Movies Like Drunken Angel (1948)

Drunken Angel is a 1948 drama film from Akira Kurosawa with a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Boiling Point and Dead or Alive 2: Birds.

Drama

Boiling Point

1990

Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself. There he meets Uehara, a tough gangster, who is in serious debt to the yakuza and planning revenge.

6.9

MagicScore

Dead or Alive 2: Birds

2000

Two contract killers cross paths in the middle of the same job and realize they are childhood friends. Together they take a break from killing and visit the small island they once called home. After reflecting on their past lives they decided to team up and use their talents in killing for good... much to the upset of the crime syndicates.

6.8

MagicScore

Black Rain

1989

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

6.6

MagicScore

Graveyard of Honor

1975

A self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the yakuza but quickly loses his self-control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.

6.6

MagicScore

Dead or Alive

1999

Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.

6.3

MagicScore

The Phantom Carriage

1921

An alcoholic, abusive ne'er-do-well is shown the error of his ways through a legend that dooms the last person to die on New Year's Eve before the clock strikes twelve to take the reins of Death's chariot and work tirelessly collecting fresh souls for the next year.

7.8

MagicScore

Falling Leaves

1912

It's early autumn and Dr. Headley eagerly demonstrates what seems to be a miraculous cure for tuberculosis. Not far from where he is working, the disease seems preparing to soon claim yet another life, a teenage girl named Winifred. Winifred's mother and little sister Trixie are devastated. When Trixie hears the family doctor say of Winifred that "when the last leaf falls, she will have passed away," she interprets the doctor's words literally. Thinking over what she has heard, she determines to do everything possible to save her sister.

6.6

MagicScore

Of Human Bondage

1934

A young man finds himself attracted to a cold and unfeeling waitress who may ultimately destroy them both.

6.5

MagicScore

Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet

1940

True story of the doctor who considered it was not immoral to search for a drug that would cure syphilis.

6.4

MagicScore

#10

I Walked with a Zombie

1943

A nurse in the Caribbean turns to voodoo in hopes of curing her patient, a mindless woman whose husband she's fallen in love with.

6.8

MagicScore

#11

Fractured

2019

Driving cross-country, Ray and his wife and daughter stop at a highway rest area where his daughter falls and breaks her arm. After a frantic rush to the hospital and a clash with the check-in nurse, Ray is finally able to get her to a doctor. While the wife and daughter go downstairs for an MRI, Ray, exhausted, passes out in a chair in the lobby. Upon waking up, they have no record or knowledge of Ray's family ever being checked in.

6.7

MagicScore

#12

White Shadows in the South Seas

1928

An alcoholic doctor on a Polynesian island, disgusted by white exploitation of the natives, finds himself marooned on a pristinely beautiful island.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War

1973

Shozo Hirono has managed to separate from the Yamamori family and create his own small family, and extend his circle of acquaintances. These new friendships include a powerful underboss of the Muraoka family, Noboru Uchimoto.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

Under the Open Sky

2021

Mikami, an ex-yakuza of middle age with most of his life in prison, gets released after serving 13 years of sentence for murder. Hoping to find his long lost mother, from whom he was separated as a child, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director Tsunoda. Meanwhile, he struggles to get a proper job and fit into society. His impulsive, adamant nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction in his relationship with Tsunoda and those who want to help him.

7.7

MagicScore

#15

The Honorary Consul

1983

Set in a small politically unstable Latin American country, the story follows the half English and half Latino Dr. Eduardo Plarr, who left his home to find a better life. Along the way he meets an array of people, including British Consul Charley Fortnum, a representative in Latin America who is trying to keep Revolution from occurring. He is also a remorseful alcoholic. Another person the doctor meets is Clara, whom he immediately falls in love with, but there is a problem: Clara is Charley's wife.

5.8

MagicScore

#16

Dolls

2002

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

7.6

MagicScore

#17

Why Don't You Play in Hell?

2013

In Japan, gonzo filmmakers hatch a three-pronged plan to save an actress's career, end a yakuza war and make a hit movie.

7.4

MagicScore

#18

A Family

2021

Taken in by the yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times.

7.3

MagicScore

#19

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode

1974

While Hirono is in prison, his rival Takeda turns his own crime organization into a political party, whose two executives stir up new tensions in their thirst for power.

7.3

MagicScore

#20

The Tale of Zatoichi

1962

The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.

7.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Drunken Angel?

The top films similar to Drunken Angel by MovieMagicScore are Boiling Point (6.9), Dead or Alive 2: Birds (6.8), Black Rain (6.6). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Drunken Angel worth watching?

Drunken Angel holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.6/10 from 292 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Drunken Angel?

Drunken Angel (1948) is a drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Takashi Shimura, Toshirō Mifune, Reizaburo Yamamoto.

Where can I find more recommendations like Drunken Angel?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Boiling Point Movies like Dead or Alive 2: Birds Movies like Black Rain Movies like Graveyard of Honor Movies like Dead or Alive Movies like The Phantom Carriage

About movies like Drunken Angel

This ranked list pairs Drunken Angel (1948), a drama film from Akira Kurosawa, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Takashi Shimura take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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