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The Challenge

The Challenge

He has trained every thought, every muscle, every nerve, for the moment of truth!

19825.81h 49mR

Overview

Rick, a down-and-out American boxer, is hired to transport a sword to Japan, unaware that the whole thing is a set up in a bitter blood-feud between two brothers, one who follows the traditional path of the samurai and the other a businessman. At the behest of the businessman, Rick undertakes samurai training from the other brother, but joins his cause. He also becomes romantically involved with the samurai's daughter.

Directed by John Frankenheimer
Written by John Sayles, Ivan Moffat, Richard Maxwell
Produced by Robert L. Rosen, Ron Beckman
Box Office0Revenue: $3.6M

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Streaming data via JustWatch

Top Cast

Scott Glenn

Scott Glenn

Rick

Toshirō Mifune

Toshirō Mifune

Toru Yoshida

Donna Kei Benz

Donna Kei Benz

Akiko Yoshida

Atsuo Nakamura

Atsuo Nakamura

Hideo Yoshida

Calvin Jung

Calvin Jung

Ando

Clyde Kusatsu

Clyde Kusatsu

Go

Sab Shimono

Sab Shimono

Toshio Yoshida

K

Kiyoaki Nagai

Kubo

Kenta Fukasaku

Kenta Fukasaku

Jiro

Shōgo Shimada

Shōgo Shimada

Toru Yoshida's Father

Trailer

Themes & Keywords

japansamuraisword fightaikido

About The Challenge

The Challenge is a action, drama film released in 1982 exploring themes of japan, samurai, sword fight, aikido. Directed by John Frankenheimer, it stars Scott Glenn, Toshirō Mifune, Donna Kei Benz. Rick, a down-and-out American boxer, is hired to transport a sword to Japan, unaware that the whole thing is a set up in a bitter blood-feud between two brothers, one who follows the traditional path of the samurai and the other a businessman. At the behest of the businessman, Rick undertakes samurai training from the other brother, but joins his cause. He also becomes romantically involved with the samurai's daughter.

Movies Similar to The Challenge

Discover titles like The Challenge — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 movies similar to The Challenge

If you enjoyed The Challenge, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of The Challenge.

Seven Samurai
38% Match

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

The Last Samurai
37% Match

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Zatoichi the Fugitive
33% Match

After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.

Zatoichi
33% Match

Zatoichi(2003)

Movie7.2/10

Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.

47 Ronin
31% Match

47 Ronin(2013)

Movie6.2/10

Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.

Harakiri
31% Match

Harakiri(1962)

Movie8.4/10

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

13 Assassins
28% Match

A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno
27% Match

Kenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left for dead. He survived, and is now in Kyoto, plotting with his gathered warriors to overthrow the new government. Against Kaoru's wishes, Kenshin reluctantly agrees to go to Kyoto and help keep his country from falling back into civil war.

Godzilla
24% Match

Godzilla(2014)

Movie6.4/10

Ford Brody, a Navy bomb expert, has just reunited with his family in San Francisco when he is forced to go to Japan to help his estranged father, Joe. Soon, both men are swept up in an escalating crisis when an ancient alpha predator arises from the sea to combat malevolent adversaries that threaten the survival of humanity. The creatures leave colossal destruction in their wake, as they make their way toward their final battleground: San Francisco.

WWE WrestleMania III
20% Match

Hulk Hogan goes up against André the Giant for the WWE Championship, while Randy "Macho Man" Savage battles Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at The Pontiac Silverdome in suburban Detroit, Michigan.