Spanish Earth (1937, USA) Directed by Joris Ivens. Pro-Republican documentary. Commentary by Ernest Hemingway, then a leading figure in the Contemporary Historians group.

Blockade (1938, USA) Directed by the pro-Spanish Republican William Dieterle. Blockade's Oscar nominated scriptwriter John Howard Lawson later became a victim of the McCarthyite witch-hunts against the left.

Days of Hope (L'Espoir) (1939, France) Directed by André Malraux, who had flown for the Republicans. Set during the Teruel Campaign, many of the cast were actual combatants and Spanish filming was halted when Franco's forces took Barcelona.

Race (Raza) (1941, Spain) Directed by Saenz de Heredia (a cousin of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera), whose brother was killed in 1936. Screenplay by General Franco. A family (based on Franco's) is divided by the Civil War.

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943, USA) From the novel by Ernest Hemingway. Directed by Sam Wood. An American demolitions expert fights alongside Republican guerrillas. Set during the Segovia Campaign, May 1937. Banned in Spain during the Franco regime.

Confidential Agent (1945, USA) Directed by Herman Shumlin, who, like Hemingway, belonged to Contemporary Historians. The film tells of a Frenchman's struggles to purchase much-needed fuel for the Republicans.

The Hunt (La Caza) (1965, Spain) Directed by the highly regarded Carlos Saura, the film is set during a hunting trip to the battle-scarred landscape of Toledo, whose Alcazar was famously besieged in 1936.

*The Spirit of the Beehive (1973, Spain) Directed by Victor Erice. One of two sisters befriends an escaped Republican prisoner. A film of innocence and experience.

The Long Holidays of 36 (1976, Spain) Directed by Jaime Camino at the close of the Franco era, this film is set in Barcelona among a family divided by the Civil War. A decade on, Camino made Dragon Rapide which contained a portrayal of General Franco.

*Ay Carmela! (1990, Spain) Directed by Carlos Saura, this film focuses on a group of travelling entertainers captured by the Nationalists and required to perform for Franco. A potent mix of humour, hope and tragedy.

Vacas (Cows) (1991, Spain) Directed by Julio Medem and set in the Basque Country among generations of Carlists. A strange, symbolic film about loyalty, conflict and tradition.

*Land and Freedom (1995, GB/Spain/Germany) Directed by Ken Loach. An English volunteer fights with the POUM militia. Controversial, but a moving story with sharply observed training and combat scenes and a vigorous debate about whether to collectivize the land of the local nobleman.

(Andrew Forrest - The Spanish Civil War, Routledge 2000)