ar, Maʿrakat al-Jazāʾir
, director =
Gillo Pontecorvo
, producer = Antonio Musu
Saadi Yacef
Saadi Yacef (; 20 January 1928 – 10 September 2021) was an Algerian independence fighter, serving as a leader of the National Liberation Front during his country's war of independence. He was a Senator in Algeria's Council of the Nation unti ...
, writer =
Franco Solinas
Franco Solinas (19 January 1927 - 14 September 1982) was an Italian writer and screenwriter. He is best known for the screenplay of '' The Battle of Algiers,'' which was nominated for three Academy Awards. He also wrote the 1969 historical drama '' ...
, story = Franco Solinas
Gillo Pontecorvo
, starring =
Jean MartinSaadi Yacef
Saadi Yacef (; 20 January 1928 – 10 September 2021) was an Algerian independence fighter, serving as a leader of the National Liberation Front during his country's war of independence. He was a Senator in Algeria's Council of the Nation unti ...
Brahim Haggiag
Brahim Haggiag (1934–1997), was an Algerian actor. He is most notable for the roles in the films ''The Battle of Algiers'', ''Patrouille à l'Est'' and ''L'opium et le baton''.
Career
In 1966, he made the acting debut with the character of 'Al ...
Tommaso Neri
, music =
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classi ...
Gillo Pontecorvo
, cinematography =
Marcello Gatti
Marcello Gatti (9 February 1924 – 26 November 2013) was an Italian cinematographer.
Born in Rome, Gatti started as film operator in early 1940s, then debuted as cinematographer in 1953.Stefano Masi, ''Dizionario mondiale dei direttori della foto ...
, editing =
Mario Morra
Mario Morra (born 1935) is an Italian film editor, director and screenwriter.
Born in Rome, Morra began working as an assistant editor in the early 1960s, and made his debut as film editor in 1964.Roberto Poppi. ''Dizionario del cinema italiano ...
Mario Serandrei
Mario Serandrei (23 May 1907 – 17 April 1966) was an Italian film editor and screenwriter.
Born in Naples, he started in the film industry in 1931 as an assistant director. He edited over two hundred films during his career, and worked steadi ...
, studio = Igor Film
Casbah Film
, distributor = Magna
, released =
, runtime = 120 minutes
, language = Arabic
French
, country = Italy
Algeria
, budget = $806,735
, gross = $879,794 (domestic)
''The Battle of Algiers'' ( it, La battaglia di Algeri; ar, معركة الجزائر, Maʿrakat al-Jazāʾir) is a 1966 Italian-Algerian
war film
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...
co-written and directed by
Gillo Pontecorvo. It is based on events undertaken by rebels during the
Algerian War
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
(1954–1962) against the
French government
The Government of France ( French: ''Gouvernement français''), officially the Government of the French Republic (''Gouvernement de la République française'' ), exercises executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister, who ...
in North Africa, the most prominent being the eponymous
Battle of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It was shot on location in a
Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...
-inspired
newsreel style: in black and white with documentary-type editing to add to its sense of historical authenticity, with mostly non-professional actors who had lived through the real battle. The film's score was composed by Pontecorvo and
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classi ...
. It is often associated with
Italian neorealist cinema.
The film concentrates mainly on revolutionary fighter
Ali La Pointe
Ali Ammar ( ar, علي عمار; 14 May 1930 – 8 October 1957), better known by his nickname Ali la Pointe, was an Algerian revolutionary fighter and guerrilla leader of the National Liberation Front who fought for Algerian independence aga ...
during the years between 1954 and 1957, when
guerrilla fighters of the
FLN went into Algiers. Their actions were met by French paratroopers attempting to regain territory. The highly dramatic film is about the organization of a
guerrilla movement and
the illegal methods, such as torture, used by the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
to
stop it. Algeria succeeded in gaining independence from the French, which Pontecorvo addresses in the film's epilogue.
The film has been critically acclaimed. Both
insurgent
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irre ...
groups and state authorities have considered it to be an important commentary on
urban guerrilla warfare. It occupies the 48th place on the ''Critics' Top 250 Films'' of the 2012 ''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' poll,
as well as 120th place on ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine's list of the "500 greatest movies of all time".
