Set during the American Civil War, Ang Lee's superbly crafted film infuses new life into a well-known period by concentrating on the local battles and rivalries so that the confrontation is more personal and intense. This is not an abstract view of the divisions but a fiercely compassionate one, which charts a young boy's (Tobey Maguire) growth to manhood.

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Roberto Rossellini's first film of the post-Mussolini era is a real rough diamond, neo-realism par excellence, shot with hand-held cameras on the streets of Rome. It's based on the true story of a priest killed by the Nazis in wartime Italy, and Aldo Fabrizi brings an embattled matter-of-factness to the role of the doomed resistance worker Don Pietro, but the real power comes from the non-professional actors in the smaller roles - the children and the women on the street.

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This taut submarine thriller was one of Clark Gable's final films, in which he plays sole surviving commander from a torpedoed sub who's then put in charge of another, much to the chagrin of its second in command. It soon becomes clear that the commander is preoccupied with hunting down the Japanese destroyer that previously attacked his sub, leading his men into danger in order to avenge his previous humiliation.

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