10 Best Medieval War Movies

10. Alexander Nevsky (1938)

The oldest film to appear on this list, Alexander Nevsky was helmed by Soviet cinematic pioneer and theorist Sergei Eistenstein, whose work on Montage (that’s creating meaning through editing) revolutionised cinema as we know it.

Eisenstein’s first sound film, this historical epic tells the triumphant victory of the titular 13th century prince of Novgorod over an invading force of crusading German Teutonic Knights. Culminating in a grand depiction of the Battle on the Ice (which took place on April 1242) in which Nevsky all but slaughtered the invaders after trapping them on the icy Lake Peipus, this large-scale sequence holds up remarkably well for its age.

Grand in scope and underscored by an operatic musical soundscape composed by Prokofiev, Nevsky highlights Russia’s adoration for a historical figure who was sainted over 300 years after his death.

It's important to note that this film was made when the Soviet Union and Germany’s relationship was under strain. This is evident in the film’s use of swastika imagery attributed to the Knights. It’s said that Stalin requested the film to be screened in every Soviet cinema when the peace between the two nations was broken.