It was selected to enter the list of the "
100 Italian films to be saved". A subject of sociopolitical controversy, the film was not screened for five years in France; it was eventually released in 1971.
Subject
''The Battle of Algiers'' reconstructs the
events that occurred in the capital city of
French Algeria
French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...
between November 1954 and December 1957, during the
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
. The narrative begins with the organization of revolutionary cells in the
Casbah. Because of
partisan warfare between the Algerian locals and
Pied-Noir
The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Alger ...
, in which both sides commit acts of increasing violence, France sends
French Army
History
Early history
The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
paratroopers to the city to fight against and capture members of the
National Liberation Front (FLN). The paratroopers are depicted as neutralizing the whole of the FLN leadership through either assassination or capture. The film ends with a
coda
Coda or CODA may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* Movie coda, a post-credits scene
* ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television
*''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...
depicting nationalist demonstrations and riots, suggesting that although France won the Battle of Algiers, it lost the Algerian War.
[
The tactics of the FLN guerrilla ]insurgency
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
and the French counter insurgency, and the uglier incidents of the war are depicted. Both colonizer and colonized commit atrocities against civilians. The FLN commandeer the Casbah via summary execution
A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes includ ...
of Algerian criminals and suspected French collaborators; they commit terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
, including actions like the real-life Milk Bar Café bombing, to harass Europeans. The security forces resort to killings and indiscriminate violence against the opposition. French paratroops are depicted as routinely using torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...
, intimidation, and murder.[
Pontecorvo and Solinas created several protagonists in their screenplay who are based on historical war figures. The story begins and ends from the perspective of ]Ali la Pointe
Ali Ammar ( ar, علي عمار; 14 May 1930 – 8 October 1957), better known by his nickname Ali la Pointe, was an Algerian revolutionary fighter and guerrilla leader of the National Liberation Front who fought for Algerian independence aga ...
(Brahim Haggiag
Brahim Haggiag (1934–1997), was an Algerian actor. He is most notable for the roles in the films ''The Battle of Algiers'', ''Patrouille à l'Est'' and ''L'opium et le baton''.
Career
In 1966, he made the acting debut with the character of 'Al ...
), a petty criminal who is politically radicalized while in prison. He is recruited by FLN commander El-hadi Jafar, played by Saadi Yacef
Saadi Yacef (; 20 January 1928 – 10 September 2021) was an Algerian independence fighter, serving as a leader of the National Liberation Front during his country's war of independence. He was a Senator in Algeria's Council of the Nation unti ...
, who was a veteran FLN commander.
Lieutenant-Colonel Mathieu, the paratroop commander, is the principal French character. Other characters are the boy Petit Omar, a street urchin who is an FLN messenger; Larbi Ben M'hidi, a top FLN leader who provides the political rationale for the insurgency; and Djamila
Jamila ( ar, جميلة) is a feminine given name of Arabic origin. It is the feminine form of the masculine Arabic given name Jamil, which comes from the Arabic word ''jamāl'' (Arabic: جَمَال), meaning beauty. The name is popular on a glo ...
, Zohra, and Hassiba, three FLN women urban guerrillas who carry out a terrorist attack. ''The Battle of Algiers'' also features thousands of Algerian extras. Pontecorvo intended to have them portray the "Casbah-as-chorus
Chorus may refer to:
Music
* Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound
* Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
", communicating with chanting, wailing, and physical effect.
Production and style
Screenplay
''The Battle of Algiers'' was inspired by the 1962 book ''Souvenirs de la Bataille d'Alger'', an FLN military commander's account of the campaign, by Saadi Yacef
Saadi Yacef (; 20 January 1928 – 10 September 2021) was an Algerian independence fighter, serving as a leader of the National Liberation Front during his country's war of independence. He was a Senator in Algeria's Council of the Nation unti ...
. Yacef wrote the book while he was held as a prisoner of the French, and it served to boost morale for the FLN and other militants. After independence, the French released Yacef, who became a leader in the new government. The Algerian government backed adapting Yacef's memoir as a film. Salash Baazi, an FLN leader who had been exiled by the French, approached Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo and screenwriter Franco Solinas
Franco Solinas (19 January 1927 - 14 September 1982) was an Italian writer and screenwriter. He is best known for the screenplay of '' The Battle of Algiers,'' which was nominated for three Academy Awards. He also wrote the 1969 historical drama '' ...
with the project.
