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Drunken Angel poster

Movies that feel likeDrunken Angel (1948)

In postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward the swampy underworld he can’t escape.

If you loved Drunken Angel, the closest films we have are Hamlet (1948), Sansho the Bailiff (1954) and Germany, Year Zero (1948). All three share Drunken Angel's contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is An Autumn Afternoon (1962).

🍅 94% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Akira Kurosawacontemplative
10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Criterion Channel · Fandor

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If Drunken Angel hit the spot, these will too

Hamlet poster
Hamlet
1948 · dir. Laurence Olivier
🍅 96%★ 7.5dramaMax

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Winner of four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, Sir Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet continues to be the most compelling version of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy. Olivier is at his most inspired—both as director and as the melancholy Dane himself—as he breathes new life into the words of one of the world’s greatest dramatists.

Sansho the Bailiff poster
Sansho the Bailiff
1954 · dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
🍅 100%★ 8.3drama

The same preoccupation in both: japan

In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.

Germany, Year Zero poster
Germany, Year Zero
1948 · dir. Roberto Rossellini
🍅 96%★ 7.8dramaMax

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

In the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, a twelve-year-old boy is left to his own devices in order to help provide for his family.

An Autumn Afternoon poster
An Autumn Afternoon
1962 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
🍅 95%★ 8dramaMax

One thread runs through both: japan

Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.

Late Spring poster
Late Spring
1949 · dir. Yasujirō Ozu
🍅 100%★ 8.2dramaMax

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

How Green Was My Valley poster
How Green Was My Valley
1941 · dir. John Ford
🍅 93%★ 7.7drama

Both are drama through and through

Huw Morgan, the academically inclined youngest son in a proud family of Welsh coal miners, witnesses the tumultuous events of his young life during a period of rapid social change. At the dawn of the 20th-century, a miners' strike divides the Morgans: the sons demand improvements, and the father doesn't want to rock the boat.

Ordet poster
Ordet
1955 · dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer
🍅 100%★ 8.2drama

Both know what they want from drama

The three sons of devout Danish farmer Morten have widely disparate religious beliefs. Youngest son Anders shares his father's religion, but eldest son Mikkel has lost his faith, while middle child Johannes has become delusional and proclaims that he is Jesus Christ himself. When Mikkel's wife, Inger goes into a difficult childbirth, everyone's beliefs are put to the test.

Throne of Blood poster
Throne of Blood
1957 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 96%★ 8drama · historyMax

Akira Kurosawa directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Leans harder into history than Drunken Angel does

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Umberto D. poster
Umberto D.
1952 · dir. Vittorio De Sica
🍅 98%★ 8.1dramaMax

Drama of the same temperament

When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.

Through a Glass Darkly poster
Through a Glass Darkly
1961 · dir. Ingmar Bergman
🍅 100%★ 7.9dramaMax

Drama approached the same way

Karin hopes to recover from her recent stay at a mental hospital by spending the summer at her family's cottage on a tiny island. Her husband, Martin, cares for her but is frustrated by her physical withdrawal. Her younger brother, Minus, is confused by Karin's vulnerability and his own budding sexuality. Their father, David, cannot overcome his haughty remoteness. Beset by visions, Karin descends further into madness.

The Last Laugh poster
The Last Laugh
1924 · dir. F. W. Murnau
🍅 100%★ 8drama

Both working the same drama territory

The difference: 24 years apart, and the 1920s show

An aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel, is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbours and society.

Yojimbo poster
Yojimbo
1961 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 96%★ 8.2drama · thrillerMax

The same hand behind both of them: Akira Kurosawa

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than Drunken Angel does

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

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The best-reviewed films that share Drunken Angel’s defining feeling.