Best movies like The Shogun Assassins
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
This is a film about a real person. Sanada Yukimura fought a war against Tokugawa Ieyeasu. In the beginning the film shows Yukimura fighting to defend the Osaka Castle. He used very unconventional methods, wich were not approved by the other defenders. When the Osaka campaign was lost, Sanada is shown dedicating all his efforts to assassinate the shogun Ieyeasu. There are several attempts one more interesting than the other. There is also magic ( Ninja employed by Sanada). There is a lot of first class action.The film is bound to interest all viewers that like "Samurai" films.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 161
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: jidai geki
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Punk Samurai Slash Down (2018)
Plot Summary:
Junoshin Kake is a ronin. To get hired by the Kurokaze Han, he lies and tells them that a religious group is trying to destroy them. He gets hired by the Kurokaze Han, but they learn that Junoshin Kake lied. Junoshin Kake is given the death sentence and he must think of an escape plan.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 219
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags:
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Sleepy Eyes of Death 9: Trail of Traps (1967)
Plot Summary:
The Son of the Black Mass returns in this ninth installment in Daiei's longstanding Nemuri Kyoshiro series. This time Raizo Ichikawa as Nemuri is called to see that a gold statuette of the Virgin Mary gets safe passage to Kyoto from the prying hands of a sect of murderous Christian ronin that call themselves the Black Finger Group.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 140
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags:
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The Conspirator (1961)
Plot Summary:
Young lord Saburo Nobuyasu struggles to find comfort in life. His arranged marriage to Tokuhime, daughter of one-time family enemy Oda Nobunaga, provides little happiness. His manipulative mother adds further complications through her constant interference and attempts at defeating the Nobunaga family.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 60
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags:
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Shogun's Shadow (1989)
Plot Summary:
Iemitsu, Tokugawa Shogun III, hates his eldest son Takechiyo; all his love is given to his younger son Tokumatsu. One day, he orders Takechiyo to an initiation rite in Yedo (today's Tokio). Takechiyo lives far away under the surveillance of Hotta Masamori, head of the Skura clan, where he was also raised. Hotta does suspect some kind of treachery, but he can not ignore the direct command of the Shogun. Therefore, he starts on his travel with Takechiyo and seven accompanying samurais. A large army under the command of Iba Shoemon, a vassal of the Shogun, attacks their night camp in the vicinity of a copper mine. Hotta dies in this first battle, but Takechiyo and the samurai manage to escape. They are chased by the army, and several skirmishes between the small force and the larger army follow.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 670
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags:
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Shinobi 4: A Way Out (2003)
Plot Summary:
The country of Iga is deep in the throws of war. With smaller villages falling one by one, the largest families are in position to vie for their share of the power. Sankai of Minamiyama has his sinister eyes fixed – not only on total control of the area, but on Kagerou as well. After fleeing the village of Shiroyama, Kagerou and Aoi have been relentlessly hunted. And now, with the civil war in full flux, and Aoi in enemy hands, it is time for one last attempt to escape the clutches of the deadly Shinobi hierarchy – or die trying. They are all alone. They can trust no one. They must find a way out.
