The Battle of Algiers (1966)

In the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.

Director:

Gillo Pontecorvo

Writers:

Franco Solinas, Franco Solinas (story) (as F. Solinas)

Stars:

Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean Martin	...	Col. Mathieu
Yacef Saadi	...	Djafar (as Saadi Yacef)
Brahim Hadjadj	...	Ali La Pointe (as Brahim Haggiag)
Tommaso Neri	...	Captain
Samia Kerbash	...	Fathia
Ugo Paletti	...	Captain
Fusia El Kader	...	Halima
Franco Moruzzi	...	(as Franco Morici)
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:

battle of algiers | algeria | resistance | struggle for independence | street fighter | 

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Taglines:

The French Colonel...who was forced even to torture! One of the many women...who stopped at nothing to win! The Algerian Street Boy...who became a rebel hero!

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy Algeria

Language:

French Arabic English

Release Date:

20 September 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Battle of Algiers

Filming Locations:

Algeria

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$64,870, 11 January 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$55,908, 6 January 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Casbah Film, Igor Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the few film in Oscar history to be a nominee in two separate non-consecutive years. It was a foreign film nominee for 1966, and then a nominee for screenplay and direction for 1968.

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Goofs

After the French officer is shot by his car, as he is being carried away the actor is holding his up. Normally his head would fall back when carried so soon after death.

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Quotes

[first lines]
French Interrogator: Couldn't you have talked sooner? It would've gone easier for you.

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Connections

Referenced in Inglourious Basterds (2009)

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Soundtracks

St. Matthew Passion BWV 244, 1st movement
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

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.