Movies like Sea of Vanity (1984)
The best movies like Sea of Vanity (1984) are Tokyo Decadence (1992), King Cobra (2016) and Pink Narcissus (1971). If Sea of Vanity hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Sea of Vanity
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAntiporno (2017)6.6/10 from 462 votes
- NewestHeatwave (2022)Released 2022
- In JapaneseTokyo Decadence (1992)Also in Japanese
Tokyo Decadence (1992)
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing Cobra (2016)
It’s 2006, YouTube is in its infancy, and internet porn is still behind a paywall. Taking the stage name Brent Corrigan, a fresh-faced, wannabe adult video performer is molded into a star by Stephen, a closeted gay porn mogul who runs the skin flick empire Cobra Video from his seemingly ordinary suburban home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPink Narcissus (1971)
An outrageous erotic poem focusing on the daydreams of a beautiful boy prostitute who, from the seclusion of his ultra-kitsch apartment, conceives a series of interlinked narcissistic fantasies populated by matadors, dancing boys, slaves, and leather-clad bikers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAntiporno (2017)
Kyôko, a traumatized young Japanese girl, finds herself struggling with her self-confidence in her adult life. Growing up in a family without her mother and her sister, she constantly questions the rationale of sex and the notion of liberty in modern Japanese society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrom Straight A's to XXX (2017)
When a change of circumstances leaves Miriam unable to pay her college tuition, she makes a surprising decision: to start performing in adult films, using the pseudonym Belle Knox. Miriam lies to her family and her friends at school, keeping her double life a secret. But soon rumours spread and Miriam becomes the subject of vicious online attacks and unwanted attention. Miriam fights back: she talks to the media, saying her new line of work empowers her as a feminist. But her confident stand has unintended consequences. Miriam is shunned by her conservative family and her colleagues in the adult film world. One impulsive decision has quickly spiralled out of control - and Miriam's problems are just beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSakuran (2006)
Kiyoha 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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeatwave (2022)
A woman's life takes an unexpected turn when she falls for her boss's wife. She must soon defend herself as she becomes entangled in a web of malice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngel Guts: Red Classroom (1979)
A porn magazine editor stumbles upon an amateur gang rape film and, struck by the girl's acting, decides to find her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisTaboo (1999)
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaint Jack (1979)
Jack Flowers is an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. His dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States is materialized when he is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBLAME! (2017)
In the distant technological future, civilization has reached its ultimate Net-based form. An "infection" in the past caused the automated systems to spiral out of order, resulting in a multi-leveled city structure that replicates itself infinitely in all directions. Now humanity has lost access to the city's controls, and is hunted down and purged by the defense system known as the Safeguard. In a tiny corner of the city, a little enclave known as the Electro-Fishers is facing eventual extinction, trapped between the threat of the Safeguard and dwindling food supplies. A girl named Zuru goes on a journey to find food for her village, only to inadvertently cause doom when an observation tower senses her and summons a Safeguard pack to eliminate the threat. With her companions dead and all escape routes blocked, the only thing that can save her now is the sudden arrival of Killy the Wanderer, on his quest for the Net Terminal Genes, the key to restoring order to the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller's Kiss (1955)
Davey Gordon, a New York City boxer at the end of his career, falls for dancer Gloria Price. However, their budding relationship is interrupted by Gloria's violent boss, Vincent Rapallo, who has eyes for Gloria. The two decide to skip town, but before they can, Vincent and his thugs abduct Gloria, and Davey is forced to search for her among the most squalid corners of the city, with his enemy hiding in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Boy (2018)
Ryo Morinaka is a university student and works part-time at a bar. He is bored with his daily life and exists in a state of torpor. One day, his friend Shinya Tajima brings the owner of a host bar over to the place where Ryo Morinaka works. Shizuka Mido is the owner of the host bar. Soon, Ryo Morinaka begins to work for Shizuka Mido at the members only host bar. He feels embarrassment initially, but he fulfills the desires of women and develops a sense of purpose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Million Yen Girl (2008)
A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBaadasssss! (2004)
Director Mario Van Peebles chronicles the complicated production of his father Melvin's classic 1971 film, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." Playing his father in the film, Van Peebles offers an unapologetic account of Melvin's brash and sometimes deceptive conduct on the set of the film, including questionable antics like writing bad checks, tricking a local fire department and allowing his son, Mario, to shoot racy sex scenes at the age of 11.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)
When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBikini Bar: Delicious Service (2020)
Minzhu ran a bar, but the business was so bad that she lost all her store deposit, and the landlord kept pressing for rent. Seeing this, Meizhen decided to develop an innovative spirit and began to provide special services in a bikini. Soon, the bar's Business is booming….
