Genre: Drama / War
Duration: 121 minuten
Alternative titles: The Battle of Algiers / De Slag om Algiers / Maʿrakat al-Jazāʾir / معركة الجزائر
Country:
Italy / Algeria
Directed by: Gillo Pontecorvo
Stars: Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin and Yacef Saadi
IMDb score:
8,1 (75.034)
Releasedate: 8 September 1966
La Battaglia di Algeri plot
"The Revolt that Stirred the World!"
1957. Ali is a thief who joins the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale), fighting for a free Algeria. This is because they drive away the police associated with colonialism. The French rulers take increasingly drastic measures against the FLN, which quickly unleashes a nationwide revolution.
Actors and actresses
Ali La Pointe
El-Hadi Jaffar
Halima
Colonel Philippe Mathieu
Petit Omar
Combattant FLN
The Drunk Man (uncredited)
Responsable FLN
Le Marié de la Casbah
Reviews & comments
james_cameron
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- 7060 messages
- 9825 votes
Interesting and after all these years still quite topical film, about the struggle in Algiers between the French occupying forces and Algerian freedom fighters. The documentary-style approach in dingy black and white, with a lot of handheld camera work that is close to the skin, is quite effective, as is the use of non-professional actors. A bit clumsy here and there, especially in the action scenes, but at the time this must have had quite a visual impact. Special music also by a then unknown Ennio Morricone. Here and there I recognized some tunes that he would later use again in The Untouchables.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
Very strong film about the Algerian independence in the 50s early 60s against the French colonial power. The film offers a nice insight into the various events that become increasingly grim and gritty. It is also fascinating that the ideas, ways of thinking and the course of both the Algerian freedom fighters and the French troops are discussed.
Although the concept is great for independence, FLN also has a lot of innocent blood on its hands. Not only agents and soldiers were affected, many civilians also lost their lives in countless terrorist attacks. But the French were also not indifferent and the motto "the end justifies the means" also applied to them. It was a brutal battle. It is also bizarre that it had to take so long while neighboring countries Morocco and Tunisia had become independent years before.
All very nicely portrayed. Convincing also where ordinary citizens were manipulated to take sides. The film offers a very realistic, almost documentary-like view of the guerrilla war. The camera work is sublime with its overview images and close-ups. Finally, the tension is often very hard to cut. Little masterpiece! Good looking!
Translated from Dutch · View original
Reint
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- 151 messages
- 905 votes
Fantastic anti-colonial film. Understandably, it was banned in France for a long time. The film is made in a neo-realistic style, but that doesn't mean the film isn't memorable visually: the dramatic close-ups of Algerian civilians and fighters, clever use of intercutting and slow but intense tempos combined with docu-like confrontations between the two sides.
The film does not hide the military actions of the colonial ruler (breaking the armistice, the inhumane torture, the deaths during demonstrations). The violent performances by the resistance group FLN are, as far as I am concerned, by Pontecorvo: desperate attempts by an oppressed population that wants to throw off the occupation. In that sense, it was never a fair fight, and it only changed when the UN felt called upon to do so. At least 3,000 people died on the Algerian side, a modest estimate considering a total of 10,000 people went missing.
Similar to the Netherlands in Indonesia after the war, efforts were made for years to stop the transgressive behavior of the military service. I think that's why these kinds of movies are so crucial to our common memory.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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