Movies like Dawn of Judo (1970)
The best movies like Dawn of Judo (1970) are Sanshiro Sugata (1943), Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). If Dawn of Judo hooked you with its drama, 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
- NewestMinotaur (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseSanshiro Sugata (1943)Also in Japanese
Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
A hotheaded youth in 1880s Meiji Japan apprentices to judo master Shōgorō Yano, trading brute jujutsu bravado for discipline and humility. As Sanshirō matures, he proves judo’s spirit against old-guard challengers—including a deadly duel—while falling for his vanquished opponent’s daughter. Based on the novel by Tsuneo Tomita, son of Tomita Tsunejirō, the earliest disciple of judo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945)
A few years after his breakthrough, Sanshiro resumes his path to judo mastery—testing his discipline against an American prizefighter and later facing vengeful karate brothers. As rival schools and public spectacle push him toward violence, he must reconcile strength with restraint and the true spirit of his art.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisKamui (2009)
A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn a Champion (2021)
After a blood- soaked jujitsu match in Dubai, fighting legend Mickey Kelley falls to superstar Blaine. But years later, an online video proves that Blaine cheated, and the world demands a rematch. Can the aging underdog get back into shape in time to vanquish his foe, get revenge, and claim his prize?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalking Tall (2004)
A former U.S. soldier returns to his hometown to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which prompts him to clean house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this47 Ronin (2013)
Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRedbelt (2008)
Martial artist Mike Terry lives by a strict code of no competitions, for he feels that such contests weaken fighters. After saving a famous action star from a brutal attack, Mike takes a job in the film industry. He soon finds his personal beliefs and integrity on the line as circumstances force him to participate in a prize fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi Challenged (1967)
Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a local boss to create illegal pornography to pay off his gambling debts. Ichi makes it his mission to save the man and reunite the family, even though it brings him into conflict with a samurai he sort of befriended on his way to the town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRevenge of the Ninja (1983)
A peaceful ex-ninja's life shatters when his son's kidnapping forces him back into violence amid an American-Japanese criminal drug war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trials of Cate McCall (2013)
In order to be reinstated to the bar and recover custody of her daughter, a hotshot lawyer, now in recovery and on probation, must take on the appeal of a woman wrongfully convicted of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)
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 now in Kyoto, plotting with his gathered warriors to overthrow the new government. Against Kaoru's wishes, Kenshin reluctantly agrees to go to Kyoto and help keep his country from falling back into civil war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNew Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Revengers (2021)
An unemployed man learns that his ex-girlfriend was murdered. He suddenly finds himself travelling through time to his middle school years and has chance to change the future and save the girl. He aims to rise to the top of the most brutal delinquent gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImperial Dreams (2014)
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJane Got a Gun (2015)
After her outlaw husband returns home shot with eight bullets and barely alive, Jane reluctantly reaches out to an ex-lover who she hasn't seen in over ten years to help her defend her farm when the time comes that her husband's gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan on Fire (2004)
Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMinotaur (2026)
When Gleb, a successful company director, finds himself under siege from mounting corporate pressures, an increasingly unstable world, and the discovery of his wife's affair, the collapse of his carefully ordered life accelerates toward violence.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRangamarthanda (2023)
After retirement, a Shakespearean theater actor, divides his property amongst his two children. However, their ungratefulness leaves him and his wife homeless during their old age.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Udaharanam Sujatha (2017)
Sujatha, mother of a teenaged girl, nurses a dream to educate her daughter by doing multiple jobs at houses and factories. However, her daughter Athira doesn't take education seriously, believing that being the off spring of a domestic help, she too will end up the same. A dismayed Sujatha is on the lookout for ways to rouse Athira's competitive spirit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cold Showers (2005)
Mickael's family is struggling (they don't have enough money to pay for hot water) however his life is full with Judo and his girlfriend Venessa. Then Mickael makes a decision to open up his relationship to include Clement his rich-kid Judo partner, starting a chain of events.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNarappa (2021)
Narappa is forced to flee into the forest with his younger son, Sinappa, after Sinappa murders an upper caste landlord to avenge his older brother’s death. And now Narappa must make more sacrifices and navigate a deeply unjust justice system to give his son a chance at future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
GodFather (2022)
The sudden demise of the celebrated leader PKR leaves the ruling party in a political crisis and shakes up the family. The party has to elect a leader, and more than one player is in contention. Everyone’s intentions are blurred, and loyalties are in question. Brahma is a game changer in this squabble. Who will succeed as the leader and become the CM?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
An Actor's Revenge (1963)
In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBhola Shankar (2023)
A reformed gangster now taxi driver unwittingly draws the vengeance of a crime syndicate after aiding the police in busting a smuggling operation. Fueled by a burning desire for justice and to protect his adopted sister, he embarks on a relentless quest to hunt down the mobsters responsible.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Unholy Three (1930)
A trio of former sideshow performers double as the "Unholy Three" in a scam to nab some shiny rocks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Dawn of Judo and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dawn of Judo?
The closest matches to Dawn of Judo are Sanshiro Sugata (1943), Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dawn of Judo?
Start with Sanshiro Sugata (1943), the closest match to Dawn of Judo.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dawn of Judo?
Samurai Rebellion (1967), rated 8.2/10 by 283 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dawn of Judo?
Minotaur (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Dawn of Judo?
Yes: Sanshiro Sugata (1943), Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945) and Samurai Rebellion (1967).
How are movies similar to Dawn of Judo chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dawn of Judo, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.