Best movies like By the Sword
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A mysterious man, Suba, gets himself a job at a fencing academy, and as he learns the way of the students, the school, and its maestro, they learn that there's more to him than meets the eye. He gains (or regains?) his fencing skills and his philosophy of teaching clashes with the maestro's. As they are thrown into conflict, Suba and the maestro's past appear to be linked. And the resolution of their mysterious relationship may be a duel to the death.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: suspense, cult classic, sincere, rough, serious, realistic, independent film, cult film
Best tv shows and movies like By the Sword (1991):
Similar in 84%
Ring of Steel (1994)
Plot Summary:
A champion fencer accidentally kills an opponent in a match. Disgraced, he is blackballed from the fencing community, until a mysterious stranger saves his life one night from a gang of muggers. He soon finds himself caught up in the world of underground illegal swordfights, where combatants fight to the death.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 310
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: erotic, action adventure, neo noir, independent film
Similar in 80%
On The Edge (2020)
Plot Summary:
The film's two main protagonists are Russia's best saber fencers. One of them has long been in the limelight, the other only recently made it into the national team and has been winning almost every tournament since. The two athletes begin to fight for supremacy both on and off the arena.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 417
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: Russia
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: motivational, uplifting, serious, captivating, realistic, exciting
Similar in 89%
Unrivaled (2010)
Plot Summary:
On these streets everyone is fighting for a way out, but after a lifetime of hard knocks, a down-on-his-luck cage fighter gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is chosen to compete against the MMA world champion during a massive competition. The stakes are high and the reward great...but should he lose, it will cost him his life.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 906
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, uplifting, serious, erotic, realistic
Similar in 88%
Bloodfist (1989)
Plot Summary:
To avenge the brutal murder of his brother, Jake Ray journeys to the Philippines, where his search for truth finds him battling both in and out of the ring. But the weapons are always the same: bare fists, bare feet. And the rules never change: last man standing wins.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Sport
Country: USA, Philippines
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, cult classic, rough, fast, independent film, cult film
Similar in 86%
The Circuit (2002)
Plot Summary:
Years ago, Dirk Longstreet walked away from The Circuit, the merciless underground fight club with no rules, where money changes hands as men are killed. But now gangsters have got his brother, and only one more journey inside the ring will save his life.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 378
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Penitentiary II (1982)
Plot Summary:
An ex-con, on parole and trying to straighten his life out, decides to resume his boxing career when one of his prison enemies escapes and kills his girlfriend.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 763
Genere: Crime, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
The Philly Kid (2012)
Plot Summary:
A former NCAA champion wrestler is paroled after 10 years in prison. Now, to save a friend's life, in a series of cage fights he must agree to do the impossible - lose.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, rough, serious, realistic, dark, indie film, interesting
Similar in 85%
Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991)
Plot Summary:
In this rousing sequel to Kickboxer, Tong Po broods about his defeat at the hands of Kurt Sloan. Po and his managers resort to drastic measures to goad Kurt into the ring for a rematch.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, feel good, independent film, realistic, exciting, road movie, thought provoking, humorous, bloody
Similar in 90%
Ring of Fire (1991)
Plot Summary:
The main character, Johnny Woo, is a Chinese doctor who has given up fighting in the ring. His brother is a teacher in a kick-boxing club. Johnny Woo fall in love with Julie, whose brother is a teacher in a rival kick-boxing club. Tension builds up.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 884
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, cult film
Similar in 80%
Chavez Cage of Glory (2013)
Plot Summary:
Barely being able to make ends meet and doing everything he can possibly do to cover his ill son's growing medical bills, Hector Chavez turns to his fighting roots in the underbelly of LA. His amateur Mixed Martial Arts videos go viral grabbing the attention of the world's top MMA federation. Hector is then given a dream come true opportunity to go up against the MMA World Champion; a vicious fighter whose last opponent is in critical condition in the same hospital as his son. Hector is faced with a real do-or -die situation and must risk it all so his son can have the surgery he needs to survive.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 230
