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The Virgin Spring poster

Movies that feel likeThe Virgin Spring (1960)

Devout Christians Töre and Märeta send their only daughter, the virginal Karin, and their foster daughter, the unrepentant Ingeri, to deliver candles to a distant church. On their way through the woods, the girls encounter a group of savage goat herders who brutally rape and murder Karin as Ingeri remains hidden. When the killers unwittingly seek refuge in the farmhouse of Töre and Märeta, Töre plots a fitting revenge.

If you loved The Virgin Spring, the closest films we have are Red River (1948), The Outfit (1973) and Lady Snowblood (1973). All three share The Virgin Spring's contemplative and relentless feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Shogun Assassin (1980).

🍅 88% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Ingmar Bergmancontemplativeepicrelentlessgritty
9 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Criterion Channel

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If The Virgin Spring hit the spot, these will too

Red River poster
Red River
1948 · dir. Howard Hawks
🍅 100%★ 7.7western · drama · adventure

Both keep coming back to the same thing: revenge

The difference: Leans harder into western than The Virgin Spring does

Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.

The Outfit poster
The Outfit
1973 · dir. John Flynn
🍅 86%★ 7crime · drama

Common ground: revenge

The difference: Trades the scale of The Virgin Spring for an angle of its own

A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother's death. Earl Macklin is a small time criminal who is released from prison after an unsuccessful bank robbery only to discover that a pair of gunmen killed his brother.

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

One thread runs through both: rape and revenge

The difference: Easier on the scale than The Virgin Spring

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

My Darling Clementine poster
My Darling Clementine
1946 · dir. John Ford
🍅 100%★ 7.7western

Relentless and gritty in the same breath

Three brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find one of their brothers dead and their cattle stolen. They decide to take revenge on the culprits.

In the Fade poster
In the Fade
2017 · dir. Fatih Akin
🍅 75%★ 7.1drama · crimePrime Video

Drama built on stillness, twice over

The difference: 57 years apart, and the 2010s show

Katja's life collapses after the deaths of her husband and son in a bomb attack. After a time of mourning and injustice, Katja seeks revenge.

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

Contemplative history, and it commits to that

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

The Salesman poster
The Salesman
2016 · dir. Asghar Farhadi
🍅 96%★ 7.7drama · thrillerPrime Video

Both are built on the same subject: rape

Forced out of their apartment due to dangerous works on a neighboring building, Emad and Rana move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant will dramatically change the young couple’s life.

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

Drama with a pulse of scale, in both cases

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.

Ran poster
Ran
1985 · dir. Akira Kurosawa
🍅 96%★ 8.2action · drama · history

Both lean on scale more than on history

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

The Salvation poster
The Salvation
2014 · dir. Kristian Levring
🍅 72%★ 6.7drama · westernParamount+

Relentless drama in both cases

In 1870s America, a peaceful American settler kills his family's murderer which unleashes the fury of a notorious gang leader. His cowardly fellow townspeople then betray him, forcing him to hunt down the outlaws alone.

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

Gritty history in both cases

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

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

The shared currency is scale

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.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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