, Japan, Hungary
Duration: 128 min.
Story: Based on the original 1941 movie from Japan, and from ancient Japan’s most enduring tale, the epic 3D fantasy-adventure 47 Ronin is born. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 ...
Style: stylized, epic, exciting, fairy tale, suspenseful ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, martial arts, ronin, medieval, battles, beast, revenge, shogun, exile, samurai sword, sword and sorcery, heroes ...
Time: 18th century, year 2013, middle ages, 2010s
Place: japan, asia, ancient china
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 51K
Zatoichi (2003)
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 ...
Style: atmospheric, humorous, exciting, harsh, stylized ...
Plot: samurai, martial arts, sword fight, master warrior, fencing, zatoichi, violence, gang, good versus evil, protector, blind character, swordsman ...
Time: 19th century, year 2003, 1800s, 2000s
Place: japan, east asia, asia
Is relevant ?
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 ...
Is relevant ?
 6.5
 1K
Killing (2018)
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 80 min.
Story: Set during the Edo period, the film follows the life of a ronin (Sosuke Ikematsu) and those around him.
Style: captivating, tense, exciting, psychological, crying ...
Plot: samurai, ronin, revenge, swordsman, gang, fight, village, massacre, battles, murder, edo period, political unrest ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
The Hidden Blade (2004)
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 132 min.
Story: Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his ...
Style: serious, sentimental, stylized, epic, romantic ...
Plot: samurai, martial arts, caste system, feudal japan, vengeance, politics, love and romance, family life, medieval, edo period, ninja, winter ...
Time: 19th century, 1860s
Place: japan, asia
Is relevant ?
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
Is relevant ?
Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part II - The Beginning (2021)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 137 min.
Story: Kenshin Himura goes up against mysterious weapons dealer Enishi. He controls the underworld of China. The secret of Kenshin Himura’s "Jujishou" is also revealed.
Style: captivating, tense, perverse, manga, anime ...
Plot: samurai, one man army, shogun, fight, martial arts, secret, organized crime, gang leader, gang, warrior, arms dealer, bandit ...
Time: 1860s
Place: japan, china, kyoto japan
Is relevant ?
 8.1
 14K
Shogun (1980)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 547 min.
TV show
Story: An English navigator becomes both pawn and player in the deadly political games in feudal Japan.
Style: atmospheric, mythical, costume drama, epic, serious ...
Plot: samurai, shogun, jesuit, martial arts, battles, historical event, japanese history, interracial relations, white man asian woman relationship, ancient, world history, wanderlust ...
Time: 17th century, medieval times, 20th century
Place: japan, portugal, asia
Is relevant ?
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 6.7
 15K
Azumi (2003)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 128 min.
Story: In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an assassin. Her name is Azumi, the ...
Style: intense, breathtaking, realistic, epic, serious ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, samurai, ninja, brutality, gory, good versus evil, vengeance, storytelling, kung fu, sword, heroes, medieval ...
Time: 17th century
Place: japan, ancient china, asia
Is relevant ?
 7.9
 38K
Kagemusha (1980)
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 180 min.
Story: When a warlord dies, a peasant thief is called upon to impersonate him, in order to protect his clan from appearing weak and vulnerable. But he finds himself haunted by the warlord’s spirit as well as his own ambitions.
Style: captivating, enigmatic, bleak, costume drama, epic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, battles, martial arts, japanese history, war, warlord, medieval, doppelganger, emperor, death, feudal japan, culture clash ...
Time: 16th century, medieval times, year 1980
Place: japan, east asia, asia
Is relevant ?
After the Rain (1999)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 91 min.
Story: A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst the travelers trapped at the inn. Ihei Misawa is a ronin, a samurai without a master, whose skills ...
Style: spiritual, jidai geki, serious, captivating, stylized ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, ronin, rain, river, medieval, asian history, forest, revolution, edo period, myth, swordplay, husband wife relationship ...
Time: year 1999, 18th century
Place: japan, asia
Is relevant ?
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005)
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 107 min.
Story: Even though Gennosuke and Oboro are from rival ninja villages, they are secretly in love. At an annual conference with the Lord, it is dictated that a competition--a fight to the death--will take place between the five best shinobi from each ...
Style: captivating, exciting, stylized, serious, anime ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, ninja, master warrior, tragic love, martial arts, supernatural ability, state affairs, forbidden love, battles, uninhibited rivalry, heroes, supernatural ...
Time: 17th century
Place: japan, ancient china, asia
Is relevant ?
 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
Is relevant ?
Rurouni Kenshin 3: The Legend Ends (2014)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 134 min.
Story: Shishio has set sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the Meiji government and return Japan to chaos, carrying Kaoru with him. In order to stop him in time, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.
Style: exciting, stylized, dorama, anime, manga ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, martial arts, samurai era, fight, medieval, good versus evil, heroes, master warrior, battles, showdown, hitman, political unrest ...
