Director Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 movie The Battle of Algiers concerns the violent struggle in the late 1950s for Algerian independence from France, where the film was banned on its release for fear of creating civil disturbances. Certainly, the heady, insurrectionary mood of the film, enhanced by a relentlessly pulsating Ennio Morricone soundtrack, makes for an emotionally high temperature throughout. Decades later, the advent of the "war against terror" has only intensified the film's relevance. Shot in a gripping, quasi-documentary style, The Battle of Algiers uses a cast of untrained actors coupled with a stern voiceover. Initially, the film focuses on the conversion of young hoodlum Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) to F.L.N. (the Algerian Liberation Front). However, as a sequence of outrages and violent counter-terrorist measures ensue, it becomes clear that, as in Eisenstein's October, it is the Revolution itself that is the true star of the film.
Pontecorvo balances cinematic tension with grimly acute political insight. He also manages an evenhandedness in depicting the adversaries. He doesn't flinch from demonstrating the civilian consequences of the F.L.N.'s bombings, while Colonel Mathieu, the French office brought in to quell the nationalists, is played by Jean Martin as a determined, shrewd, and, in his own way, honorable man. However, the closing scenes of the movie--a welter of smoke, teeming street demonstrations, and the pealing white noise of ululations--leaves the viewer both intellectually and emotionally convinced of the rightfulness of the liberation struggle. This is surely among a handful of the finest movies ever made. --David Stubbs
Product Description
One of the most influential films in the history of political cinema Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers focuses on the harrowing events of 1957 a key year in Algeria's struggle for independence from France. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style the film vividly recreates the tumultuous Algerian uprising against the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides the French torture prisoners for information and the Algerians resort to terrorism in their quest for independence. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range women plant bombs in cafes. The French win the battle but ultimately lose the war. We are proud to present Pontecorvo's tour de force-a film with astonishing relevance today. Criterion's landmark three-disc edition features a new high-definition digital transfer of the feature film and no less than seven documentary features: Return to Algiers an hour-long look at Pontecorvo's return to Algeria three decades after its independence; The Making of the Battle of Algiers a new documentary featuring interviews with Pontecorvo the cinematographer editor actors and composer Ennio Morricone; The Dictatorship of Truth a documentary about the relationship between Pontecorvo's politics and filmmaking style; Directors on The Battle of Algiers a discussion about the film's influence and style featuring filmmakers Spike Lee Mira Nair Julian Schnabel Steven Soderbergh and Oliver Stone; The Battle of Algiers and History a new documentary featuring interviews with historians and former FLN members about the true events behind the film; L'ennemi intime a half-hour excerpt from Etats d'armes a documentary featuring interviews with members of the French military during the war; How to Win the Battle But Lose the War of Ideas a conservation about the contemporary relevance of the film between former National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism Richard Clarke former State Departmen
Lists
Reviews
Images
Forums
Movies
TV Shows
DVDs
Music
Books
Games
