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The Battle of Algiers (1966)

★★★★ — The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Gillo Pontecorvo had made only a handful of features before this one, including the concentration camp drama Kapo (1960), but The Battle of Algiers became the work that defined his reputation and, for many, the template for politically serious cinema of the era. Shot on location in Algiers in a punishing semi-documentary style, the film was produced as a co-production between Italian company Igor Film and Casbah Film, a company partly backed by Yacef Saâdi, an actual FLN commander during the 1954-62 war who also appears in the film playing a fictionalised version of himself. Algeria had only gained independence from France in 1962, meaning the wounds were still very fresh. France banned the film outright until 1971, and the Pentagon famously screened it in 2003 as a study in urban insurgency.

60 years later and we haven't learned a thing. The battle for Algiers is raw, unapologetic and brutal. It depicts both sides of a conflict in Algeria because her people and the French. The effects in this film were so realistic. You'd be forgiven if you thought some of this was real footage. I'm not going to comment on the politics but BOTH sides were engaged in horrific acts where innocent people suffered. It was thought provoking then... now 60 years later it's just sad that we're still doing the same old stuff.

Rating: ★★★★ | Year: 1966 | Watched: 2025-05-21

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