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspense
Similar in 84%
Ring of Fire II: Blood and Steel (1993)
Plot Summary:
Johnny Woo and Julie play an enduring couple who survive all sorts of interference from rival kick-box gangs in their effort to put a little romance in their lives.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 649
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, serious, realistic, cult film
Similar in 81%
The King of the Kickboxers (1990)
Plot Summary:
Kahn is a heavy weight kick-box champion, who often kills his opponents in front of the running camera, to sell it on video tape. Jake had to witness once how his brother was killed by him, and now has come for revenge. But first he has to improve his fighting skills; he asks Phang, the only person in the whole world who ever had Khan down on his back, to train him until he is a match for him.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Sport
Country: Hong Kong, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, serious, independent film
Similar in 87%
The Secret Mark of D'Artagnan (1962)
Plot Summary:
D' Artagnan and Porthos received the order of Richelieu, which protrudes as a powerful figure of the French church, a plot against the King of France Louis XIII. uncover. Disguised as a monk enters D' Artagnan the Church, in which the conspirators act. D' Artagnan, however, exposee and can only escape with the help of Porthos . Meanwhile the Duke of Montresant tried to force his ward to overwrite all their possessions to him, so that he can support the Flemish troops. The Duchess refused and is sent with her maid to Brescon. D' Artagnan and Porthos decide to follow the women….
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 91
Genere: Adventure
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
Swordsman of Siena (1962)
Plot Summary:
A 16th-century Spanish overlord hires Thomas Stanswood (Stuart Granger) to protect his, less than eager, fiancee (Sylva Koscina) from rebels. Thomas finds himself drawn to both the fiancee and the rebels side.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 343
Genere: Adventure, Romance
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
The King Maker (2005)
Plot Summary:
1547 Fernando De Gama, a young "Soldier of Fortune" from Portugal, set sail for the ient in an effort to find a man who murdered his father and, with luck, like many of their compatriots, to make his fortune. A vicious storm in the Indian Ocean almost ended his plans when he was on the ship sank. The sole survivor, he was washed up on a tropical beach only to be captured by Arab slavers and taken to Ayutthaya in the kingdom of Siam, where he was offered for sale as a slave.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 739
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: Thailand
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: epic, realistic, rough, serious, surprise ending
Similar in 86%
Best of the Best II (1993)
Plot Summary:
In an underground fight club, blackbelt Travis Brickley is killed after losing to the evil martial arts master Brakus. Travis' death is witnessed by Walter Grady, the son of his best friend Alex Grady. Alex and his partner, Tommy Lee, vow to avenge their friend's death by defeating Brakus and shutting down the fight club.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: serious, suspense, independent film, rough, realistic, suspenseful, fast, clever, brutal, unusual plot structure
Similar in 87%
Tapped Out (2014)
Plot Summary:
A disgruntled teenager, sent to do community service at a rundown Karate school, enters an MMA tournament to face the man who killed his parents.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: Canada
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, realistic, rough
Similar in 88%
A Fighting Man (2014)
Plot Summary:
Two men meet in the ring for a fight that will change their lives.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: Canada
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspense, disturbing, exciting, sincere, touching
Similar in 85%
Undefeated (2003)
Plot Summary:
Lex 'El Animal' Vargas is a promising Portorican boxer in Queens, but lacks ambition to aim for the big career. That changes after his brother Paulie is accidentally shot dead by a teenager in an amateur hold-up on their late dad's shop, which he now closes to turn professional boxer. His star rises fast, but success brings its own problems, as he he lacks experience to handle professionals and resist the abuse they and his ghetto past entourage make of his generous nature.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 801
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, suspense
Similar in 83%
Best of the Best (1989)
Plot Summary:
A team from the United States is going to compete against Korea in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. The team consists of fighters from all over the country--can they overcome their rivalry and work together to win?.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: inspirational, emotional, exciting, serious, suspenseful, realistic, cult classic, independent film, feel good, unusual plot structure
Similar in 88%
Price of Glory (2000)
Plot Summary:
