The Battle of Algiers

Name: The Battle of Algiers
Genre: Drama, History, War
Released: January 9, 2004
Duration: 121 min
Rating: 96

2004

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Universal acclaim based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 81 Ratings

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8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 81 Ratings

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The Battle Of Algiers

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Movie Details & Credits

Rialto Pictures | Release Date: January 9, 2004 | Not Rated

Summary: The Battle of Algiers re-creates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents. Shot on the streetsThe Battle of Algiers re-creates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents. Shot on the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. … Expand

Director: Gillo Pontecorvo

Genre(s): Drama, History, War

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 121 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Michael Atkinson

A prototype of news-footage realism, the film makes shrewd use of handheld sloppiness, misjudged focus, overexposure, and you-are-there camera upset; the payoff is the scent of authentic panic. Read full review

100

Ty Burr

The Battle of Algiers is a thinking person's action film in which there are winners -- but no heroes. Read full review

100

Glenn Heath Jr.

Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers is a political tract that understands itself also as a cinematic exercise. Read full review

100

Kenneth Turan

Achieves its success through a combination of attitude and technique, uniting, to exceptional effect, a way of viewing the world morally while looking at it physically. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

Nearly four decades ago, Pontecorvo anatomized the very form of modern terrorist warfare: the hidden cells, the cultish leaders, the brutish cycle of attack and counterattack. Read full review

Ella Taylor

A classic of politically engaged filmmaking, based on a book by Saadi Yacef, a former FLN leader who also produced the picture and played a version of himself. Read full review

Walter Addiego

It's back in a handsome new black-and-white print, and it's still powerful stuff -- you can see why Pauline Kael wrote that it was "probably the only film that has ever made middle-class audiences believe in the necessity of bombing innocent people." Read full review

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User Reviews

Joe50119

Feb 18, 2011

Powerful, gut wrenching, moving and biographical film. This film shows all aspects of an insurgency against a superior military force within an urban setting. Extremely relevant considering the Iraq War. The scenes involving the killing of innocents on both sides is simply gut wrenching. YouPowerful, gut wrenching, moving and biographical film. This film shows all aspects of an insurgency against a superior military force within an urban setting. Extremely relevant considering the Iraq War. The scenes involving the killing of innocents on both sides is simply gut wrenching. You see the true face of war. The film also shows involves crimes by both sides, French and Algerian, making no distinction between the two. The scene of the terrorist bombing of the cafe and its aftermath leaves the viewer no doubt that Pontecorvo views the deaths of innocents to be the same no matter what the nationality. The leadership of the insurgency is shown as well as the French paratrooper commander. This film is a must for those who want to truly understand guerrilla warfare in an urban setting and the tragedy of it all. The torture scenes are especially moving and will bring the viewer to tears. Best foreign film of all time.… Expand

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

zlatanmazuidi

Sep 15, 2019

I really cannot understand the popel that votet negatively here. I mean there is no mistake in this film except telling the truth about war.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CineCat

Jun 14, 2021

Excellent film. Was required viewing for the U.S. State Dept and DOD as we were led into the Iraq War.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

PatC.

Mar 30, 2007

So immersing that one hardly notices as it shifts between being an action drama and a documentary. Told from the leftist perspective, it invites the viewer to form a political opinion, which is how these things always get started in the first place. But, as history, knowing what happened in So immersing that one hardly notices as it shifts between being an action drama and a documentary. Told from the leftist perspective, it invites the viewer to form a political opinion, which is how these things always get started in the first place. But, as history, knowing what happened in Algeria is essential to understanding what is happening now. Blaming the French and wanting to exterminate terrorists have always been no-brainers, and the film almost condones both. The ending is tidy, but the implications are not, so one may find the show awesome and informative without clarifying one's moral compass.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

lasttimeisaw

Sep 13, 2013

Algerian Government subsidized and hired Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo to shoot a film to recount the bloody clash between FLN (Algerian National Liberation Front) and French colonial only few years after its independence (1962). The film was not only won GOLDEN LION in Venice in 1966Algerian Government subsidized and hired Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo to shoot a film to recount the bloody clash between FLN (Algerian National Liberation Front) and French colonial only few years after its independence (1962). The film was not only won GOLDEN LION in Venice in 1966 and an Academy Awards nomination for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM in 1967 but also was nominated for BEST DIRECTOR and SCREENPLAY in 1969 for a rare second round.

