Going Medieval: 25 films to watch while waiting for Game of Thrones season 8

13) Alexander Nevsky (1938)

Filmed by the legendary Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin), Alexander Nevsky recounts the 13th century invasion of Russia by the Teutonic Knights of the Holy Roman Empire and their defeat by Prince Alexander, often called Alexander Nevsky.

Eisenstein made Alexander Nevsky during the Stalinist era,, when tensions between Russia and Hitler’s Germany were extremely high, and the director took the opportunity to stock his historical epic with modern propaganda messages. For example, some Teutonic infantry in the movie wear helmets that resemble the stahlhelms worn by German soldiers in the first World War.

Stalin approved of the film and Russian audiences flocked to it upon its release in December 1938. On April 15, 1939, the Chairman of the State Committee for Cinematography announced that 23 million people had seen it, making it one of the most popular films of its time. Despite it’s propagandist tendencies and Stalin’s stamp of approval, Alexander Nevsky is still considered a cinematic achievement. Rotten Tomatoes reviewers award it a 94% rating.

The movie climaxes with the half-hour long Battle on the Ice, a sequence so magnificent it influenced the choreography and special effects of films for years to come, including the Battle for Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. In a very real way, Game of Thrones’ battle set pieces — including the Massacre at Hardhome and especially the Ice Lake Battle in season 7’s “Beyond the Wall” — owe part of their success to the spectacular legacy of Alexander Nevsky.