Movies like August Without Emperor (1978)
The best movies like August Without Emperor (1978) are Rising Sun (1993), Battle Royale (2000) and Bullet Train Explosion (2025). If August Without Emperor hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSamurai Rebellion (1967)8.2/10 from 283 votes
- NewestSuzuki=Bakudan (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseBattle Royale (2000)Also in Japanese
Rising Sun (1993)
When a prostitute is found dead in a Los Angeles skyscraper occupied by a large Japanese corporation, detectives John Connor and Web Smith are called in to investigate. Although Connor has previous experience working in Japan, cultural differences make their progress difficult until a security disc showing the murder turns up. Close scrutiny proves the disc has been doctored, and the detectives realize they're dealing with a cover-up as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle Royale (2000)
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBullet Train Explosion (2025)
When panic erupts on a Tokyo-bound bullet train that will explode if it slows below 100 kph, authorities race against time to save everyone on board.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSAS: Red Notice (2021)
An off-duty SAS soldier, Tom Buckingham, must thwart a terror attack on a train running through the Channel Tunnel. As the action escalates on the train, events transpire in the corridors of power that may make the difference as to whether Buckingham and the civilian passengers make it out of the tunnel alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMissing (1982)
Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman. A conservative American businessman travels to Chile to investigate the sudden disappearance of his son after a military takeover. Accompanied by his son's wife he uncovers a trail of cover-ups that implicate the US State department which supports the dictatorship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Blood of Wolves (2018)
Set in 1988 in Hiroshima, Japan, prior to the enactment of the anti-organized crime law. A rumor exists that Detective Shogo Ogami has ties with the yakuza. He is partnered with Detective Shuichi Hioka and they investigate a missing person case involving a financial company employee. Conflicts between opposing yakuza groups become more serious.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRage (2016)
A man brutally murders a married couple and leaves the word “ikari” (“rage”) written with their blood. The killer undergoes plastic surgery and flees. At three different locations in Japan, a male stranger appears. People suspect that the stranger might be the murderer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutrage Coda (2017)
Five years after the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a noted fixer. When tensions rise between Chang and the Hanabishi, and Chang's life is endangered, Otomo returns to Japan to settle things once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZero Woman: Red Handcuffs (1974)
Agent Zero is a cop that uses her own methods for dealing with criminals. After she unlawfully kills a rapist in a violent fashion, she is sent to prison and stripped of her badge. But very soon after, a rich politician's daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless gang. Agent Zero is let out of prison with the mission of going undercover to find the politician's daughter and return her safely. Using her deadly red handcuffs, she disposes of the criminals one by one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHimizu (2012)
Two 14-year-olds from troubled, abusive homes come together sharing misery and pain. In the aftermath of an earthquake, the classmates learn how to survive while relying on one another for emotional and physical support.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuzuki=Bakudan (2025)
An unemployed man named Suzuki is taken in by police after breaking a booze vending machine. When he predicts the explosions of two bombs and claims there are more, the police start to investigate him as a terrorist. However, Suzuki first claims to know about the bombs through psychic clairvoyance, and then claims he was hypnotized to forget. He gives hints about the bombs with riddles while riling up his interrogators, especially senior detective Kiyomiya and his junior Ruike. Things seem to be connected to a disgraced cop named Hasebe, who committed suicide after a scandal some years ago. But is Suzuki actually the perpetrator behind the bombs or not?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lady Vanishes (2013)
Young socialite Iris Carr befriends an older woman while traveling solo by train. When Iris wakes from a nap, the woman is gone and other passengers claim she never existed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea (2013)
It’s a high-stakes mystery on the high seas! Enjoying a free prize cruise on a military ship, Conan and his friends find their relaxation interrupted by the threat of possible explosives on board! It’s a race against time to find the culprit and save the ship — and potentially the whole country!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood on the Sun (1945)
Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDetective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century (1999)
Kaitou Kid dares to challenge the police once more, setting his sights on the Russian Imperial Easter Egg. With the date, time, and place, the Osaka police force scrambles to stop him. But this time, Kid may have bitten off more than he can chew—Conan Edogawa, Heiji Hattori, and numerous others are also trying to get their hands on the jeweled egg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai Rebellion (1967)
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPaprika (2006)
Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBuffalo Soldiers (2002)
A criminal subculture operates among U.S. soldiers stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin wall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisclosure (1994)
A computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmilla's Sense of Snow (1997)
Smilla Jaspersen attempts to understand the death of a small boy who falls from the roof of her apartment building. Suspecting wrongdoing, Smilla uncovers a trail of clues leading towards a secretive corporation that has made several mysterious expeditions to Greenland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this47 Vendettas (1953)
The legendary tale of the forty-seven samurai who seek vengeance against the man who caused their master's death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ninpu Sentai Hurricaneger Degozaru! Shushuuto 20th Anniversary (2023)
It is the Edo Period. Younosuke, Nami, and Koutaro of the Hayate School and Ikkaku and Ikki of the Ikazuchi School are confronted by Oiranda and Aunja of the "Seven Spears of Darkness" and then Teruhime, whom the two Ikazuchi School members guard, is attacked. They were after the "Tenshoishi" ("Ascension Stone"), a stone said to be capable of destroying the world, which was in Teruhime's possession. Just when all seemed to be lost, the Hurricangers and the Gouraigers suddenly appear, having traveled back in time from the future, and a fierce battle ensues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Love Story (1970)
Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV and music student Jennifer Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny - and a love they cannot ignore. Despite their opposite backgrounds, the young couple put their hearts on the line for each other. When they marry, Oliver's wealthy father threatens to disown him. Jenny tries to reconcile the Barrett men, but to no avail.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Now confined to a mental hospital, young Kirsty insists her supposedly dead father is actually stuck in Hell following his wife’s betrayal. Few believe the young woman’s lurid stories aside from the thrill-seeking Dr. Channard. Kirsty is undeterred and, with the help of a fellow patient, heads to Hell for a rescue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreejack (1992)
Time-traveling bounty hunters find a doomed race-car driver in the past and bring him to 2009 New York, where his mind will be replaced with that of a terminally ill billionaire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisHold me tighter than anyone else (2025)
Tsukina and Ryouki have been dating since their teenage years. Unfortunately Ryouki has developed a obsession with cleanliness that has left him unable to even touch Tsukina. Eventually agreeing to start therapy for his condition, Ryouki meets Chiharu, a young woman suffering from the same issue as himself, and begins to form a connection. At the same time Tsukina meets a handsome Korean man who shows an interest in her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lady Against the Odds (1992)
A private detective becomes involved in a new cast when her partner's guardian is murdered.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like August Without Emperor?
The closest matches to August Without Emperor are Rising Sun (1993), Battle Royale (2000) and Bullet Train Explosion (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after August Without Emperor?
Start with Rising Sun (1993), the closest match to August Without Emperor.
What is the highest-rated movie like August Without Emperor?
Samurai Rebellion (1967), rated 8.2/10 by 283 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like August Without Emperor?
Suzuki=Bakudan (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like August Without Emperor?
Yes: Battle Royale (2000), Bullet Train Explosion (2025) and Taboo (1999).
How are movies similar to August Without Emperor chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside August Without Emperor, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.