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS impresses its viewers with a haunting collection of close-up portraits of various people (both French and Algerian) under a soul-searching orchestration emphasized by stark chiaroscuro, it was years after Italian Neo-Realism, but the non-professional cast (the only pro is a wiry and bulged-eyed Jean Martin, who commands a stance of military mettle perfectly) and locale-revamping contributes a great amount of authenticity in the final work. There are plenty of overlooking angles with extensive depth of focus to examine and the city and enlighten one’s appreciation, plus there are fleeting montages of torture under interrogation are disturbing but can potently generates a sense of boldness to show audience the cruelty in reality. However the most indelible ones are the waiting-for-the-bombs-to-explode experiences, with camera panning over innocent white victims-to-be unwittingly relish their last moment of hedonism, utterly guarantee a surge of compassion out of shock value terms.

Therefore, the film should also be extolled by its unbiased perspective in telling its stories from both parts, dispassionately channels viewers to witness the vindictive constitution lying underneath common humanity and the aimless and reproachable tit-for-tat acts ensuring. There are radical debates as regards the essence of revolution, a much more penetrating motto is revolution doesn’t mean war and terrorism is not a means to win a revolution, which should be indoctrinated all over the world, especially to those tinderboxes where religious and political threats are pervading rampantly at present.

Showing no partiality to either sides is not an easy move since the production was backed and green-lit by one of the government, thus the film is a genuine gem in retaining the integrity and fabricating a gripping panorama of a chain of bloodshed and baring its true color under the stark daylight.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

VerbalCant

Jul 9, 2012

Handles suspense better than most modern thrillers, the scenes with the female bombers are absolutely brilliantly done. It's agitprop... but what isn't, and it handles it well. None of the characters are over sympathetic, and the politics is all abot the confrontation not about the issues. IHandles suspense better than most modern thrillers, the scenes with the female bombers are absolutely brilliantly done. It's agitprop... but what isn't, and it handles it well. None of the characters are over sympathetic, and the politics is all abot the confrontation not about the issues. I think the only perspective missing is the french back in Europe... why are the soldiers there? A very good film.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

FilipeNeto

Apr 2, 2021

Personally, I can't see the beauty and quality of this film. I recognize the ability to be objective and rigorous in the report made, and it is quite unusual to find a film that resembles both a documentary or a major journalistic report. However, the way it was conceived and itsPersonally, I can't see the beauty and quality of this film. I recognize the ability to be objective and rigorous in the report made, and it is quite unusual to find a film that resembles both a documentary or a major journalistic report. However, the way it was conceived and its high-contrast cinematography make the experience of watching the film truly tiring.

Directed and written by Gillo Pontecorvo, the film addresses, in very broad lines, the effort of the Algerians to resist French colonization and conquer the independence of their country, in one of the most striking colonial conflicts that France faced. However, the way the film approaches the subject could not be worse: instead of building a fictional story on top of historical facts, the narrative is dispersed and, if most of the time we follow in the footsteps of a specific Algerian terrorist, the script proved to be unable to focus on this story and to avoid unreasonable or accessory considerations. Furthermore, and while the film tries to be neutral, the sympathy for the revolutionaries is evident.

The cast is satisfactory, but it's made up of names I don't know. Brahim Hadjadj brought to life the most notable character in the film, a member of the Algerian resistance, and was happy in his effort. Technically, it is an uneven film, with a neo-realistic aesthetic, but an excessively crude cinematography, of high contrast, tiring for the eyes. The sets and costumes are fine and the film is quite authentic, and the soundtrack does not bring anything remarkable.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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