Movies Like Sayonara (1957)

Sayonara is a 1957 drama, romance film from Joshua Logan with a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Cinderella and An Actor's Revenge.

Drama Romance

Cinderella

1997

Cinderella chafes under the cruelty of her wicked stepmother and her evil stepsisters, until her Fairy Godmother steps in to change her life for one unforgettable night. At the ball, she falls for handsome Prince Christopher, whose parents, King Maximillian and Queen Constantina, are anxious for him to find a suitable paramour.

6.5

MagicScore

An Actor's Revenge

1963

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

6.6

MagicScore

Air Force

1943

The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines.

6.5

MagicScore

Iron Eagle II

1988

Chappy Sinclair is called to gather together a mixed Soviet/U.S. strike force that will perform a surgical strike on a massively defended nuclear missile site in the Middle East. Chappy finds that getting the Soviet and U.S. Pilots to cooperate is only the most minor of his problems as he discovers someone in the Pentagon is actively sabotaging his mission.

4.5

MagicScore

Mississippi Masala

1991

Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their home in Uganda, twentysomething Mina finds herself helping to run a motel in the faraway land of Mississippi. It's there that a passionate romance with the charming Black carpet cleaner Demetrius challenges the prejudices of their conservative families and exposes the rifts between the region's Indian and African American communities.

6.4

MagicScore

Loving

2016

The story of Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple, whose challenge of their anti-miscegenation arrest for their marriage in Virginia led to a legal battle that would end at the US Supreme Court.

6.7

MagicScore

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

2025

The world is a perplexing, peaceful mystery to Amélie until a miraculous encounter with chocolate ignites her wild sense of curiosity. As she develops a deep attachment to her family's housekeeper, Nishio-san, Amélie discovers the wonders of nature as well as the emotional truths hidden beneath the surface of her family's idyllic life as foreigners in post-war Japan.

7.9

MagicScore

Unbroken

2014

A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.

7.4

MagicScore

The Truth About Charlie

2002

Regina meets charming Joshua while vacationing in Martinique, as she contemplates ending her whirlwind marriage to enigmatic Charlie. Upon her return to Paris, she finds that both her apartment and her bank account have been emptied, and her husband has been murdered. Stuck in ever-increasing danger and with four men pursuing her, another stranger offers assistance - but who can she trust?

4.8

MagicScore

#10

Good Morning

1959

A lighthearted take on director Yasujiro Ozu’s perennial theme of the challenges of intergenerational relationships, Good Morning tells the story of two young boys who stop speaking in protest after their parents refuse to buy a television set. Ozu weaves a wealth of subtle gags through a family portrait as rich as those of his dramatic films, mocking the foibles of the adult world through the eyes of his child protagonists. Shot in stunning color and set in a suburb of Tokyo where housewives gossip about the neighbors’ new washing machine and unemployed husbands look for work as door-to-door salesmen, this charming comedy refashions Ozu’s own silent classic I Was Born, But . . . to gently satirize consumerism in postwar Japan.

7.7

MagicScore

#11

Pigs and Battleships

1961

In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.

7.1

MagicScore

#12

House of Bamboo

1955

Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.

6.1

MagicScore

#13

Tokyo Joe

1949

An American veteran returns to Tokyo to try to pick up the threads of his pre-World War II life there, but finds himself squeezed between criminals and the authorities.

6.1

MagicScore

#14

Hell in the Pacific

1968

During World War II, a shot-down American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain find themselves stranded on the same small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.

6.9

MagicScore

#15

Kokuho

2025

Nagasaki, 1964: Following the death of his Yakuza father, 15-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wings of a famous Kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, he decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. For decades, the two young men grow and evolve together – and one will become the greatest Japanese master of the art of Kabuki.

7.8

MagicScore

#16

Godzilla

1954

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.

7.6

MagicScore

#17

The Teahouse of the August Moon

1957

In post-WWII Japan, an American captain is brought in to help build a school, but the locals want a teahouse instead.

6.1

MagicScore

#18

The Princess and the Pilot

2011

The war between the Levamme Empire and the Amatsukami Imperium has been raging for years. In the midst of this struggle, the prince of the Levamme Empire declares his love for Juana del Moral and vows to end the war in one year, as part of his marriage proposal. When the Amatsukami catch wind of this, they assault the del Moral residence, targeting Juana's life. As a last-ditch effort to bring the prince his bride, the San Maltilia Airforce employs a mercenary of mixed blood—a bestado—to fly Juana to the prince in secret.

7.8

MagicScore

#19

We Were Soldiers

2002

The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.

7.1

MagicScore

#20

In This Our Life

1942

An unhappy, self-centered woman runs off with her sister's husband, wreaking havoc and ruining the lives of those around her.

6.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Sayonara?

The top films similar to Sayonara by MovieMagicScore are Cinderella (6.5), An Actor's Revenge (6.6), Air Force (6.5). Each shares drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Sayonara worth watching?

Sayonara holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10 from 139 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Sayonara?

Sayonara (1957) is a drama, romance film directed by Joshua Logan, starring Marlon Brando, Patricia Owens, James Garner.

Where can I find more recommendations like Sayonara?

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 Cinderella Movies like An Actor's Revenge Movies like Air Force Movies like Iron Eagle II Movies like Mississippi Masala Movies like Loving

About movies like Sayonara

This ranked list pairs Sayonara (1957), a drama and romance film from Joshua Logan, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Marlon Brando 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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