Movies like Pleasures of the Flesh (1965)
The best movies like Pleasures of the Flesh (1965) are The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Sex and Fury (1973) and Gate of Flesh (1964). If Pleasures of the Flesh hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Bad Sleep Well (1960)7.7/10 from 304 votes
- NewestHeist 88 (2023)Released 2023
- In JapaneseThe Bad Sleep Well (1960)Also in Japanese
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSex and Fury (1973)
Sex & Fury chronicles Ocho's exploits as she searches for her father's killers, each identified by unique tattoos on their backs (a deer, a boar, and a butterfly). Along the way, she also crosses paths with Shunosuke, a radical set on murdering prominent politician Kurokawa, and Christina, an American spy posing as a gambler.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGate of Flesh (1964)
In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPigs and Battleships (1961)
In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYouth of the Beast (1963)
When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo's underworld explodes with violence.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath by Hanging (1968)
A Korean man is sentenced to death in Japan but somehow survives his execution, sending the authorities into a panic about what to do next.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Castle of Sand (1974)
Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBoy (1969)
A family of four lives off of scams in which they pretend to be injured by automobiles.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGo, Go Second Time Virgin (1969)
Go, Go, Second Time Virgin is the story of two damned and abused teenagers who meet and fall in mutant love on a Tokyo rooftop. Their only hope is to cement their love with an escape into oblivion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEros + Massacre (1969)
Two interwoven stories. The first is a biography of anarchist Sakae Osugi which follows his relationship with three women in the 1920s. The second centers around two 1960s students researching Osugi's theories.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Pornographers (1966)
A former Buddhist monk turned erotic filmmaker, Subuyan lives with hairdresser Haru and her two teenage children. Shooting two skin flicks per day, he somehow manages to stay out of the clutches of the yakuza, but real trouble starts when Haru discovers him lusting after her daughter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiddle Men (2009)
Chronicles Jack Harris, one of the pioneers of internet commerce, as he wrestles with his morals and struggles not to drown in a sea of conmen, mobsters, drug addicts, and pornstars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmall Apartments (2012)
When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBreaking News in Yuba County (2021)
An overlooked pencil-pusher catches her husband in bed with another woman, the shock of which causes him to die of a heart attack. So she buries his body and takes advantage of the growing celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband. But she quickly finds herself in over her head, dodging cops and criminals, all while trying to keep the truth from her sister, a local news anchor who’s desperate for a story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Killing (1956)
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJohnny Dangerously (1984)
An honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPitfall (1948)
An insurance man wishing for a more exciting life becomes wrapped up in the affairs of an imprisoned embezzler, his model girlfriend, and a violent private investigator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSharky's Machine (1981)
Police officer Tom Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Sharky's new 'machine' gathers evidence while Sharky falls in love with a woman he has never met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCollision (2022)
Over the course of one fateful day, a corrupt businessman and his socialite wife race to save their daughter from a notorious crime lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Laundromat (2019)
When a widow gets swindled out of insurance money, her search for answers leads to two cunning lawyers in Panama who hide cash for the superrich.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this68 Kill (2017)
Chip's problem is that he can't say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisWanda (1970)
After a string of abusive relationships, Wanda abandons her family and seeks solace in the company of a petty criminal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBound (1996)
Corky, a tough female ex-convict working on an apartment renovation in a Chicago building, meets a couple living next door, Caesar, a paranoid mobster, and Violet, his seductive girlfriend, who is immediately attracted to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMad Money (2008)
Three female employees of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this$ (1971)
A bank security expert plots with a call girl to rob the safety deposit boxes of three very different criminals from a high-tech bank in Hamburg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeist 88 (2023)
A criminal mastermind recruits a group of young bank employees to steal 80 million dollars in one of the largest bank heist in US history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisÒlòtūré (2019)
In Lagos, Nigeria, young, naive Nigerian journalist Òlòtūré goes undercover to expose the shady underworld of human trafficking. Unused to this brutal environment, crawling with ruthless traders and pimps, Òlòtūré finds warmth and friendship with Blessing, Linda and Beauty, the prostitutes she lives with. However, she gets drawn into their lifestyle and finds it difficult to cope. In her quest to uncover the truth, she pays the ultimate price - one that takes her to the verge of no return.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Betrayed (2008)
Kidnappers force a young mother to recover money stolen by her shady husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Grissom Gang (1971)
Violent crime caper set in 1930s Kansas in which a gang kidnap an heiress and attempt to recover a ransom. However, the scheme is jeopardised when the leader falls in love with their beautiful captive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pleasures of the Flesh?
The closest matches to Pleasures of the Flesh are The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Sex and Fury (1973) and Gate of Flesh (1964). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pleasures of the Flesh?
People who watched Pleasures of the Flesh most often go on to The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Sex and Fury (1973) and Gate of Flesh (1964).
What is the highest-rated movie like Pleasures of the Flesh?
The Bad Sleep Well (1960), rated 7.7/10 by 304 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pleasures of the Flesh?
Heist 88 (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Pleasures of the Flesh?
Yes: The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Sex and Fury (1973) and Gate of Flesh (1964).
How are movies similar to Pleasures of the Flesh chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pleasures of the Flesh, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.