He was known mostly for his silent films Strike , Battleship Potemkin and October . He was also known for his historical epics Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible . He is noted in particular for his silent films Strike ( 1924 ) , Battleship Potemkin ( 1925 ) and October ( 1927 ) , as well as the historical epics Alexander Nevsky ( 1938 ) and Ivan the Terrible ( 1944 , 1958 ) .