The Battle of Algiers (film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:


ar, Maʿrakat al-Jazāʾir , director =
Gillo Pontecorvo Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama ''The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...
, 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 Martin Jean Martin (6 March 1922 – 2 February 2009Jean Martin
''The Guardian'', 12 February 2009

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 ...

Brahim Haggiag
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 classica ...

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 naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...
co-written and directed by
Gillo Pontecorvo Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama ''The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...
. 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 i ...
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 A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...
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 classica ...
. It is often associated with
Italian neorealist Italian neorealism ( it, Neorealismo), also known as the Golden Age, is a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They pri ...
cinema. The film concentrates mainly on revolutionary fighter Ali La Pointe 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 Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...
and the illegal methods, such as torture, used by the French 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 warfare, asymmetric na ...
groups and state authorities have considered it to be an important commentary on
urban guerrilla warfare An urban guerrilla is someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare or domestic terrorism in an urban environment. Theory and history The urban guerrilla phenomenon is essentially one of industrialised society, resting bot ...
. 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 A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
. Because of partisan warfare between the Algerian locals and
Pied-Noir The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French people, French and other White Africans of European ancestry, European descent who were born in Algeria during the French Algeria, period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the v ...
, in which both sides commit acts of increasing violence, France sends
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
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 irregu ...
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 include ...
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 c ...
, 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 ( Brahim Haggiag), 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 Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policym ...
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 Zohra (Arabic: زهرة, Persian: زهره) may refer to: People Given name * Zohra Al Fassiya (1905-1994), Moroccan singer and poet *Zohra Begum Kazi (1912–2007), Bangladeshi physician and activist *Zohra Bensalem (born 1990), Algerian volleyba ...
, 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 Gilberto Pontecorvo (; 19 November 1919 – 12 October 2006) was an Italian filmmaker associated with the political cinema movement of the 1960s and 1970s. He is best known for directing the landmark war docudrama ''The Battle of Algiers'' (19 ...
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 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 ...
'' 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 Marcel Bigeard (February 14, 1916 – June 18, 2010), personal radio call-sign "Bruno", was a French military officer and politician who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochi ...
, although the character is also reminiscent of
Roger Trinquier Roger Trinquier (20 March 1908 – 11 January 1986) was a French Army officer during World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War, serving mainly in airborne and special forces units. He was also a counter-insurgency theorist, mainl ...
. 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 A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, informa ...
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 Jean Martin (6 March 1922 – 2 February 2009Jean Martin
''The Guardian'', 12 February 2009
, 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 The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
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 Jean Martin (6 March 1922 – 2 February 2009Jean Martin
''The Guardian'', 12 February 2009
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 as Ali La Pointe * 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


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 Ululation (), , is a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid back and forth movement of the tongue and the uvula The palati ...
, 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 classica ...
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 distinguishe ...
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 he ...
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 (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 Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...
(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 The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...
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 Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...
(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 direc ...
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 Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...
'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 Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Cinema of the United States, Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. ...
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.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, ''White ...
(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! ''Burn!'' (original title: ''Queimada'') is a 1969 historical war drama film directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. Set in the mid-19th century, the film stars Marlon Brando as a British ''agent provocateur'' sent to overthrow a Portuguese colony in th ...
'') 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 Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...
has placed ''The Battle of Algiers'' in his top 10 films list for the Sight and Sound 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 un ...
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 Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
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 Wang ...
, 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 review aggregator, 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 arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, 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 Gu ...
''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, Ge ...
'' 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 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 French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...
. 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, as well as a rising tide of left-wing radicalism in Western nations in which a large minority showed interest in
armed struggle War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. Beginning in the late 1960s, ''The Battle of Algiers'' gained a reputation for inspiring political violence; in particular, the tactics of
urban guerrilla warfare An urban guerrilla is someone who fights a government using unconventional warfare or domestic terrorism in an urban environment. Theory and history The urban guerrilla phenomenon is essentially one of industrialised society, resting bot ...
and terrorism in the movie supposedly were copied by the Black Panthers, 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 reun ...
, 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 ...
and the
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is a militant separatist organization active in both the Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered territories of Kashmir. It was founded by Amanullah Khan, with Maqbool Bhat also credited as a co ...
. ''The Battle of Algiers'' was apparently
Andreas Baader Berndt Andreas Baader (6 May 1943 – 18 October 1977) was one of the first leaders of the West German left-wing militant organization Red Army Faction (RAF), also commonly known as ''the Baader-Meinhof Group''. Life Andreas Baader was born in ...
's favourite movie.


