Movies Like Tattooed Life (1965)

Tattooed Life is a 1965 crime, drama, thriller film from Seijun Suzuki with a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Pigs and Battleships and Tokyo Drifter.

Crime Drama Thriller

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

Tokyo Drifter

1966

After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.

7.1

MagicScore

Cruel Story of Youth

1960

A harsh young man seduces a freeloading young woman and eventually takes advantage of her knack for hitchhiking to rob middle-class men.

6.5

MagicScore

Pale Flower

1964

A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.

7.3

MagicScore

Woman in the Dunes

1964

A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.

8.2

MagicScore

Gate of Flesh

1964

In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions.

6.5

MagicScore

The Sun's Burial

1960

In Osaka's slum, capricious folks without futures engage in pilfering, assault and robbery, prostitution, and the trading of ID cards and blood.

6.5

MagicScore

The Naked Island

1960

A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island, where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.

8.0

MagicScore

The Face of Another

1966

A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.

7.8

MagicScore

#10

Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets

1971

An experimental, psychedelic odyssey through Japanese subculture experienced via the eyes of a disillusioned young man, who must contend with intense familial dysfunction, psychosexual alienation, and existentialist malaise.

7.3

MagicScore

#11

Pitfall

1962

A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.

7.3

MagicScore

#12

The Pornographers

1966

Subu makes pornographic films. He sees nothing wrong with it. They are an aid to a repressed society, and he uses the money to support his landlady, Haru, and her family. From time to time, Haru shares her bed with Subu, though she believes her dead husband, reincarnated as a carp, disapproves. Director Shohei Imamura has always delighted in the kinky exploits of lowlifes, and in this 1966 classic, he finds subversive humor in the bizarre dynamics of Haru, her Oedipal son, and her daughter, the true object of her pornographer-boyfriend’s obsession. Imamura’s comic treatment of such taboos as voyeurism and incest sparked controversy when the film was released, but The Pornographers has outlasted its critics, and now seems frankly ahead of its time.

7.2

MagicScore

#13

Assassination

1964

Assassination begins with the events of 1853 when "four black ships" anchored at Edo Bay, sparking civil unrest and the major political manoeuvring that saw the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. At a time when assassination had become a disturbing political tool, Shinoda's film follows Hachiro Kiyokawa, an ambitious, masterless samurai whose allegiances drift dangerously between the Shogunate and the Emperor.

7.1

MagicScore

#14

Intentions of Murder

1964

The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

Crazed Fruit

1956

Two brothers compete for the amorous favors of a young woman during a seaside summer of gambling, boating, and drinking.

6.9

MagicScore

#16

Giants and Toys

1958

Nishi is an advertising executive for a caramel company that is planning to launch a new product, in fierce competition with two other companies.

6.9

MagicScore

#17

Fighting Elegy

1966

Kiroku boards with a Roman Catholic family and falls for the daughter Michiko. He ignores his feelings, joins a gang, gets in fights and, eventually, becomes involved with the radical Kita Ikki group.

6.9

MagicScore

#18

Kisses

1957

Kinichi and Akiko meet when they visit their fathers in prison. After successfully gambling on a bicycle race, they spend an enjoyable day together at the beach.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

The Affair

1967

As a young woman, Oriko condemned her widowed mother for openly pursuing relationships with younger men. After her mother passes away, she finds herself in an unhappy, loveless marriage and begins to understand her mother’s actions.

6.4

MagicScore

#20

Night and Fog in Japan

1960

Long takes and a highly theatrical visual approach combine to form a tense and confrontational look at the decline of a socialist student activists' movement in Japan.

6.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Tattooed Life?

The top films similar to Tattooed Life by MovieMagicScore are Pigs and Battleships (7.1), Tokyo Drifter (7.1), Cruel Story of Youth (6.5). Each shares crime/drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Tattooed Life worth watching?

Tattooed Life holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10 from 20 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Tattooed Life?

Tattooed Life (1965) is a crime, drama, thriller film directed by Seijun Suzuki, starring Hideki Takahashi, Masako Izumi, Akira Yamanouchi.

Where can I find more recommendations like Tattooed Life?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Pigs and Battleships Movies like Tokyo Drifter Movies like Cruel Story of Youth Movies like Pale Flower Movies like Woman in the Dunes Movies like Gate of Flesh

About movies like Tattooed Life

This ranked list pairs Tattooed Life (1965), a crime and drama and thriller film from Seijun Suzuki, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Hideki Takahashi 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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