Yacef wrote his own screenplay, which does not have any conversations or plot. The Italian producers rejected it as too biased towards the Algerians. Although sympathetic to Algerian nationalism, the producers wanted the film to deal with events from a more neutral perspective. The final screenplay of ''The'' ''Battle of Algiers'' has an Algerian protagonist and depicts the cruelty and suffering of both Algerians and the French, '' pieds-noir'' and military forces.
To meet the demands of film, ''The Battle of Algiers'' uses composite characters and changes the names of certain persons. For example, Colonel Mathieu is a composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...
of several French counterinsurgency officers, especially Jacques Massu
Jacques Émile Massu (; 5 May 1908 – 26 October 2002) was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez crisis. He led French troops in the Battle of Algiers, first supporting and later ...
. Saadi Yacef has said that Mathieu was based more on Marcel Bigeard, although the character is also reminiscent of Roger Trinquier. Accused of portraying Mathieu as too elegant and noble, screenwriter Solinas denied that this was his intention. He said in an interview that the Colonel is "elegant and cultured, because Western civilization is neither inelegant nor uncultured".
Visual style
For ''The'' ''Battle of Algiers'', Pontecorvo and cinematographer Marcello Gatti
Marcello Gatti (9 February 1924 – 26 November 2013) was an Italian cinematographer.
Born in Rome, Gatti started as film operator in early 1940s, then debuted as cinematographer in 1953.Stefano Masi, ''Dizionario mondiale dei direttori della foto ...
filmed in black and white and experimented with various techniques to give the film the look of newsreel and documentary film. The effect was so convincing that American releases carried a notice that "not one foot" of newsreel was used.
Pontecorvo's use of fictional realism enables the movie "to operate along a double-bind as it consciously addresses different audiences." The film makes special use of television in order to link western audiences with images they are constantly faced with that are asserted to express the "truth". The film seems to be filmed through the point of view of a western reporter, as telephoto lens
A telephoto lens, in photography and cinematography, is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a ''telephoto ...
es and hand-held cameras are used, whilst "depicting the struggle from a 'safe' distance with French soldiers placed between the crowds and camera."
Cast
Pontecorvo chose to cast non-professional Algerians. He chose people whom he met, picking them mainly on appearance and emotional effect (as a result, many of their lines were dubbed). The sole professional actor of the movie was Jean Martin, who played Colonel Mathieu; Martin was a French actor who had worked primarily in theatre. Pontecorvo wanted a professional actor, but one who would not be familiar to most audiences, as this could have interfered with the movie's intended realism.
Martin had been dismissed several years earlier from the Théâtre National Populaire
The Théâtre national populaire (French for ''People's National Theater'') is a theatre now at Villeurbanne, France. It was founded in 1920 by Firmin Gémier in Paris.
Today, the TNP has a company of ten resident actors and the building is cur ...
for signing the manifesto of the 121 The Manifesto of the 121 (french: Manifeste des 121, full title: ''Déclaration sur le droit à l’insoumission dans la guerre d’Algérie'' or ''Declaration on the right of insubordination in the Algerian War'') was an open letter signed by 121 i ...
against the Algerian War. Martin was a veteran; he had served in a paratroop regiment during the Indochina War and he had taken part in the French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
. His portrayal had autobiographical depth. According to an interview with screenwriter Franco Solinas
Franco Solinas (19 January 1927 - 14 September 1982) was an Italian writer and screenwriter. He is best known for the screenplay of '' The Battle of Algiers,'' which was nominated for three Academy Awards. He also wrote the 1969 historical drama '' ...
, the working relationship between Martin and Pontecorvo was not always easy. Unsure whether Martin's professional acting style would contrast too much with the non-professionals, Pontecorvo argued about Martin's acting choices.
Saadi Yacef, who plays El-Hadi Jaffar, and Samia Kerbash, who plays Fathia, were both members of the FLN and Pontecorvo is said to have been greatly inspired by their accounts. The actors credited are:
* Jean Martin as Colonel Philippe Mathieu
* Saadi Yacef
Saadi Yacef (; 20 January 1928 – 10 September 2021) was an Algerian independence fighter, serving as a leader of the National Liberation Front during his country's war of independence. He was a Senator in Algeria's Council of the Nation unti ...
as El-Hadi Jafar
* Brahim Haggiag
Brahim Haggiag (1934–1997), was an Algerian actor. He is most notable for the roles in the films ''The Battle of Algiers'', ''Patrouille à l'Est'' and ''L'opium et le baton''.