Screenings worldwide


1960s screening in Argentina

President
Arturo Frondizi Arturo Frondizi Ércoli (October 28, 1908 – April 18, 1995) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, teacher and politician, who was elected President of Argentina and ruled between May 1, 1958 and March 29, 1962, when he was overthrown by a ...
(
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 So ...
, UCR) directed introduction of the first course on counter-revolutionary warfare in the Higher Military College. By 1963, cadets at the Navy Mechanics School (ESMA) started receiving counter-insurgency classes. In one of their courses, they were shown the movie ''The Battle of Algiers''. Antonio Caggiano, 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" "
,
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 Pre ...
, 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 Marie-Monique Robin (born 15 June 1960, Poitou-Charentes) is a French TV journalist and documentary filmmaker. She generally issues books and documentary films together on the topics she investigates, in order to make more people aware of the iss ...
, 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 secu ...
(
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 A low-intensity conflict (LIC) is a military conflict, usually localised, between two or more state or non-state groups which is below the intensity of conventional war. It involves the state's use of military forces applied selectively and with ...
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 The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
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 Rialto Pictures is a film distributor founded in 1997 by Bruce Goldstein. A year later, Adrienne Halpern joined him as partner. In 2002, Eric Di Bernardo became the company’s National Sales Director. It was described as “the gold standard of ...
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 distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...
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 Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings" — with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been ...
,
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 direc ...
, 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 Zohra Drif Bitat ( ar, زهرة ظريف بيطاط, Zuhra Ḍrīf Bīṭāṭ, born 28 December 1934) is a retired Algerian lawyer, moudjahid (a militant of the Algerian War of Independence), and the vice-president of the Council of the Nation ...
.


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 media, 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 c ...
in 2011.


See also

* ''
Jamila, the Algerian ''Jamila, the Algerian'' is a 1958 Egyptian historical film about one of the most important figures in the history of Algeria, Djamila Bouhired. The film was produced by Youssef Chahine and written by Abd al-Rahman, Ali al-Zarqani, and Naguib Mahfo ...
'', a commercial film on the same topic released in 1958. * ''
Lost Command ''Lost Command'' (aka ''Les Centurions'') is a 1966 American war film directed and produced by Mark Robson and starring Anthony Quinn, Alain Delon, George Segal, Michèle Morgan, Maurice Ronet and Claudia Cardinale. It is based on the best-sel ...
'', a commercial film on the same topic released the same year. * ''
Chronicle of the Years of Fire ''Chronicle of the Years of Fire'' ( ar, وقائع سنين الجمر, Waqāʾiʿu sinīna l-jamri; french: Chronique des Années de Braise; these names both mean "Chronicle of the Years of Embers") is a 1975 Algerian drama historical film dire ...
'', 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 ''Lion of the Desert'' is a 1980 epic historical war film about the Second Italo-Senussi War, starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the ''Regio Esercito'' ( Royal Italian Army) and Oliver Reed as ...
'', a similar movie about
Omar al-Mukhtar Omar al-Mukhṭār Muḥammad bin Farḥāṭ al-Manifī ( ar, عُمَر الْمُخْتَار مُحَمَّد بِن فَرْحَات الْمَنِفِي ; 20 August 1858 – 16 September 1931), called The Lion of the Desert, known among ...
'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, cinep ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Algiers, The 1966 films 1966 war films 1960s historical drama films 1960s war drama films Algerian War films Italian propaganda films Algerian black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films Italian historical drama films Italian war drama films 1960s Arabic-language films 1960s French-language films 1960s English-language films Existentialist films Italian docudrama films Films about terrorism Films about Islam Films shot in Algeria Films set in 1954 Films set in 1956 Films set in 1957 Films set in 1960 Films set in Algiers Censored films Golden Lion winners Films directed by Gillo Pontecorvo Films scored by Ennio Morricone 1960s political drama films Films about racism 1966 drama films Film censorship in France Film controversies in France Films about terrorism in Africa Guerrilla warfare in film 1960s multilingual films Algerian multilingual films Italian multilingual films 1960s Italian films