Movies like The Age of Beginnings (1947)
The best movies like The Age of Beginnings (1947) are House of Bamboo (1955), Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011) and Gate of Flesh (1988). If The Age of Beginnings hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStray Dog (1949)7.6/10 from 385 votes
- NewestDDT Judgement 2026 ~29th Anniversary Celebration 5-Hour Special~ (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseGantz: Perfect Answer (2011)Also in Japanese
House of Bamboo (1955)
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGantz: Perfect Answer (2011)
Summoned by the black sphere, Kei and Masaru fight against extraterrestrials until Masaru grows tired of fighting and refuses to continue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGate of Flesh (1988)
Prostitutes in burnt out Tokyo ghetto of post-WWII Japan peddle their flesh and save one-third of their money for a proposed dancehall to be named Paradise. The hookers live in a bombed-out building, but they accept the precarious situation with typical resolve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outsider (2018)
A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTokyo Family (2013)
An elderly couple journey to Tokyo to visit their grown children, only to find them preoccupied and self-involved.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCafé Lumière (2004)
In a distinctly contemporary Tokyo that looks backwards to the city’s disappearing past, Yoko is a writer investigating the life of a modernist composer of the 1930s. She is pregnant by a man she does not want to marry and has found a kindred spirit in a used bookstore owner who aids her research.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisSwallowtail Butterfly (1996)
The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Two broke sweethearts wander war-scarred Tokyo on a single Sunday, stretching 35 yen as they chase housing, small pleasures, and a little hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo! (2008)
Three distinct tales unfold in the bustling city of Tokyo. Merde, a bizarre sewer-dweller, emerges from a manhole and begins terrorizing pedestrians. After his arrest, he stands trial and lashes out at a hostile courtroom. A man who has resigned himself to a life of solitude reconsiders after meeting a charming pizza delivery woman. And finally, a happy young couple find themselves undergoing a series of frightening metamorphoses.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStreet of Shame (1956)
Follows five prostitutes employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation debates the passage of an anti-prostitution law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Worth the HypeMovies 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisCruel Story of Youth (1960)
A harsh young man seduces a freeloading young woman and eventually takes advantage of her knack for hitchhiking to rob middle-class men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEarthquake Bird (2019)
Tokyo, Japan, 1989. Lucy Fly, a foreigner who works as a translator, begins a passionate relationship with Teiji, a mysterious man obsessed with photography.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies 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
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlways - Sunset on Third Street (2005)
In 1958 postwar Tokyo, the residents of a humble Third Street neighbourhood struggle, dream, and grow together as rapid modernisation transforms their lives beneath the shadow of the newly rising Tokyo Tower.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarigold New Years Golden Garden 2026 ~ Day 4: Mayu Iwatani's 15th Anniversary ~ICON Forever~ (2026)
Marigold New Years Golden Garden 2026 ~ Day 4: Mayu Iwatani's 15th Anniversary ~ICON Forever~ was a professional wrestling event promoted by Dream Star★Fighting Marigold, commemorating the 15th anniversary of Mayu Iwatani's pro-wrestling debut in 2011. It took place on January 24, 2026 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and was main evented by Iwatani defending her newly won GHC Women's Championship against Utami Hayashishita.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Tokyo Cowboy (2024)
Brash businessman Hideki (Arata Iura) convinces his Tokyo bosses he can turn a profitless Montana cattle ranch into a premiere-performing asset. However, when his Japanese Wagyu-beef expert fails him, Hideki is poised to fail unless he identifies a missing element that's key to the transformation: himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Grudge (2004)
An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Grudge 2 (2006)
A young woman encounters a malevolent supernatural force while searching for her missing sister in Tokyo, a mean high school prank goes horribly wrong, and strange things begin happening in a Chicago apartment building.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisMarigold New Years Golden Garden 2026 ~ Day 12 (2026)
Marigold New Years Golden Garden 2026 ~ Day 12 was a professional wrestling event promoted by Dream Star★Fighting Marigold. It took place on February 23, 2026 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan and served as the final show of the tour.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Tokyo Phoenix (2017)
In 150 years, twice marked by total destruction —a terrible earthquake in 1923 and incendiary bombings in 1945— followed by a spectacular rebirth, Tokyo, the old city of Edo, has become the largest and most futuristic capital in the world in a transformation process fueled by the exceptional resilience of its inhabitants, and nourished by a unique phenomenon of cultural hybridization.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Marigold Fantastic Adventure 2024 ~ Day 7 (2024)
Marigold Fantastic Adventure 2024 ~ Day 7 was a professional wrestling event promoted by Dream Star★Fighting Marigold. It took place on October 24, 2024 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and was main evented by Sareee defending the Marigold World Championship against Bozilla.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Among Four of Us (2021)
Three people from a former theater club get back in touch for the first time in 20 years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of them have led completely different lives, but an absent woman continues to cast a shadow over them. This story takes place over one night, and explores the themes of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and connections between people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
DDT Judgement 2026 ~29th Anniversary Celebration 5-Hour Special~ (2026)
Judgement 2026 ~29th Anniversary Celebration 5-Hour Special~ was a professional wrestling event promoted by DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). The show took place on March 22, 2026, at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and was headlined by Yuki Ueno (c) vs. KANON for the KO-D Openweight Championship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Death Note (2006)
Light Yagami finds the "Death Note," a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to create a Utopia by killing the world's criminals, and soon the world's greatest detective, "L," is hired to find the mysterious murderer. An all out battle between the two greatest minds on earth begins and the winner will control the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The Age of Beginnings and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Age of Beginnings?
The closest matches to The Age of Beginnings are House of Bamboo (1955), Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011) and Gate of Flesh (1988). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Age of Beginnings?
Start with House of Bamboo (1955), the closest match to The Age of Beginnings.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Age of Beginnings?
Stray Dog (1949), rated 7.6/10 by 385 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Age of Beginnings?
DDT Judgement 2026 ~29th Anniversary Celebration 5-Hour Special~ (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Age of Beginnings?
Yes: Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011), Gate of Flesh (1988) and Tokyo Family (2013).
How are movies similar to The Age of Beginnings chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Age of Beginnings, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.