Career
In 1966, he made the acting debut with the character of 'Al ...
as Ali La Pointe
Ali Ammar ( ar, علي عمار; 14 May 1930 – 8 October 1957), better known by his nickname Ali la Pointe, was an Algerian revolutionary fighter and guerrilla leader of the National Liberation Front who fought for Algerian independence aga ...
* Tommaso Neri as Captain Dubois
* Samia Kerbash as Fathia
* Ugo Paletti as a Captain
* Fusia El Kader as Halima
* Franco Moruzzi as Mahmoud
* Mohamed Ben Kassen as Little Omar
Petit Omar or Little Omar was the nickname of Yacef Omar (1944–1957), a notable figure of the Algerian War for Independence.
Biography
Yacef Omar was born in January 1944 at the Casbah of Algiers in a kabyle family. He is the nephew of Yace ...
Sound and music
Sound – both music and effects – perform important functions in the movie. Indigenous Algerian drumming, rather than dialogue, is heard during a scene in which female FLN militants prepare for a bombing. In addition, Pontecorvo used the sounds of gunfire, helicopters and truck engines to symbolize the French methods of battle, while bomb blasts, ululation, wailing and chanting symbolize the Algerian methods. Gillo Pontecorvo wrote the music for ''The Battle of Algiers'', but because he was classified as a "melodist-composer" in Italy, he was required to work with another composer as well; his good friend Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classi ...
collaborated with him. The solo military drum, which is heard throughout the film, is played by the famous Italian drummer Pierino Munari.
Post-release history and legacy
Critical reception
Pontecorvo resisted the temptation to romanticise the protagonists. He portrays the cruelty of attacks committed by both the FLN and the French. The film won the Golden Lion
The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguis ...
at the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
and was nominated for three Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
(in non-consecutive years, a unique achievement): Best Foreign Language Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
in 1967, and Best Screenplay
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporation, ...
(Gillo Pontecorvo and Franco Solinas
Franco Solinas (19 January 1927 - 14 September 1982) was an Italian writer and screenwriter. He is best known for the screenplay of '' The Battle of Algiers,'' which was nominated for three Academy Awards. He also wrote the 1969 historical drama '' ...
) and Best Director (Gillo Pontecorvo) in 1969.
Other awards include The City of Venice Cinema Prize (1966), the International Critics Award (1966), the City of Imola Prize (1966), the Italian Silver Ribbon Prize (director, photography, producer), the Ajace Prize of the Cinema d'Essai (1967), the Italian Golden Asphodel (1966), Diosa de Plata at the Acapulco Film Festival The Acapulco Film Festival () was a film festival held in Acapulco, Mexico, annually from 1959 to 1968 and once more in 1987, with a precursor event held in Mexico City in 1958. The festival showcased both Mexican and international films, and in it ...
(1966), the Golden Grolla (1966), the Riccione Prize (1966), Best Film of 1967 by Cuban critics (in a poll sponsored by Cuban magazine ''Cine''), and the United Churches of America Prize (1967).
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film 4/4 stars, calling it "a great film" that "exists at this level of bitter reality. It may be a deeper film experience than many audiences can withstand: too cynical, too true, too cruel and too heartbreaking. It is about the Algerian war, but those not interested in Algeria may substitute another war; ''The Battle of Algiers'' has a universal frame of reference". The film occupies the 48th place on the ''Critics' Top 250 Films'' of the 2012 ''Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' poll,[ as well as 120th place on '']Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' magazine's list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[ In 2010, ''Empire'' also ranked the movie 6th in The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema. It was selected to enter the list of the " 100 Italian films to be saved".
The American film director ]Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
praised the film by stating: "All films are, in a sense, false documentaries. One tries to approach reality as much as possible, only it’s not reality. There are people who do very clever things, which have completely fascinated and fooled me. For example, ''The Battle of Algiers''. It’s very impressive." Also, according to Anthony Frewin
Anthony Edward Frewin (born 1947 in Kentish Town, London) is a British writer and erstwhile personal assistant to film director Stanley Kubrick (from 1965 to 1968, and from 1979 to 1999). Frewin now represents the Stanley Kubrick Estate. His novel ...