IMDB Rating:
IMDB Votes:
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
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Sleepy Eyes of Death 2: Sword of Adventure (1964)
Plot Summary:
Wandering samurai Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) finds a bulls-eye on his back after befriending the shogunate's tightfisted financial adviser, Asahina, who's earned the wrath of the shogun's self-indulgent daughter for cutting off her allowance. The enraged princess promptly hatches a scheme to have Asahina bumped off -- along with his protector, Kyoshiro. Shiho Fujimura also stars in this installment of the enormously popular film series.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 285
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags:
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The Clutch of Power (1977)
Plot Summary:
A rogue swordsman known as "Soul of the Sword" kills the father of a young Kung Fu expert, who teams up with a Drunken Monk to put an end to Soul of the Sword’s reign of terror, and thwart the Mongol invasion.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 51
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Taiwan, Hong Kong
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags:
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Ninja 6: The Last Iga Spy (1965)
Plot Summary:
[Period covered: 1637-1651] This is one of the most complicated plots of any of the Shinobi no Mono films! This film tells the story of Saizo’s son, Kirigakure Saisuke, who after seeing his father die at the Battle Of Shimabara, grows up to be an expert ninja. Before he dies, “Mist” Saizo tells his children Saisuke, and Yuri that they are not really brother and sister. She, in fact, is the daughter of the late lord Sanada Yukimura, and must be saved from the shogun’s forces. In the chess match of spy versus spy, can Saisuke defeat the shogun’s chief strategist, Matsudaira Izunokami at his own game? Showing many exciting ninja tactics, it is not to be missed.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 129
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags:
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Ninja 4: Siege (1964)
Plot Summary:
[Period covered: 1614-1615] 4th film in the shinobi no mono series Tokugawa Ieyasu is now the ruler of all Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete -- the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now beseiged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu's ninja are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo (Ichikawa) and the other Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle in the dark!.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 230
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
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Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)
Plot Summary:
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another young woman who is trying to help her brother, who has murdered someone at about the same time and place as the missing man was last seen.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
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The Sword of Doom (1966)
Plot Summary:
Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopathic samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: black and white, cerebral, visual, tense, bleak, stylized, jidai geki, rough, epic, serious
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Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Fire (1965)
Plot Summary:
Fifth film in the series. When Kyoshiro, in a moment of weakness, saves the life of a woman being attacked on the road, he quickly finds himself entangled in a conspiracy involving a corrupt chamberlain, a wily merchant, the survivors of a pirate gang, and a missing treasure trove.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 182
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, period drama
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Samurai Spy (1965)
Plot Summary:
Years of warfare end in a Japan unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, and samurai spy Sasuke Sarutobi, tired of conflict, longs for peace. When a high-ranking spy named Tatewaki Koriyama defects from the shogun to a rival clan, however, the world of swordsmen is thrown into turmoil. After Sasuke is unwittingly drawn into the conflict, he tracks Tatewaki, while a mysterious, white-hooded figure seems to hunt them both. By tale’s end, no one is who they seemed to be, and the truth is far more personal than anyone suspected. Director Masahiro Shinoda’s Samurai Spy, filled with clan intrigue, ninja spies, and multiple double crosses, marks a bold stylistic departure from swordplay film convention.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
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The Yakuza Papers, Vol. 3: Proxy War (1973)
Plot Summary:
The film is set in 1960, fifteen years after the end of the end of World War II. Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara), the protagonist of the first film in the series, has managed to separate from the Yamamori family, create his own small family, and extend his circle of acquaintances. These new friendships include a powerful underboss of the Muraoka family, Noboru Uchimoto.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags:
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The Dry Blade (2012)
Plot Summary:
In 1873, Emperor Meiji abolished the rights of the samurai in favor of a modern, westernized military. With intentions to launch a bloody crusade against the government, warrior Endo Tadaoki (Henry Lee) gathers his remaining men to prepare for one last honorable battle against the emperor and regain the supremacy of the samurai. As fellow warrior Kido Masahide (Vint Carmona) refuses to join the war, he and his wife are brutally murdered at the hands of Endo's blade before being robbed of their family swords. When Kido's only son (Michael Nosé) is also pressured to join Endo's forces, he instead chooses a fatal confrontation with his parents' assailant. Suffering from a rare medical condition that renders his skin allergic to water, Ken embarks on his quest to find a sword and avenge his family's death.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 20
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: captivating
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Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
Plot Summary:
