Best movies like Cruel Story of the Shogunate's Downfall

Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.

When her boyfriend Ben suddenly dies in an accident, mother-to-be Charlotte collapses upon receiving the news. She wakes up in Ben’s family home, a crumbling old manor house in the middle of nowhere with Ben’s overbearing mother and his controlling stepbrother who are determined to care for her. Grief-stricken and increasingly haunted by visions possibly brought on by the pregnancy, Charlotte begins to doubt the family's intentions and her suspicions grow that they may be trying to control her and her unborn baby.

In the heart of rural Kentucky, a high school senior and his family struggle to cope with the true identity and intentions of a dangerous town shooter.

Produced for Fuji TV in 2000, the film reinterprets the story of a special samurai force - the Shinsengumi - at the end of the Edo period.

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.

The insatiably curious and headstrong inventor Leonardo da Vinci leaves Italy to join the French court, where he can experiment freely, inventing flying contraptions, incredible machines, and study the human body. There, joined in his adventure by the audacious princess Marguerite, Leonardo will uncover the answer to the ultimate question – "What is the meaning of it all?"

Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.

Diane McCarthy (Leah Pipes) is a reality television producer for her arrogant ex-boyfriend’s show highlighting travel destinations. While driving to her next assignment, Diane swerves off the road and gets stuck as a storm approaches. Nearby, she sees the Forest Cove bed and breakfast. Owner, Helen (Lindsay Wagner), offers Diane a complimentary room until her car is ready. Diane, desperate for shelter, accepts Helen’s offer and meets Helen’s handsome son Andy (Rick Malambri). Impressed by its charm, Diane changes plans for the next episode to instead focus on Forest Cove. Helen is excited and hopes the show will bring in much needed business. Andy, preparing to sell the struggling property, is against it. Despite his objections, Andy and Diane bond while preparing for the show. But it gets complicated when, Jared, Diane’s ex and host of the show, arrives and throws a wrench in things.

A widowed farmer and his son warily take in a mysterious, injured man with a satchel of cash. When a posse of men claiming to be the law come for the money, the farmer must decide who to trust. Defending a siege of his homestead, the farmer reveals a talent for gun-slinging that surprises everyone calling his true identity into question.

Angelique's Isle is a harrowing tale of perseverance and survival that unfolds during the great copper rush of 1845. Newlyweds Angelique, a young Ojibway, and Charlie, her voyager husband, are left stranded throughout a brutal winter on Lake Superior's Isle Royale where Angelique is ultimately forced to face her inner demons and beliefs as the unbelievably beautiful, yet treacherous wilderness threatens to claim her.

In the not-too-distant future, androids have come into common usage. However, treating androids on the same level as humans is frowned upon, and there is constant paranoia surrounding the possibility of robots defying humans, their masters. Those who appear too trustworthy of their androids are chided and labeled as "android-holics". Rikuo Sakisaka, who has taken robots for granted for his entire life, one day discovers that Sammy, his home android, has been acting independently and coming and going on her own. He finds a strange phrase recorded in her activity log, "Are you enjoying the time of EVE?". He, along with his friend Masakazu Masaki, traces Sammy's movements and finds an unusual café. Nagi, the barista, informs them that the café's main rule is to not discriminate between humans and androids. While Rikuo tries to reveal Sammy's intentions, he begins to question the legitimacy of the fear that drives humans to regard androids as nothing more than mere tools.

When feudal lord Itakura Katsuakira decides to prepare his samurai troops for the onslaught of modernization by having them compete in a marathon, his independent-minded daughter Yuki secretly joins the race.

The further adventures of True Grit's Rooster Cogburn has him battling injustice in his own unorthodox way while contending with a teenage girl bent on reforming him.

The disturbing story of a physician who conducted the first operation with general anaesthetic, and the women in his life who are both so determined to win his love that they volunteer as subjects for his experiments

Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan. A young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu is manipulated by a ninja master into attempting to assassinate the warlord before he completes his task.

Lamont Cranston, a psychiatrist on retainer to the police department, is asked to assist in the Case of the Cotton Kimono murder investigation. Lamont and his girlfriend Margot Lane are not satisfied with Detective Harris' analysis and call on the two prime suspects: the victim's voice instructor and her boyfriend. When Harris, convinced that the boyfriend is guilty, frames the young man for the crime, Lamont is forced to assume his secret identity as "The Shadow", and cloaked by his power of invisibility, seeks to force the true killer to reveal himself.

A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.

An innocuous comment during a weapon inspection wounds the pride of low-ranking samurai Shinpachi, leading to an argument with his superior. The situation snowballs out of control, leading to a deadly duel and political fallout which threatens the entire clan.

Cassidy Red is a western romance set against the backdrop of the 19th century American southwest. The film follows the headstrong daughter of a prostitute who returns to her hometown, seeking vengeance against the corrupt lawman she believes murdered her lover.

Near the end of the nineteenth century, as the balance of power shifts from Shogunate towards the Emperor, Japan restlessly awaits the dawning of a new age. But not all are content...The Shinsengumi, a small army of samurai, farmers and peasants, band together to do battle against the tide of history. Their leader, Isami Kondo is a man who rises from farmer to fighter to head the fierce Shinsengumi brigade. Using a stern hand and a heart of gold, he rallies his men in defense of the tottering Shogunate. But bloodshed and treachery lurk around every corner.

Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.

With Fred Williamson as director and star of Mr. Mean, is there any question as to the identity of the title character? Williamson plays a former Cosa Nostra henchman who seeks greener pastures. Hiring himself out as a hit man, he immediately lands a job. His mission: wipe out his old boss. Filmed in Italy, Mr. Mean certainly fulfills audience expectations

As winds of change sweep Japan, an honest man joins the Shinsenhumi out of admiration for its leader and because he wants to live and die as a samurai. However, as his involvement grows, reality and idealism come into deadly conflict.

