#249: PONTECORVO, Gillo: The Battle Of Algiers (1966)

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PONTECORVO, Gillo (Italy)
The Battle Of Algiers [1966]
Spine #249
DVD


One of the most influential political films in history, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (La bataille d'Alger) vividly recreates 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 in 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. The Criterion Collection is proud to present Gillo Pontecorvo's tour de force — a film with astonishing relevance today.

121 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
in French & Arabic
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2004
Director/Writers


Based on an idea by Saadi Yacef.
Screenplay by Franco Solinas.
Written by Gillo Pontecorvo and Solinas.
Pontecorvo was 47 when he directed The Battle of Algiers.

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Fifty-eight page booklet featuring essays by Peter Matthews, Yacef’s account of his arrest, related excerpts from the original screenplay by Pontecorvo and Solinas, and selected biographies of participants in the French-Algerian war by Arun Kapil.

Commentary

None.

Gillo Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth (1992)

A 37-minute documentary, narrated by literary critic Edward Said.
Documentary

51-minutes on the making of The Battle of Algiers, featuring interviews with the director, cinematographer Marcello Gatti, composer Ennio Morricone, editors, actors, and film historians.
Five Directors

(17 mins., 2004): Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone on the film’s influence, style, and importance.
Remembering History

(69 mins., 2004): an exclusive documentary that reconstructs the Algerian experience of the battle for independence, featuring interviews with historians and revolutionaries, including military leader Saadi Yacef.
États d’armes

(2002): a 28-minute documentary excerpt featuring senior French military officers recalling the use of torture and execution to combat the rebellion.
The Battle of Algiers: A Case Study

(25 mins., 2004): Richard A. Clarke, former national counterterrorism coordinator and author of Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror, discusses the film’s relevance with Michael A. Sheehan, former State Department coordinator for counterterrorism, in a conversation moderated by Christopher E. Isham, chief of investigative projects for ABC News.

Gillo Pontecorvo’s Return to Algiers

(58 mins., 1992): the filmmaker revisits the Algerian people after three decades of independence.

Production Gallery

Theatrical and re-release trailers

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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