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Sholay poster

Movies that feel likeSholay (1975)

After his family is slain by notorious bandit Gabbar Singh, former Inspector Thakur Baldev Singh enlists low-level outlaws Jai and Veeru to capture Gabbar and seek revenge.

If you loved Sholay, the closest films we have are Bleeder (1999), Harakiri (1962) and Shogun Assassin (1980). All three share Sholay's relentless feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Rolling Thunder (1977).

🍅 95% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Ramesh Sippykineticmelancholywarmrelentless
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Sholay hit the spot, these will too

Bleeder poster
Bleeder
1999 · dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
★ 6.8drama · crime

The same preoccupation in both: male friendship

The difference: Trades the momentum of Sholay for an angle of its own

Two stories for the price of one: a video store clerk tries to get acquainted with a waitress; a man beats his pregnant wife, unaware that her brother is a violent racist.

Harakiri poster
Harakiri
1962 · dir. Masaki Kobayashi
🍅 100%★ 8.6action · drama · history

Kinetic where it counts, melancholy underneath

The difference: Easier on the warmth than Sholay

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

Shogun Assassin poster
Shogun Assassin
1980 · dir. Robert Houston
🍅 82%★ 7.3action · adventure

Action built on relentlessness, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Sholay does

A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.

Lady Snowblood poster
Lady Snowblood
1973 · dir. Toshiya Fujita
🍅 100%★ 7.6action · crime · dramaMax

Kinetic action, and it commits to that

The difference: Sits closer to crime than Sholay does

A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.

The Outlaw Josey Wales poster
The Outlaw Josey Wales
1976 · dir. Clint Eastwood
🍅 91%★ 7.8western

Both lean on melancholy more than on action

After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected.

Rolling Thunder poster
Rolling Thunder
1977 · dir. John Flynn
🍅 82%★ 6.9drama · thriller · action

Both work the same relentlessness

A recently-returned Vietnam POW loses his family and his right hand during a violent home invasion, and seeks retribution against those responsible.

Rocky IV poster
Rocky IV
1985 · dir. Sylvester Stallone
🍅 38%★ 6.9drama · actionPrime VideoParamount+

The shared currency is warmth

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

Rocky Balboa holds the world heavyweight championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union. This time, Rocky's training regimen takes him to Siberia, where he prepares for a globally televised match in the heart of Moscow. But nothing can truly prepare him for what he's about to face – a fight to the finish, in which he must defend not only himself, but also the honor of his country!

A Better Tomorrow poster
A Better Tomorrow
1986 · dir. John Woo
🍅 95%★ 7.4action · crime · drama

Both sit in the same kinetic register

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

Fist of Fury poster
Fist of Fury
1972 · dir. Lo Wei
★ 7.2drama · action · thriller

Both run relentless where it counts

During the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, Chen Zhen, the star pupil of a recently-deceased martial arts teacher battles a Japanese dojo which seeks the demise of his fighting school.

Game of Death poster
Game of Death
1978 · dir. Robert Clouse
🍅 38%★ 5.9drama · action · thriller

Both play action straight

A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.

Jawan poster
Jawan
2023 · dir. Atlee
★ 6.9action · thrillerNetflix

Cut from the same action cloth

The difference: 48 years apart, and the 2020s show

An emotional journey of a prison warden, driven by a personal vendetta while keeping up to a promise made years ago, recruits inmates to commit outrageous crimes that shed light on corruption and injustice, in an attempt to get even with his past, and that leads him to an unexpected reunion.

The Man from Nowhere poster
The Man from Nowhere
2010 · dir. Lee Jeong-beom
🍅 100%★ 7.7action · thriller · crimePrime VideoPeacock

A streak of warmth through both

A reclusive pawnshop owner goes on a brutal rampage to rescue a young girl kidnapped by a criminal organization.

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