Product Description

One of the most influential films in the history of political cinema, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers focuses on the harrowing events of 1957, a key year in Algeria's struggle for independence from France. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film vividly recreates the tumultuous Algerian uprising against the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, the French torture prisoners for information and the Algerians resort to terrorism in their quest for independence. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés. The French win the battle, but ultimately lose the war as the Algerian people demonstrate that they will no longer be suppressed. The Criterion Collection is proud present Gillo Pontecorvo's tour de force—a film with astonishing relevance today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5503 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-12
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: French, Arabic
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 125 minutes

Amazon.com
Director Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 movie The Battle of Algiers concerns the violent struggle in the late 1950s for Algerian independence from France, where the film was banned on its release for fear of creating civil disturbances. Certainly, the heady, insurrectionary mood of the film, enhanced by a relentlessly pulsating Ennio Morricone soundtrack, makes for an emotionally high temperature throughout. Decades later, the advent of the "war against terror" has only intensified the film's relevance.

Shot in a gripping, quasi-documentary style, The Battle of Algiers uses a cast of untrained actors coupled with a stern voiceover. Initially, the film focuses on the conversion of young hoodlum Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) to F.L.N. (the Algerian Liberation Front). However, as a sequence of outrages and violent counter-terrorist measures ensue, it becomes clear that, as in Eisenstein's October, it is the Revolution itself that is the true star of the film.

Pontecorvo balances cinematic tension with grimly acute political insight. He also manages an evenhandedness in depicting the adversaries. He doesn't flinch from demonstrating the civilian consequences of the F.L.N.'s bombings, while Colonel Mathieu, the French office brought in to quell the nationalists, is played by Jean Martin as a determined, shrewd, and, in his own way, honorable man. However, the closing scenes of the movie--a welter of smoke, teeming street demonstrations, and the pealing white noise of ululations--leaves the viewer both intellectually and emotionally convinced of the rightfulness of the liberation struggle. This is surely among a handful of the finest movies ever made. --David Stubbs

DVD features
What does the Criterion Collection do for the release of one of the greatest and controversial war movies you never heard of? Fill a three-DVD set with more extras than one could imagine and give The Battle of Algiers the attention it deserves. The film itself is gritty, with a neo-realistic, documentary-like look and feel, and the new high-definition digital transfer has done wonders for its quality while retaining its visual integrity. Assuming many have never heard of The Battle of Algiers, this DVD set has provided a series of documentaries to fill in the many unknown gaps. The first two documentaries give a rich background on Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo ("The Dictatorship of Truth," 1992) and an exclusive making of the film ("Marxist Poetry," 2004). "The Making of The Battle of Algiers" is a wonderful documentary filled with current interviews with Pontecorvo, cinematographer Marcello Gatti, composer Ennio Morricone, and various film historians, biographers, and actors. Disc 2 finishes up with a 17-minute documentary of five directors (Lee, Nair, Schnabel, Soderbergh, and Stone) discussing the importance and influence of The Battle of Algiers on their careers and film in general.

The third disc focuses on the history of the French and Algerian conflict. Remembering History (69 minutes, 2004) is another exclusive documentary historically detailing the battle. It is followed by the chilling États d'armes (2002) which documents various French officers on interrogation, torture, and execution techniques used during the conflict. Another interesting extra is "The Battle of Algiers: A Case Study" (2004). This is a 25-minute conversation with Richard Clarke and Michael Sheehan (former State Department coordinator for counterterrorism) shot for ABC News discussing the film and its relevancy to studying terrorism today. Combine this with a 56-page booklet filled with articles, interviews, Saadi Yacef's account of his arrest, and biographies of French-Algerian war participants and you have yourself a full-fledged course in the film and the history surrounding it. The only minor criticism of this package is that the movie itself has no commentary track. However, considering the abundant historical and background material and directorial testimonials, a commentary track hardly seems necessary. The Battle of Algiers is a must-have for film, war, and history buffs alike. --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews

Choke on truth, war on display
This is the harshest, most ultimately gripping political docudrama I've ever seen. It has grainy, high-contrast cinematography with raw footage--it totally pulls you in to the bleeding heart of war in an unflinching manner. With the voice over narration you'll feel like you're watching live footage on CNN.
There are no individual connections or character development. It reports the tragic events of the French-Algerian War('54-'62) very matter of factly. It tries to get inside the minds of both sides. There are police shootings, terrorists bombings, assassinations, vengeful mobs, raids, public searches, graphic torture...it's gut-wrenching relevance emphatically pierces through even more so today. Brilliant filmmaking.

SO ..SO ..RELEVANT TODAY
Having read many Books on the Algerian war ,I was drawn to this Movie and must say it is a MUST SEE!for any movie fanatic or History major. The DVD Boxed set comes in a wonderful package it looks and feels like it belongs in the Louvre,at first I was taken back by the Bias towards the Algerian side but then again History is subjective ...well worth the money .

There's Nothing New Under The Sun
This film hits like a punch to the mid-section!

I rate The Battle of Algiers among the best films ever made and lament the fact it is so (suspiciously) difficult to find a copy of it in the United States today. It is painfully realistic, fact-filled, horrifying, and packed with disturbing lessons in the politics of conflicting cultures that have never been more relevant than they are right now. As it tells the story of dogged French efforts half a century ago to maintain possession of Algeria, and equally tenacious Algerian struggles to attain independence, The Battle of Algiers has a cast of hundreds (and thousands more extras) that keeps its story going at an extremely fast pace. Here among the countless acts of assassination, terrorism, and outright murder, often for revenge and against innocent civilians, is human drama anchored in history and reality. Some of the incidents this motion picture bluntly depicts will send chills down the spines of even the most hardened veteran of sensationalized, special effect heavy Hollywood war films. And of course anyone would have to be blind not to see ironclad parallels between the French experiences in North Africa and the American situation in Iraq today. This is a masterpiece.