Sand Pebbles, The

Aroview: An epic series of adventures on an American gunboat in the turbulent China of the 1920s, Steve McQueen giving a particularly underrated performance, with good support from Richard Attenborough.

Chiefly noted for its brilliant photography (by Joseph MacDonald) and excellent authentic locations, it also carries an interesting layer of comment on American political interference in other countries, which many critics found problematic.