An ex-boxer, living with the knowledge that his fight career was cut short by a crooked manager, channels his bitter disappointment in a single-minded quest for boxing championships for his three sons. We see them in pee-wee Silver Glove matches with dad constantly pushing them. Ten years later, they're young men, with dad as both father and manager. A professional promoter, Nick Everson, wants to sign the boys, but dad rejects those offers. Then, in expressions of their varied relationships with their father, each son makes his own decisions. Can dad ever step aside, and can the family hold together?.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 899
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: sincere, realistic, serious, tense
Similar in 82%
The Opponent (2000)
Plot Summary:
Patty Sullivan (Erica Eleniak) is a battered woman who decides to take charge of her life by taking boxing lessons to better protect herself when her boyfriend becomes violent. Patty soon learns she has some talent for boxing and sets her sights on competing in a professional fight. More is on the line than just the woman's title.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 253
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, serious, independent film, realistic, uplifting
Similar in 82%
Girlfight (2000)
Plot Summary:
Diana Guzman begins to train as a boxer and achieves impressive success, blazing new trails for female boxers, all while keeping it a secret from her father.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: uplifting, independent film, captivating, touching, realistic, serious, cult classic, rough, gloomy, sincere
Similar in 80%
Color of Justice (1997)
Plot Summary:
Four young black men kill a white woman, the D.A. is very cautious in how to proceed.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 228
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
Boyka: Undisputed IV (2016)
Plot Summary:
In the fourth installment of the fighting franchise, Boyka is shooting for the big leagues when an accidental death in the ring makes him question everything he stands for. When he finds out the wife of the man he accidentally killed is in trouble, Boyka offers to fight in a series of impossible battles to free her from a life of servitude.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: Bulgaria, USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, realistic, suspenseful, serious, disturbing, cult classic
Similar in 90%
On Guard (1997)
Plot Summary:
The Comte de Gonzague schemes against his cousin, the Duc de Nevers, even though he is the Duke's heir and will inherit his estates. The Count has kept secret the existence of the Duke's bastard, recently born. When the Duke learns of his child, he journeys to wed the mother, a baron's daughter, in her father's isolated chateau. The occupants of the castle are surprised and murdered by the Count and his men. The only ones to escape are the Duke's friend, the skilled swordsman Lagardère, and the infant, a girl, now the rightful heiress to the Duke's vast fortune. The Count believes the pair to have drowned, when in fact they have been concealed by a travelling troupe of Italian players. Twenty years pass. The Count has discovered that the two survive and seeks to have them slain. But Lagardère gains the confidence of the Count, and employment as his bookkeeper, through his clever disguise as a hunch-back.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Drama
Country: France, Italy, Germany
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: funny, mesmerizing, exciting, epic, serious, realistic, stylized, baroque, period drama
Similar in 90%
Amazons and Gladiators (2001)
Plot Summary:
During the Roman Empire, General Crassius ruled a small province with an Iron fist. Serena, a young girl in a village, watches Crassius kill her parents. Crassius and Serena's destiny would lead them to the Gladiator ring; the Amazons Warrior vs the Roman General.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Action, Adventure
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, exciting, tense, realistic, independent film
Similar in 90%
Blood and Bone (2009)
Plot Summary:
In Los Angeles, an ex-con (White) takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: exciting, inspirational, brutal, harsh, rough, suspenseful, serious, intense, motivational, hood
Similar in 90%
Wake of Death (2004)
Plot Summary:
Action superstar, Jean-Claude Van Damme (Universal Soldier, Street Fighter), is back and at his hard-hitting best as Ben Archer, an ex-mob enforcer seeking revenge against a ruthless Chinese kingpin responsible for his wife's brutal murder. When Archer joins forces with his old underworld friends, an all-out war is waged against the Chinese Triad in this pulse-pounding action thriller.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, France, South Africa, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, rough, action adventure, erotic, crime drama, cult classic, action packed, realistic
Similar in 76%
Rocky V (1990)
Plot Summary:
A lifetime of taking shots has ended Rocky's career, and a crooked accountant has left him broke. Inspired by the memory of his trainer, however, Rocky finds glory in training and takes on an up-and-coming boxer.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 148000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: inspirational, serious, realistic, action packed, saga, action adventure, suspense, cult classic, sincere, feel good