When his wife becomes pregnant, Akihiro gives up on his dream to become an actor and returns to his home in Shirakawa, Fukushima. However, as time goes by, he begins to lose sight of himself. One day, Akihiro learns about a local character contest and decides to enter it, modelling his costume on Shirakawa's traditional Daruma doll, he creates 'Dharuriser'. This soon leads Akihiro to encounter 'Dice', a mysterious group that seeks to shape the city of Shirakawa into their own utopia. Though both Dice and Akihiro wish to revitalize Shirakawa, their different ideas come into conflict and lead them into battle. Dharuriser, a man with no lethal abilities or superpowers who will always rise up even if he is defeated or collapses. A man who questions what a true hero is.

There's a war going on in ancient Kyoto. A war fought in shadows, between the forces of the Shogunate's armed enforcers, the Shinsengumi, and the vampire-like Ronin warriors known as the Rasetsu or Furies. And trapped in the middle is a young woman disguised as a man. Seeking her missing father, Chizuru Yukimura comes to Kyoto only to find her fate forever intertwined with the destinies of Shinsengumi Vice commander Toshizo Hijikata and his elite force of swordsmen. Because Chizuru's father has created a secret elixir that enhances the user's strength, speed and healing, and the furies will do anything and kill anyone in order to control that power!

Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord, unifying the country.

Rob is the loneliest of loners. He is so desperate to find love that he constructs an absurd (and quite cinematic) plot to meet and impress women: he is tracking a man by the name of Jack S. who killed his wife to seek revenge, which – to him – is obviously an insanely loyal and courageous thing to do. Hannah, a seductive bartender who used to be married to a man named Jack S., agrees to help Rob track him down – a perfect excuse to get closer to (the now single) Hannah and to do everything he can to become exactly who she wants in her ideal guy. But little does Rob know that some of the people he meets along the way have intentions that turn Rob’s reality upside down – or is it right-side up?

A screenwriter recruits a group of eccentric characters to go and find a missing teenage girl, with the intention of turning the search into a true story script.

It's Thanksgiving, and Amy and Alex are in love. But Alex's plans to marry his girlfriend are disrupted by the arrival of Will -- A stranger, introduced as Amy's brother. when Alex and Will find themselves on a hike together the next day, Alex confronts his suspicions, and discovers Will's true identity as Amy's former lover. With a rival at the door, and his fiance's intentions called into doubt, Alex must reexamine a future that had once seemed so certain. over a tumultuous two days, romance becomes resentment as questions of love, ideology, and commitment are all brought to bear on the lives of these three young New Yorkers.

Kudo Shinichi and Mori Ran are invited to the set of a jidaigeki in Kyoto. On their airplane ride to Kyoto, a murder mystery arises. As well, when they finally reach the set in Kyoto, they become involved in another murder mystery. Will Kudo Shinichi be able to solve the mystery?…

“The Rocket" is a small town story inspired by true events, about a high school football star who suffers a severe head injury and loses his entire life plan. The heaviness of a broken relationship with his father, and losing the identity of "football star" push him to seek a new way to prove himself. Restricted from playing any sports and despite being an unlikely runner, the cross country coach brings the young man aboard his high school team out of necessity, and through much struggle, doubt, and determination, he finds a new way to push towards greatness. With colorful characters, youthful insights, and nostalgic storytelling, "The Rocket" brings together the elements of family, loss, failure, and redemption. The entire story is based on real characters and events that took place in the mid-west in 1999.

Kotoji Akame (Naoto Takenaka) is a shabby, middle aged low-ranking samurai of small stature. One day, in a drinking contest, he misses sending his lord off as he leaves Edo for Kuju. Released from service for this blunder, Akame becomes a wandering samurai. He goes on to steal lances from many feudal lords' processions. For Furuta, suffering defeat is out of question. To protect his domain and family, he takes it on himself to meet Murase and proposes an alliance between the Wako, Fuki and Ushizu domains. With the fate of the feudal families in their hands, Furuta and Murase pursue Akame. Each with something to protect, the men fight desperately over the lances.

A woman becomes friends with her new mentor but begins to question her intentions as her life starts to mysteriously unravel.

In the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, there was a cute warrior, Souji Okita, who belonged to the armed police of the shogunate in Kyoto. Very few knew that Souji was not a boy, but a woman. Souji loved the vice-leader of the armed police, Toshizou Hijikata. Souji suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and coughed up blood during a battle. Toshizou helped her but said that he did not care for the girl with a smell of blood. Souji had a real talent for swordsmanship and no one but Ryouma Sakamoto could compete with her. Ryouma was a liberal intellectual and tried to carry out a revolution without blood. However, the bloody Meiji Restoration broke out and Souji killed Ryouma who lost his dream. Because a friendship had sprung up between Toshizou and Ryouma, Toshizou got angry and slashed at Souji with a sword. Unwillingly, she unsheathed her sword and thought that she might get love if she was killed by the man she loved.

The mysterious "K" takes a humble job and falls in love with his landlady's daughter, Sidney Page. Sidney discourages her boyish admirer, Joe Drummond, and seeks training as a nurse. Infatuated with the head surgeon, Dr. Max Wilson, she accepts his proposal, which infuriates nurse Carlotta, who also loves Max. Carlotta lures Max to a roadhouse, where Joe, mistaking her for Sidney, shoots Max. K appears and, assuming his true identity as the famous Dr. Edwards, saves Max's life by performing his "Edwards operation."