Movies like Roar of the City (1958)
The best movies like Roar of the City (1958) are Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973), Rainy Dog (1997) and Female Yakuza Tale (1973). If Roar of the City hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Yakuza (1974)7.1/10 from 240 votes
- NewestAlfredo: The Movie (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)Also in Japanese
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRainy Dog (1997)
A Japanese assassin stranded in Taiwan must take work from a local crime boss to make ends meet when suddenly a woman from his past delivers a son to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Yakuza Tale (1973)
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSympathy for the Underdog (1971)
A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGraveyard of Honor (2002)
A barkeeper saves a yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However, his fear of nothing soon causes problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisViolent Saturday (1955)
Three men case a small town very carefully, with plans to rob the bank on the upcoming Saturday, which turns violent and deadly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlunder Road (1957)
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCass (2008)
The incredible true story of how an orphaned Jamaican baby, adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London, became one of the most feared and respected men in Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Yakuza (1974)
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSiberian Education (2013)
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Believer (1989)
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAgitator (2001)
When a young yakuza torments the customers in a rival crime family's nightclub, it is not long before his dead body is found. Soon, inter-family retaliation follows, resulting in the death for a prominent crime boss. Devastated by this turn of events, the temperamental Kenzaki vows to avenge his boss's death and, as bloody violence ensues, the body count reaches excessive proportions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Fury (1950)
A family man – desperate for a job – latches onto a friend who encourages him into being a criminal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Murderer (2022)
The True story of how charismatic con man Jason Derek Brown bankrolls his extravagant lifestyle through a series of scams. On Brown’s trail: Lance Leising, a dogged FBI special agent determined to put Brown behind bars. When Brown’s funds run low and his past catches up with him, he plots his most elaborate scheme yet, pitting himself against Leising in a deadly game of cat and mouse — and becoming the most unlikely and elusive fugitive on the FBI’s most-wanted list.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThanks for the Tears (1965)
A film about two men who join the fight against a gang selling weapons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Code Between Brothers: All New (1970)
When the boss of the Nakano Family decides to retire and makes a loyal follower the new boss instead of his own son, it causes strife in the family. Sides are taken and lines are drawn. Meanwhile, a rival family with a land dispute with the Nakano starts pulling strings behind the scenes...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Roughneck From Asama (1958)
When Boss Juzo's Shinmachi Yakuza family struck fear into the hearts of his adversaries, Boss Shohei's Okabe Yakuza family with a merciless gang of raiders, Itaro of Asama was missing. With the courage of a lion he had gone off to face the enemy and settle the score all by himself. As a result he had to take the blame in place of Boss Shohei, and went off to adventures on his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Tattoo (2002)
Marc Schrader, a rookie cop caught red-handed with drugs in a police raid of an illegal rave, joins a homicide investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Minks. The victim is a naked young woman with the skin stripped off her back, killed as she staggered into traffic. As Schrader and Minks investigate the murder, the case is complicated by a finger found in the stomach of the victim. Forensic examination proves the finger belongs to Nobert Günzel, who was previously convicted of rape and assault. The police raid Günzel’s residence, and discover a blood-stained table with restraints and bits of human flesh in his basement. They also find video equipment and preserved, tattooed skin from the victim’s back. Soon, they found dead bodies buried in the garden. Günzel then goes missing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlfredo: The Movie (2025)
The Alchemist manages to convince a withdrawn Freddie Gibbs to return to Tokyo. Once there, the two of them take on roles as partners, operating in the city’s criminal underworld.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Gozu (2003)
Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChinpira (2000)
Osamu rescues a girl who was being chased by two punks and is soon mixed up with the Yakuza
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Yakuza and Constitution (2016)
Since the enactment of the Anti-Boryokudan Act and Yakuza exclusion ordinances, the number of Yakuza members reduced to less than 60,000. In the past 3 years, about 20,000 members have left from Yakuza organizations. However, just numbers can’t tell you the reality. What are they thinking, how are they living now? The camera zooms in on the Yakuza world. Are there basic human rights for them?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Eighteen Years in Prison (1967)
A former soldier is caught working the black market and sent to prison while his partner escapes and goes on to become a gangster, but their paths cross again as they both fall in love with the same woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Guard Dog (1997)
A tough and violent battle ensues between Hikaru Gotokuji, who's been assigned as the bodyguard for a popular young entertainer, and the ex-mercenary who is aggressively intent on assassination.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Like Roar of the City and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Roar of the City?
The closest matches to Roar of the City are Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973), Rainy Dog (1997) and Female Yakuza Tale (1973). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Roar of the City?
Start with Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973), the closest match to Roar of the City.
What is the highest-rated movie like Roar of the City?
The Yakuza (1974), rated 7.1/10 by 240 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Roar of the City?
Alfredo: The Movie (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Roar of the City?
Yes: Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973), Rainy Dog (1997) and Female Yakuza Tale (1973).
How are movies similar to Roar of the City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Roar of the City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.