, Kubrick's personal assistant, he stated: "When I started work for Stanley in September 1965 he told me that I couldn’t really understand what cinema was capable of without seeing ''The Battle of Algiers''. He was still enthusing about it prior to his death."
The American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker.
Soderbergh's direct ...
listed the film as an inspiration on his film ''Traffic
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...
'' noting that the film (along with Costa-Gavras's '' Z'') had "that great feeling of things that are caught, instead of staged, which is what we were after."
The British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan listed the film as one of his favorites and is credited for inspiring his films such as The Dark Knight Rises
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is th ...
and Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France. .
The Palestinian-American academic Edward Said
Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''Whit ...
(famous for his work ''Orientalism
In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
'') praised ''The Battle of Algiers'' (along with Pontecorvo's other film, '' Burn!'') as the two films "...stand unmatched and unexcelled since they were made in the 60s. Both films together constitute a political and aesthetic standard never again equaled."
The British-Pakistani writer and activist Tariq Ali has placed ''The Battle of Algiers'' in his top 10 films list for the Sight and Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
poll of the greatest films of all time.
The German filmmaker Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...
admired the film and it was one of the few films that was required viewing to his film school students.
The English filmmaker Ken Loach listed the film as one of his top 10 favorite films of all time and mentioned the film's influence on his filmmaking by saying: “It used non-professional actors. It was not over-dramatic. It was low key. It showed the impact of colonialism on daily lives. These techniques had an important influence on my filmmaking… I saw the film when it came out in 1966. It was one of a number of films that influenced me."
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 99% based on 87 reviews, with an average rating of 9.06/10; the site's consensus reads: "A powerful, documentary-like examination of the response to an occupying force, ''The Battle of Algiers'' hasn't aged a bit since its release in 1966." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
In 2007, the film was ranked at No. 5 by ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
''s readers' poll on its list of "40 greatest foreign films of all time".
Not all reception was positive. In France, ''Cahiers du cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab ...
'' devoted a special feature to the film consisting of five articles by critics, philosophers, and film scholars. Their collective negative assessment of the film was cast in such strong terms that "it undermined, on moral grounds, the legitimacy of any critic or analyst who did not condemn the film, let alone anyone who dared consider it worthy of filmic attention."
Banned in France
Given national divisions over the Algerian War, the film generated considerable political controversy in France and was banned
A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meanin ...
there for five years. People continued to argue about the grounds of the war and colonialism, and argued anew over how these were portrayed in the film. This film was the first available to ''Metropole
A metropole (from the Greek '' metropolis'' for "mother city") is the homeland, central territory or the state exercising power over a colonial empire.
From the 19th century, the English term ''metropole'' was mainly used in the scope of ...
'' French that directly confronted French imperialism. The director received death threats from persons on the far right sympathetic to the French military view.
Pontecorvo stated "The Algerians put no obstacles in our way because they knew that I'd be making a more or less objective film about the subject. The French authorities, who were very sensitive on the Algerian issue, banned the film for three months." Due to repeated threats of violence from fascist groups, the government banned screenings of the film for four years, although Pontecorvo believed he had made a politically neutral film.
''The Battle of Algiers'' and guerrilla movements
The release of ''The Battle of Algiers'' coincided with the decolonization
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...
period and national liberation wars
Wars of national liberation or national liberation revolutions are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separat ...
, as well as a rising tide of left-wing radicalism in Western nations in which a large minority showed interest in armed struggle. Beginning in the late 1960s, ''The Battle of Algiers'' gained a reputation for inspiring political violence; in particular, the tactics of urban guerrilla warfare and terrorism in the movie supposedly were copied by the Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...
, the Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
, the Palestinian Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...
and the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. ''The Battle of Algiers'' was apparently Andreas Baader's favourite movie.
Screenings worldwide
1960s screening in Argentina
President Arturo Frondizi (Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the S ...
, UCR) directed introduction of the first course on counter-revolutionary warfare in the Higher Military College. By 1963, cadets at the Navy Mechanics School
The Higher School of Mechanics of the Navy (Spanish: ''Escuela Superior de Mecánica de la Armada'', commonly referred to by its acronym ESMA) has gone through three major transformations throughout its history. Originally ESMA served as an educa ...
