The Battle of Algiers (1966)
"La battaglia di Algeri" (original title)

An account of the bloodiest revolution in modern history.

Director:

Gillo Pontecorvo

Writers:

Gillo Pontecorvo, Franco Solinas

Stars:

Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Brahim Hadjadj	...	Ali La Pointe (as Brahim Haggiag)
Jean Martin	...	Col. Mathieu
Yacef Saadi	...	Djafar (as Saadi Yacef)
Samia Kerbash	...	One of the girls
Ugo Paletti	...	Captain
Fusia El Kader	...	Halima
Omar
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mohamed Ben Kassen	...	Petit Omar

Storyline

A film commissioned by the Algerian government that shows the Algerian revolution from both sides. The French foreign legion has left Vietnam in defeat and has something to prove. The Algerians are seeking independence. The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian's use of bombs in soda shops. A look at war as a nasty thing that harms and sullies everyone who participates in it.

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Plot Keywords:

algerian | french | independence | bomb | torture | 

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Taglines:

The Revolt that Stirred the World!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Distributor

Country:

Italy Algeria

Language:

French Italian English Arabic

Release Date:

20 September 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Battle of Algiers

Filming Locations:

Algeria

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$64,870 (USA) (9 January 2004)

Gross:

$815,345 (USA) (10 September 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Igor Film, Casbah Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Col. Matthieu is loosely based on the real life General Jacques Massu. Right-wing elements in the French Army, led by General Massu seized power in Algiers and threatened to conduct an assault on Paris, involving paratroopers and armored forces based at Rambouillet, unless Charles de Gaulle was placed in charge of the Republic of France.

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Goofs

The foot responsible for tripping Ali when running down the street changes from the right to the left foot between cuts.

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Quotes

Journalist: M. Ben M'Hidi, don't you think it's a bit cowardly to use women's baskets and handbags to carry explosive devices that kill so many innocent people?
Ben M'Hidi: And doesn't it seem to you even more cowardly to drop napalm bombs on defenseless villages, so that there are a thousand times more innocent victims? Of course, if we had your airplanes it would be a lot easier for us. Give us your bombers, and you can have our baskets.

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Connections

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

User Reviews

An unforgettable study of occupation and defeat.

In 1962 after more than 130 years of French colonial rule, Algeria became independent. Gillo Pontecorvo's `Algiers' shows the decade leading to that liberation in a powerful story about Muslims asserting their rights through violence, hiding, and plotting in the Kasbah, a demiworld of narrow, winding, seemingly endless alleys that are the only protection the rebels have from the eyes of the French. The re-release of the 1965 black and white film is a convincing story of a people who do not want to be occupied and will give their lives so their families can one day be free.

The story centers on a couple of Muslim leaders, the charismatic Col. of the French forces, and the bombings and shootouts that at one point averaged just over 4 per day. The film's sympathy is for the Muslims, but the Colonel has moments of reflection that could be sympathetic, especially with the revelation that he was a member of the resistance in WWII and may have suffered in a concentration camp. The director shows the influence of Italian neo-realists like Roberto Rossellini (`Paisan') by shooting in documentary style on location, using non-actors (except for the Colonel), and generally avoiding an agitprop angle.

But the film's sympathy in the end belongs to the occupied people. When 3 rebel women change appearance to look French, infiltrate, and plant bombs, the irony obvious to American audiences in their current struggle is a tribute to the strength of the narration and characterization and the universal dislike of occupation and subjugation.

The torture of the Muslim prisoners is the most poignant relevance to the recent scandal in Iraq. The Colonel's justification for the practice to gain life-saving information is classic `ends-justify-the-means' logic still being used by great nations. In fact, the Pentagon reportedly had seen this film during the first days of the second Iraq War; some say they learned nothing from the film, which is an unforgettable study of occupation and defeat.