Movies like Beyond the Hills (1960)
The best movies like Beyond the Hills (1960) are Plan A (2021), The Secrets We Keep (2020) and Backstabbing for Beginners (2018). If Beyond the Hills hooked you with its thriller and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)8.2/10 from 242 votes
- NewestThe Old Young Crow (2023)Released 2023
- In JapaneseThe Blood of Wolves (2018)Also in Japanese
Plan A (2021)
Germany 1945, Max, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, meets a radical group of Jewish resistance fighters, who, like him, lost all hope for their future after they were robbed of their existence and their entire families were killed by the Nazis. They dream of retaliation on an epic scale for the Jewish people. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Max starts identifying with the group's monstrous plans...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secrets We Keep (2020)
In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBackstabbing for Beginners (2018)
An idealistic young employee at the U.N. investigates the grisly murder of his predecessor – and uncovers a vast global conspiracy that may involve his own boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pentagon Papers (2003)
This compelling political drama is based on the true story of high-ranking Pentagon official Daniel Ellsberg, who, during the Nixon era, strove to preserve American democracy by leaking top-secret documents to the New York Times and Washington Post. The documents in question would eventually become famous as the Pentagon Papers, which revealed the true reasons for U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisFemale Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)
After being used and betrayed by the detective she had fallen in love with, young Matsu is sent to a female prison full of sadistic guards and disobedient prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStray Dog (1949)
A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)
Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFukushima 50 (2020)
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi facility in Japan risk their lives and stay at the nuclear power plant to prevent total destruction after the region is devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisHachiko (1987)
The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFemale Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)
After being cruelly set up and deceived by Sugimi, a detective in cahoots with the mob with whom she was whole-heartedly in love, Matsushima’s desire for revenge knows no bounds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi on the Road (1963)
Zatoichi is sworn to protect the life of a young girl and without any real allies finds himself in the middle of a bloody turf war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirst They Killed My Father (2017)
A 5-year-old girl embarks on a harrowing quest for survival amid the sudden rise and terrifying reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRan (1985)
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisChûshingura (1962)
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe East (2013)
An operative for an elite private intelligence firm finds her priorities irrevocably changed after she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mysterians (1957)
In Japan, scientifically advanced invaders from the war-destroyed planet Mysteroid cause an entire village to vanish, then send a giant robot out to storm the city by night, after which they request a small patch of land on Earth and the right to marry earthling women, claiming to be pacifists. Mankind must decide whether to capitulate or to resist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)
Zatoichi treks to a village that has always been a favorite spot of his, only to discover that it’s become a living hell, plagued by feuding father and son yakuza as well as the younger crime boss’s bodyguard, scruffy, smart-mouthed, cash-hungry Yojimbo of legend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWake Up, Arezu! (2005)
Moments after the earthquake, a young teacher in a village outside the town of Bam, scrambles from under the rubble and finds out that her colleagues has died in the quake. She sets out for the town of Bam to get rescue aid for the villagers, but to her amazement, she discovers that the main tragedy has occurred there. Cries of help are heard from every side and the hospital is filled with the injured and the dead. On the recommendation of a cleric, she goes to the mortuary to help with the washing of the dead bodies of women. A prisoner, who managed to get out after the prison building is destroyed asks the teacher to wash the bodies of his dead mother, wife and child, Arezu.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Spider Lilies (2007)
When Jade, a web-cam girl, visits Takeko's tattoo studio she becomes entranced with the image of the spider lily and with Takeko as well. In order to get closer to the object of her desire, Jade asks Takeko to give her the same lily tattoo, challenging Takeko's monastic existence and opening up memories which threaten to tear the two women apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Son of Kong (1933)
Beleaguered adventurer Carl Denham returns to the island where he found King Kong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Old Young Crow (2023)
An Iranian boy befriends an old Japanese woman at a graveyard in Tokyo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Insect Woman (1963)
A woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRamen Shop (2018)
Masato is a young ramen chef in Japan. When he finds his late mother's journal after the sudden death of his emotionally distant father, he takes it with him to her native country, Singapore, hoping to piece together the story of his family and his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBroken Swords (1969)
The tragic, yet exciting story of the friendship between Nakayama Yasubei, a member of the 47 Ronin, and Tange Tenzen, a relative by marriage of the vile Lord Kira.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Burmese Harp (1956)
In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Beyond the Hills?
The closest matches to Beyond the Hills are Plan A (2021), The Secrets We Keep (2020) and Backstabbing for Beginners (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Beyond the Hills?
Start with Plan A (2021), the closest match to Beyond the Hills.
What is the highest-rated movie like Beyond the Hills?
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959), rated 8.2/10 by 242 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Beyond the Hills?
The Old Young Crow (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Beyond the Hills?
Yes: The Blood of Wolves (2018), Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972) and Stray Dog (1949).
How are movies similar to Beyond the Hills chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Beyond the Hills, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.