feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Sholay (1975)

If you loved Sholay, the closest films we have are Shogun Assassin (1980), Dead Presidents (1995) and Lady Snowblood (1973). All three share Sholay's kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video and others, checked against today's data.

After his family is slain by notorious bandit Gabbar Singh, former Inspector Thakur Baldev Singh enlists low-level outlaws Jai and Veeru to capture Gabbar and seek revenge.

πŸ… 95% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.1 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Ramesh Sippykineticmelancholywarmrelentless

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If Sholay hit the spot, these will too

Shogun Assassin poster
Shogun Assassin
1980 Β· dir. Robert Houston
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.3action Β· adventure

The same mix in both: momentum, then relentlessness

The difference: None of the melancholy Sholay is built on

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.

Feels alike?
Dead Presidents poster
Dead Presidents
1995 Β· dir. Albert Hughes
πŸ… 47%β˜… 6.9crime Β· drama Β· action

Both keep coming back to the same thing: male friendship

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

On the streets they call cash dead presidents. And that's just what a Vietnam veteran is after when he returns home from the war only to find himself drawn into a life of crime. With the aid of his fellow vets he plans the ultimate heist -- a daring robbery of an armored car filled with unmarked U.S. currency!

Feels alike?
Lady Snowblood poster
Lady Snowblood
1973 Β· dir. Toshiya Fujita
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.6action Β· crime Β· drama

Kinetic action, and it commits to that

The difference: Missing the melancholy of Sholay

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

Feels alike?
Ballerina poster
Ballerina
2023 Β· dir. Lee Chung-hyun
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6.3action Β· thriller

Both lean on melancholy more than on action

The difference: Not nearly as warm as Sholay

Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn't protect, an ex-bodyguard sets out to fulfill her dear friend's last wish: sweet revenge.

Feels alike?
Bleeder poster
Bleeder
1999 Β· dir. Nicolas Winding Refn
β˜… 6.8drama Β· crime

The same preoccupation in both: male friendship

The difference: Sits closer to drama than Sholay does

Two stories for the price of one: a video store clerk tries to get acquainted with a waitress; a man beats his pregnant wife, unaware that her brother is a violent racist.

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Rolling Thunder poster
Rolling Thunder
1977 Β· dir. John Flynn
πŸ… 82%β˜… 6.9drama Β· thriller Β· action

Action with a pulse of relentlessness, in both cases

A Vietnam veteran, Charles Rane, returns home after years in a POW camp and is treated as a hero. He has a hard time adjusting, and things go badly. A movie about the walking dead, before that meant just flesh-eating zombies.

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My Darling Clementine poster
My Darling Clementine
1946 Β· dir. John Ford
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.7western

Both sit in the same melancholy register

The difference: 29 years apart, and the 1940s show

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.

Feels alike?
The Outlaw Josey Wales poster
The Outlaw Josey Wales
1976 Β· dir. Clint Eastwood
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.8western

A streak of melancholy through both

After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected.

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Elling poster
Elling
2001 · dir. Petter Næss
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.5comedy Β· drama

Both run warm where it counts

40-year-old Elling, sensitive, would-be poet, is sent to live in a state institution when his mother, who has sheltered him his entire life, dies. There he meets Kjell Bjarne, a gentle giant and female-obsessed virgin, also in his 40s.

Feels alike?
A Better Tomorrow poster
A Better Tomorrow
1986 Β· dir. John Woo
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.4action Β· crime Β· drama

Both work the same momentum

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

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Fist of Fury poster
Fist of Fury
1972 Β· dir. Lo Wei
β˜… 7.2drama Β· action Β· thriller

The shared currency is relentlessness

During the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, Chen Zhen, the star pupil of a recently-deceased martial arts teacher battles a Japanese dojo which seeks the demise of his fighting school.

Feels alike?
Game of Death poster
Game of Death
1978 Β· dir. Robert Clouse
πŸ… 38%β˜… 5.9drama Β· action Β· thriller

Both play action straight

A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.

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In the mood for more kinetic?

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