Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Sergei Eisenstein’s astonishing early Soviet silent film is just as powerful today as it must have been almost a century ago. The story of the crew of Russian vessel Potemkin revolting after they’re served rancid meat eventually leads to the citizenry of the nearby port of Odessa hearing about the events and cheering on the rebels, as some of them travel out in boats to Potemkin to offer their support. Eisenstein’s film is understandably considered one of the greatest of all time, and the Odessa steps sequence especially, is truly astonishing. Seeing it for the first time takes your breath away, and even though it’s almost a century on from its initial release, the scene as the Tsar’s men march slowly down the steps firing at the citizens be it men, women or even children is absolutely jaw dropping, for all manner of reasons. If you’ve never seen it before, you need to rectify that horrific wrong as soon as possible. 8.8/10