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Case of Lena Smith (1929)
A peasant girl goes to great lengths to protect her child in 19th century Vienna. The film is considered lost, and only four minutes of footage are known to remain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Naked and Betrayed (2004)
Hard-partying friends Talisa, Cory and city council candidate Mike Finnegan (minus wife Stephanie) celebrate with Claire and Jason on the eve of their wedding. The genders separate for stag and spa parties and the friends swing, but a tragic death closes the stag party, and relationships are troubled while police investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Third Ingredient (1917)
Hetty Pepper (a discharged department store worker) and Cecilie (a starving miniature-painter) try to make a beef and potato stew in a low-rent New York apartment building. While they have the meat and the potatoes, they desperately need an onion to tie the meal together—which serves as a metaphor for the human connection and grace needed to complete their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kind Younger Sister (2018)
Jung Geun, who was dating Seon Hye, his first love in high school, separated due to his enlistment in the military and Seon Hye's study abroad. His father suddenly announces remarriage and he has a meeting with his stepmom's family. Isn't his stepmother's daughter Seon-hye?! Jeong-geun and Seon-hye are shocked. However, their past could not prevent their parents from being happy, so their parents eventually remarried, and the two became brothers and sisters and lived in the same house.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Troublantes obsessions (2012)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Jealousy Game (1982)
Set in the wilderness of Hokkaido, the story of a couple in their 30s and a couple in their 20s is drawn, and the subtle emotions of the two men and women are depicted with intense Eros and delicate images under the theme of marriage exchange.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Eine Lebenslüge (Ich will dich erlösen) (1916)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dirty Angels 2: Get Wet (2019)
High in the Hollywood Hills, Ariel (Juliana Kincaid) is learning the ropes of the glamour modeling industry as the renowned photographer Scardino’s assistant, while her cousin Tracy (Diana Espen) takes center stage as his top model. Ariel dreams of frolicking poolside with the gorgeous models who come to work and play at Scardino’s estate, but in reality she is stuck inflating their beach balls and rubbing oil all over their chiseled bodies. Will Ariel ever get her time in the sun? How could a plain girl like her be noticed among such fast company? Meanwhile, Bobby is acing his Sexual Education course, and his future in the adult film industry is looking bright. But when seduced by a mysterious neighbor (Angela Nicholas), will Bobby lose his focus, or will he use his newfound skills to prove himself the master of his domain?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Blonde Ambition (2019)
She dreams big and lives even bigger. Aria is a modern woman who knows what she wants and just how to get it. Pretty enough to be star of the movies, Aria decided to run the studio instead. And if you don’t know by now, Aria gets what she wants. But will trouble at the studio interfere with her side hustle in online lingerie sales?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Sea of Vanity and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sea of Vanity?
The closest matches to Sea of Vanity are Tokyo Decadence (1992), King Cobra (2016) and Pink Narcissus (1971). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sea of Vanity?
Start with Tokyo Decadence (1992), the closest match to Sea of Vanity.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sea of Vanity?
Antiporno (2017), rated 6.6/10 by 462 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sea of Vanity?
Heatwave (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Sea of Vanity?
Yes: Tokyo Decadence (1992), Antiporno (2017) and Sakuran (2006).
How are movies similar to Sea of Vanity chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sea of Vanity, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.