Time: 19th century, 1870s
Place: japan, asia, tokyo, kyoto japan
Is relevant ?
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Blade of the Immortal (2017)
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan, UK, South Korea
Duration: 140 min.
Story: Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her ...
Style: captivating, anime, suspense, exciting, tense ...
Plot: samurai, revenge, shogun, ronin, martial arts, sword fight, one man army, massacre, swordsman, medieval, sword, soldier ...
Time: year 2017
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
Sword of Desperation (2010)
Genre: Action, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min.
Story: A talented but troubled Edo Period swordsman, Kanemi Sanzawmon. Three years earlier, Kanemi killed a woman, Renko, the corrupt mistress of the powerful daimyo Tabu Ukyou. Unexpectedly, Kanemi received a lenient sentence for his crime and is allowed ...
Style: captivating, suspenseful, atmospheric, tense, exciting ...
Plot: samurai, master warrior, loyalty, betrayal, intrigue, rivalry, medieval, under the surface, haunted by the past, death of wife, assassination plot, edo period ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 2K
47 Samurai (1962)
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 207 min.
Story: The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. The ...
Style: epic, harsh, bleak, atmospheric, serious ...
Plot: samurai, vengeance, medieval, seppuku, brutality, justice, battles, martial arts, courage, society, redemption, human nature ...
Time: 18th century, middle ages, medieval times
Place: japan, asia
Is relevant ?
Love and Honor (2006)
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min.
Story: A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
Style: serious, psychological, romantic, poignant, jidai geki ...
Plot: samurai, blind character, social differences, blindness, hopes, rivalry, society, vengeance, political unrest, medieval, master warrior, japanese history ...
Time: year 2006
Place: japan, asia
Is relevant ?
Samurai Fiction (1998)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min.
Story: Three centuries ago, a precious sword has been stolen by Kazamatsuri -- the sword, which historic and symbolic value is priceless for the clan (Shogun Tokugawa donated it to clan 80 years before that, at the same time that he established them as the ...
Style: stylized, psychological, semi serious, exciting, humorous ...
Plot: samurai, martial arts, kung fu, sword, asian history, sword fight, revenge, ninja, feudal japan, treasure, gambling, swordplay ...
Place: japan, asia
Is relevant ?
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Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min.
Story: In the second film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must assassinate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.
Style: bloody, grindhouse, atmospheric, stylized, splatter ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, martial arts, master warrior, sword fight, ninja, father son relationship, weapons, ronin, kung fu, fight, gory, martial artist ...
Time: year 1972
Place: japan, asia
Is relevant ?
When the Last Sword is Drawn (2002)
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 143 min.
Story: Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support ...
Style: atmospheric, captivating, realistic, bleak, serious ...
Plot: samurai, japanese history, medieval, sword fight, life is a bitch, tragic hero, human spirit, political unrest, emperor, martial arts, state affairs, unfulfillment ...
Time: 19th century
Place: japan, asia
Is relevant ?
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, UK
Duration: 128 min.
Story: An tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
Style: tense, serious, bleak, realistic, emotional ...
Plot: samurai, feudal japan, revenge, medieval, society, life is a bitch, vengeance, loss of son, down on your luck, rivalry, winter, hara kiri ...
Time: 17th century, middle ages
Place: japan, asia
Is relevant ?
 8.6
 67K
Harakiri (1962)
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 133 min.
Story: Peace in 17th-century Japan causes the Shogunate's breakup of warrior clans, throwing thousands of samurai out of work and into poverty. An honorable end to such fate under the samurai code is ritual suicide, or hara-kiri.
Style: tense, disturbing, bleak, black and white, melancholic ...
Plot: samurai, suicide, poverty, revenge, seppuku, medieval, tragedy, courage, life & death, sword fight, society, life is a bitch ...
Time: 17th century, year 1962
Place: japan, asia, east asia
Is relevant ?
Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 138 min.
Story: Kenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left for dead. He survived, and is ...
Style: stylized, anime, intense, suspense, exciting ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: samurai, katana, martial arts, sword fight, survival, medieval, redemption, assassin, good versus evil, ambition, rivalry, political unrest ...
Time: 19th century, 1870s
Place: japan, asia, kyoto japan
Is relevant ?
 8.2
 135K
Ran (1985)
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 160 min.
Story: In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how their new-found power will corrupt them.
Style: visual, visually stunning, visually appealing, atmospheric, breathtaking ...
Audience: adult
Plot: samurai, feudal japan, medieval, shakespeare, greed, vengeance, castle, betrayal, nihilism, insanity, great ending, sword fight ...
Time: 16th century, medieval times, 20th century, year 1985, middle ages
Place: japan, bolivia, east asia, asia
Is relevant ?
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
Is relevant ?
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