(ESMA) started receiving counter-insurgency classes. In one of their courses, they were shown the movie ''The Battle of Algiers''. Antonio Caggiano
Antonio Caggiano (30 January 1889 – 23 October 1979) was an archbishop and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina. He played a part in helping Nazi sympathisers and war criminals escape prosecution in Europe by easing their passa ...
, archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1959 to 1975, was associated with this as military chaplain. He introduced the movie approvingly and added a religiously oriented commentary to it.["Breaking the silence: the Catholic Church and the "dirty war" "](_blank)
, Horacio Verbitsky
Horacio Verbitsky (born February 11, 1942) is an Argentine investigative journalist and author with a history as a leftist guerrilla in the Montoneros. In the early 1990s, he reported on a series corruption scandals in the administration of Presi ...
, 28 July 2005, extract from ''El Silencio'' transl. in English by openDemocracy
openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...
. ESMA was later known as a center for the Argentine Dirty War
The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...
and torture and abuse of insurgents and innocent civilians.
Anibal Acosta, one of the ESMA cadets interviewed 35 years later by French journalist Marie-Monique Robin, described the session:
They showed us that film to prepare us for a kind of war very different from the regular war we had entered the Navy School for. They were preparing us for police missions against the civilian population, who became our new enemy.
2003 Pentagon screening
During 2003, the press reported that United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
(the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
) offered a screening of the movie on August 27. The Directorate for Special Operations
Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
and Low-Intensity Conflict regarded it as useful for commanders and troops facing similar issues in occupied Iraq.
A flyer for the screening said:
According to the Defense Department official in charge of the screening, "Showing the film offers historical insight into the conduct of French operations in Algeria, and was intended to prompt informative discussion of the challenges faced by the French."
2003–2004 theatrical re-release
At the time of the 2003 Pentagon screening, legal and "pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
" VHS and DVD versions of the movie were available in the United States and elsewhere, but the image quality was degraded. A restored print had been made in Italy in 1999. Rialto Pictures acquired the distribution rights to re-release the film again in the United Kingdom in December 2003 as well as in the United States and in France on separate dates in 2004. The film was shown in the ''Espace Accattone
''Accattone'' is a 1961 Italian drama film written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Despite an original screenplay, the film is often perceived as a cinematic rendition of Pasolini's earlier novels, particularly '' Ragazzi di vita'' (''The R ...
'', rue Cujas in Paris, from November 15, 2006, to March 6, 2007.
2004 Criterion DVD edition
On October 12, 2004, The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scho ...
released the movie, transferred from a restored print, in a three-disc DVD set. The extras include former US counter-terrorism advisors Richard A. Clarke and Michael A. Sheehan discussing ''The Battle of Algiers''s depiction of terrorism and guerrilla warfare. Directors Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
, Mira Nair
Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...
, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker.
Soderbergh's direct ...
, and Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...
discussed its influence on film. Another documentary in the set includes interviews with FLN commanders Saadi Yacef
Saadi Yacef (; 20 January 1928 – 10 September 2021) was an Algerian independence fighter, serving as a leader of the National Liberation Front during his country's war of independence. He was a Senator in Algeria's Council of the Nation unti ...
and Zohra Drif.
2011 Criterion Blu-ray edition
A new high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Marcello Gatti, was released by Criterion on Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
in 2011.
See also
* '' Jamila, the Algerian'', a commercial film on the same topic released in 1958.
* '' Lost Command'', a commercial film on the same topic released the same year.
* '' Chronicle of the Years of Fire'', a 1975 Algerian drama historical film directed by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina. It depicts the Algerian War of Independence as seen through the eyes of a peasant.
* '' Lion of the Desert'', a similar movie about Omar al-Mukhtar's Libyan resistance against Italian occupation.
Further reading
* Aussaresses, General Paul. ''The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Algeria, 1955–1957'' (New York, Enigma Books, 2010). .
* O’Leary, Alan. ''The Battle of Algiers'' (Milan, Mimesis International, 2019). ISBN 9788869770791
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
Official website at Rialto Pictures
''The Battle of Algiers: Bombs and Boomerangs''
an essay by Peter Matthews at the Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...
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