Movies like Blind Monk Swordsman (1964)
The best movies like Blind Monk Swordsman (1964) are Tokyo Drifter (1966), Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020) and Graveyard of Honor (1975). If Blind Monk Swordsman hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFireworks (1997)7.7/10 from 826 votes
- NewestHell Dogs (2022)Released 2022
- In JapaneseTokyo Drifter (1966)Also in Japanese
Tokyo Drifter (1966)
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAltered Carbon: Resleeved (2020)
On the planet Latimer, Takeshi Kovacs must protect a tattooist while investigating the death of a yakuza boss alongside a no-nonsense CTAC.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGraveyard of Honor (1975)
A self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the yakuza but quickly loses his self-control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Yakuza (1974)
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally (1989)
Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDarc (2018)
To bring down a global human trafficking ring, an Interpol agent recruits the help of a brutal criminal with inside knowledge of the yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are -- an accomplished Chinese martial artist named Wang Kang and his youthful attendant -- Zatoichi finds them and discovers that the pair's mixed up with a dangerous bunch of terrorist samurai who murdered the boy's parents. Now, Zatoichi must step in to save the day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Family (2021)
Taken in by the yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdrift in Tokyo (2007)
A thug offers to pay a law student's gambling debt if the student will accompany him on a trip across Tokyo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964)
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman returning home with her baby. When gangsters mistake her for Zatoichi and kill her, Zatoichi determines to escort the baby to its father. He gains the reluctant help of a young pick pocket and together they travel to find the baby's father. But they do not reckon on the father's reaction to their arrival, nor on their own growing feelings for the child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisICHI (2008)
Ichi is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell Dogs (2022)
Bent on revenge, a traumatized ex-police officer must infiltrate a yakuza organization by befriending one of the group's most unhinged members.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnder the Open Sky (2021)
Mikami, an ex-yakuza of middle age with most of his life in prison, gets released after serving 13 years of sentence for murder. Hoping to find his long lost mother, from whom he was separated as a child, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director Tsunoda. Meanwhile, he struggles to get a proper job and fit into society. His impulsive, adamant nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction in his relationship with Tsunoda and those who want to help him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBranded to Kill (1967)
After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972)
Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza in order to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrying Freeman (1995)
A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond Outrage (2012)
As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now become a nationwide war in Outrage Beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Angle (1979)
Elite college graduates commit perfect financial crimes though loopholes in the law during the 1950s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Yakuza and Constitution (2016)
Since the enactment of the Anti-Boryokudan Act and Yakuza exclusion ordinances, the number of Yakuza members reduced to less than 60,000. In the past 3 years, about 20,000 members have left from Yakuza organizations. However, just numbers can’t tell you the reality. What are they thinking, how are they living now? The camera zooms in on the Yakuza world. Are there basic human rights for them?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Ambition Without Honor 2 (1997)
Tetsuya, a young yakuza, returns to his family after his adoptive father is wounded in an attack from a rival gang. In his battle against dishonorable enemies and corrupt yakuza politics, he makes an unlikely ally in a rebel cop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Brother (2000)
A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVersus (2000)
A group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, in The Forest of Resurrection, the 444th portal to the other side. Their troubles start when those once killed and buried in the forest come back from the dead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFireworks (1997)
Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With those close to him suffering their own tribulations, Nishi's methods become increasingly extreme.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWolves of the Night (1958)
A unique action drama in which a ruthless yakuza encounters a woman and realizes his true love as the conflict between the yakuza intensifies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Master Swordsman Hirate Miki - Duel in Tone (1997)
Zoushu Hirate was the acting master of Chibashusaku Dojo in the Hokushinitto style. His wife was dead and had drunk a lot every day. For the sake of money for alcohol, he chased Kanji Amakasa who killed an office worker of Daikansho. While, Kanji hid in the house of Shigekura Sasagawa in a town along the Tone River. Sasagawa family was looking for a good swordsman for the coming fight with the Iioka family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Overkill (1987)
A Tokyo cop is sent to Los Angeles to help an LAPD detective break up a yakuza ring operating in the city.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Blind Monk Swordsman?
The closest matches to Blind Monk Swordsman are Tokyo Drifter (1966), Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020) and Graveyard of Honor (1975). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Blind Monk Swordsman?
Start with Tokyo Drifter (1966), the closest match to Blind Monk Swordsman.
What is the highest-rated movie like Blind Monk Swordsman?
Fireworks (1997), rated 7.7/10 by 826 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Blind Monk Swordsman?
Hell Dogs (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Blind Monk Swordsman?
Yes: Tokyo Drifter (1966), Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020) and Graveyard of Honor (1975).
How are movies similar to Blind Monk Swordsman chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Blind Monk Swordsman, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.