Zatoichi is sworn to protect the life of a young girl and without any real allies finds himself in the middle of a bloody turf war.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: cult classic, serious, saga, cult film
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Incident at Blood Island (1970)
Plot Summary:
In the Edo period, a nameless ronin accepts an assignment to go to a mountain pass and wait. Near the pass he stops at an inn where a collection of characters gather, including a gang set on stealing shogunate gold that's soon to come over the pass. When the Ronin's assignment becomes clear, to help the gang, he's ordered to kill the inn's residents, including a woman he's rescued from an abusive husband. He's reluctant to murder innocent people; then he learns that the gold shipment is a trap and he's part of a double cross. How he sorts through these divided loyalties tests of his samurai honor, and perhaps of his love for a woman.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 889
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, jidai geki
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Fight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: rough, captivating, emotional, suspenseful, exciting, serious, realistic, cult classic, stylized, cult film
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New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, period drama, cult film
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The Shogun's Samurai (1978)
Plot Summary:
Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his respect. Iemitsu and his brother Tadanaga become bitter rivals for the shogunate, and the land is split into factions, eventually erupting into warfare. Iemitsu's mentor, his fencing instructor Yagyu, is fixated upon securing Iemitsu the shogunate and ends up betraying everyone, even his own family, in pursuit of the goal.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: perverse, epic, exciting, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, stylized
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Ninja, a Band of Assassins (1962)
Plot Summary:
[Period covered: 1575-1681] Fist film in the Shinobi series starring Raizo Ichikawa. Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan, a young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu is manipulated by a ninja master into attempting to assassinate the warlord before he completes his task.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 928
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, jidai geki, period drama
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Hunter in the Dark (1979)
Plot Summary:
Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 559
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, jidai geki
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Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973)
Plot Summary:
In the fifth film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto is challenged by five warriors, each has one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assassination.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: visual, exciting, atmospheric, rough, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
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Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (1989)
Plot Summary:
This 26th film installment of the Zatoichi series sees Shintaro Katsu return to this classic role after a 10 year hiatus. The blind masseur Ichi gets caught between rival Yakuza clans.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, tense, atmospheric, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
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Shogun's Ninja (1980)
Plot Summary:
In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the clan's hidden gold only to find that two daggers are the key to the hiding place of the treasured gold. Spanning decades, the quest for the missing daggers takes Shiranui through war and ancient tradition.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 759
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: jidai geki, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
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Goemon (2009)
Plot Summary:
Follow the infamous ninja bandit named Ishikawa Goemon (Yosuke Eguchi) in an epic story. One night while looting treasure from Nanban (Southern Barbarians), Goemon finds a mysterious box hidden inside a secret grave. A forgotten relic from the past containing untold powers.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: exciting, epic, captivating, anime, tense, suspense, action thriller, visually stunning, serious, stylized
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Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972)
Plot Summary:
In the third film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: bloody, talky, stylized, manga, exciting, rough, clever, serious, captivating, realistic
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Azumi 2: Death or Love (2005)
Plot Summary:
Young assassins Azumi and Nagara continue their mission to prevent a civil war. In their hunt for Masayuki Sanada, who is protected by both an army and a dangerous clan, they meet Ginkaku, a person who shows a remarking resemblance with former friend Nachi.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, stylized, perverse, exciting, rough
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Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)
Plot Summary:
In the second film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must assassinate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: bloody, grindhouse, atmospheric, stylized, splatter, manga, perverse, exciting, rough, serious
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Kamui (2009)
Plot Summary:
KAMUI is a Ninja on the run from the world of Ninja bound by rules in search of true freedom. However, he is burdened with the fate, where it is not allowed to take the secret of their powers outside of the tribe -- if you are born as Ninja, you must die as Ninja. This brings him to constantly fight for his life against other Ninjas who trie to kill him and hide the secrets within. He does not trust, and he does not love. Showing weakness leads to immediate death. An incident brings him to an old fisherman's village, where he finally starts to feel trust and affection towards other people. However, his pursuers where just minutes away from setting up a huge trap on Kamui.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, epic, stylized, anime, serious, realistic, fast, action adventure