The Battle of Algiers by Gillo Pontecorvo (1966)

The Battle of Algiers

Dir. Gillo Pontecorvo, Algeria/Italy, 1966, drama, music by Ennio Morricone

From Wikipedia

The Battle of Algiers (Italian: La battaglia di Algeri; Arabic: معركة الجزائر‎; French: La Bataille d’Alger) is a 1966 war film based on occurrences during the Algerian War (1954–62) against the French government in North Africa, the most prominent being the titular Battle of Algiers. An Italo-Algerian production, it was directed by Gillo Pontecorvo and shot on location. The film, which was shot in a Rossellini-inspired newsreel style—in black and white with documentary-type editing—is often associated with Italian neorealism cinema.

The film has been critically celebrated and often taken, by insurgent groups and states alike, as an important commentary on urban guerrilla warfare. It occupies the 48th place on the Critics’ Top 250 Films of the 2012 Sight & Sound poll as well as 120th place on Empire magazine’s list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.

Algeria gained independence from the French, a matter which Pontecorvo portrays in the film’s epilogue. The film concentrates on the years between 1954 and 1957 when the guerrilla fighters regrouped and expanded into the Casbah, which was met by French paratroopers attempting to regain territory. The highly dramatic film is about the organization of a guerrilla movement and the methods used by the colonial power to contain it.

A subject of socio-political controversy, the film wasn’t screened for five years in France, where it was later released in 1971.

In spite of its status as the classic among the classics all over the world, it has been out of circulation in Japan for decades.  In 1966, it was awarded the Golden Lion at Venice, ranked #1 on Kinema Junpo in Japan, and banned in France (for many years). Then in 2003, it was screened for the Special Operations Command at the Pentagon. You will know the reason if you see the film. This screening was made possible with the generous support from the world-wide (outside of Italy) rights holder of the film. Do not miss it!

Crew:

Director: Gillo Pontecorvo

Screenplay: Franco Solinas and Gillo Pontecorvo (Based on Souvenirs de la Bataille d’Alger by Saadi Yacef)

Music: Ennio Morricone

 

The Cast:

Brahim Hadjadj as Ali La Pointe

Jean Martin as Colonel Mathieu (only professional actor)

Saadi Yacef as Saadi Yacef (Djafar)

 

Reception:

Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival

3 Academy Awards Nomination for Best Screenplay (Gillo Pontecorvo and Franco Solinas) and Best Director (Gillo Pontecorvo) in 1969. and Best Foreign Language Film in 1967.

Kinema Junpo ranking #1 (Japan, 1966)

Best Film of 1967 by Cuban critics

The United Churches of America Prize (1967)

In 2010, the movie was ranked sixth in Empire magazine’s “The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema”.