Best films about terrorism

With terror alerts about the threat of commando attacks in European capitals making all us look forward to that next romantic weekend in Paris, the GWG has come up with a Shortlist of the best films about terrorism. If we have to go down, let's go down watching … 

Gillo Pontecorvo's film about the 1950s Algerian uprising against French rule is a remarkable piece of work, pulsating with force and energy, and possessed of such realism it is hard to believe it is not a documentary. This is a tale of violence begetting violence, of national identity competing with imperial pride, of how people will turn to extreme means to achieve their ends.  

2. The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) 

Ken Loach's Palme D'Or winner, about the beginnings of the Irish Republican Army, is an unforgettable portrait of modern Irish history. Loach dramatises the divisions in Irish society through a tale of two brothers who fight alongside one another in the resistance to British rule, before falling out over the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty that split the movement in two. 

3. Arlington Road (1999) 

Tim Robbins is on great form as the creepy neighbour, who pushes Jeff Bridges into a terrible act in this compelling thriller. Robbins' portrayal of meglomaniacal intensity offers pop cultural insight into extremist psychology.  

Chris Morris' comedy about a group of bunging would-be Islamic terrorists manages to be both funny and terrifying. A farcical entertainment this might be, but Four Lions also has plenty to say about why bored, lost young men might find themselves drawn to extremism. 

5. One Day In September (1999)

Kevin Macdonald's documentary about the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Macdonald's film recreates the extraordinary drama of the moment, eschewing analysis in favour of the excitement and tension we usually associate with thrillers. 

Wes Craven's creepy little thriller draws us into the menacing charm of Cillian Murphy's assassin, who traps a woman on a late night flight and informs her that unless he helps her with his plot to kill a high profile politician he will have her father killed.