Spartacus' merry rabble swarms across country to face a Roman army that, seen from a distance, resembles either a group of ants moving in perfect formation or living chessboard squares marching in order — an unbeatable, fascist machine. It's a breathtaking moment, which forces you to realise that Kubrick (before CGI) had to command extras as rigidly as Crassus runs Rome.

Scorsese is the Bob Dylan of cinema – poetic, truthful, idiosyncratic – and Rolling Thunder, despite some longueurs, is an important document of a major artist – by a major artist.

In his final and perhaps most personal Small Axe chapter, McQueen superbly rounds off a succulent portrayal of the resilience of Black British people ending where it matters most — the youth.

Lord knows how it all connects, but there's a strange power in how About Endlessness flows, jumping around the whole spectrum of human experience and the ridiculous places to which our emotions push us. Andersson's pigeon is at flight once more, and cinema is a richer place for it.

Nomadland is a Springsteen song in movie form, a beautifully rendered tale of what it means to be disenfranchised in America. Life on the road has never been so tenderly captured, politically alive and profoundly moving.

Perhaps the most ironic title of 2021, Hope isn’t filmmaking to set the pulses racing. Instead it’s a quiet, nuanced study of how a couple who have drifted apart deal with the direst of circumstances, perfectly played by Andrea Bræin Hovig and Stellan Skarsgård.

The comedy is never indulged at the expense of the plot, which flies off in genuinely unexpected directions, culminating in a boundlessly inventive funfair chase sequence.

Farhadi’s gifted storytelling and direction is on show again in a damning look at Iranian society.

Minnie’s inner life, a fantasia of animations appearing Crumb-like around her, is dazzling, and there’s plenty of naked emotion amid the sex, drugs and hand-drawn penises.

As unexpected as it is intelligent, thanks to virtuoso work from Spielberg and Kushner, Lincoln is landmark filmmaking, while Day-Lewis is so authentic he pulls off that stovepipe.

A triumph of pure cinema and wonderful visual storytelling from Chandor, who must now be considered the real deal, while Redford is sublime in what could well be the performance of his career.

The film is engrossing and beautifully mounted, and is sure to not disappoint anyone who’s enjoyed McDonagh’s previous rough rides.

The funniest, most deliciously venomous Jane Austen movie ever made, and conclusive proof that, a) Kate Beckinsale has been seriously undervalued by the movies and, b) Whit Stillman is a major, distinctive talent.

A raw horror masterpiece from a first-time director that deserves to be mentioned in the same frantic breath as the genre’s greats. Even the most jaded viewer should find something in Hereditary to disturb and distress them.

There is delight and distress in equal measure: for his talent, mischief, waywardness, for the disillusionment and tragedy of his later years. Unique.

The performances transform this otherwise orthodox cat-and-mouse movie into a gripping experience.

Rungano Nyoni is one of the most exciting voices in cinema today and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is abject proof: a disquieting, blistering examination of a family where social status trumps blood ties.

Long, but engrossing and frequently enraging drama that not only exposes the flaws in the Romanian health service, but also in modern humanity.

Suspense gives way to metaphor in a stark thriller that hints at the work to come from master Carol Reed.

Not for anyone with a sensitive gag reflex. Joshua Marston provides a harrowing depiction of drug- muling for dummies. The raw, revolting, dangerous details of such an undertaking are graphic.

Holocaust drama shot like costume drama, creating a sense of aesthetic disharmony.

Happy As Lazzaro is s-l-o-w and its narrative twist will alienate some. But this is deliberate, singular filmmaking, at once poetic and down-to-earth, from an unsung talent. Let’s be clear: Alice Rohrwacher should cherished.

The film's status as must-see documentary of the year is indisputable.

A gentle trance-out and the strangest Palme d'Or winner in a while.

The real revelation here is Heath Ledger as the bruised and sometimes brutal Ennis. His tortured secret is the tragedy and the ecstasy of this powerful and moving film, a smart study of relationships that could but can't and never will be.

In outline it sounds trite - a disenfranchised kid is turned around by a kindly stranger - but the Dardennes' make it so much more. Raw but compassionate, naturalistic but compelling. If you're looking to get into the Dardennes, this is a great place to start.

Fresh, funny and frequently bonkers, Into The Spider-Verse is an astonishing shot of cinematic superhero adrenaline. For such an over-familiar character, somehow, this feels original and entirely new.

It isn’t always subtle, but Blue Jean is a gorgeously presented, stirringly performed slice of British queer history that announces director Georgia Oakley and actor Rosy McEwen as major talents to watch.