Gillo Pontecorvo's inflammatory masterpiece remains one of the very best political films ever made. Filmed on the streets of Algiers, guerilla style, the film has a the feel of an extended newsreel. It's brutal and in-your-face film-making. Following several Algerians as they attempt to pull from beneath French rule, the film wastes little time on character development, instead focusing on the big picture. These people are desperate in their quest to get away from colonialism. Pontecorvo makes no bones about his leftist slant, even inserting a scene of a French police officer blowing up an entire neighborhood, for no real reason other than to let the audience know that the French deserved the death and destruction caused by the constant barrage of bombing, shootings and stabbings that have been plaguing the streets. The film is a landmark and definitely an essential. Pontecorvo also contributed to the stunning muisc score (along with Ennio Morricone). The script is by Franco Solinas.
Review of The Battle of Algiers
