The Battle of Algiers (1966)
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The story
Set in the capital city of French Algeria, the film depicts the escalating conflict between the Algerian people and the French government during the Algerian War of Independence. The narrative focuses on the revolutionary fighter Ali La Pointe and the organization of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in the Casbah. As the FLN establishes a guerrilla movement, French paratroopers are deployed to the city to suppress the insurgency. The film explores the tactics of the guerrilla movement and the harsh, often illegal methods employed by French forces to maintain control, capturing the atmosphere of a city caught in a violent struggle for independence.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film begins in 1957 with the capture of Ali La Pointe's hideout by the French Army, followed by a flashback to 1954. It reconstructs the events in the capital of French Algeria between 1954 and 1957. The story follows the organization of revolutionary cells in the Casbah and the subsequent escalation of violence between Algerian locals and European residents. In response, France sends paratroopers to capture members of the National Liberation Front (FLN). The film depicts the FLN's tactics, including the use of bombs and the execution of collaborators, while showing the French forces' use of torture and violence. The narrative follows several key figures: the radicalized petty criminal Ali La Pointe, the FLN commander El-Hadi Jafar, the paratroop commander Lieutenant-Colonel Phillippe Mathieu, and various women guerrillas. The film concludes with a coda of nationalist demonstrations, suggesting that while the French won the Battle of Algiers, they lost the broader Algerian War.
- First release year
- 1966
- Runtime (minutes)
- 136
- Production countries
- Algeria
- Original languages
- Arabic; French
- Directors
- Gillo Pontecorvo
- Writers
- Franco Solinas · screenplay; Franco Solinas · story; Gillo Pontecorvo · story
- Cast and characters
- Jean Martin · Colonel Philippe Mathieu; Saadi Yacef · El-Hadi Jafar; Brahim Hadjadj · Ali La Pointe; Tommaso Neri · Captain Dubois; Samia Kerbash · Fathia; Ugo Paletti · a Captain; Fusia El Kader · Hassiba Ben Bouali; Franco Moruzzi · Mahmoud; Mohamed Ben Kassen · Little Omar
- Genres
- war; drama; history
- Themes
- guerrilla warfare; colonialism; revolution; resistance
- Tone and mood
- realistic; tense; documentary-style
- Premise and plot tags
- war; political; historical
- Source material / true-story basis
- Souvenirs de la Bataille d'Alger
- Content notes
- violence; torture
- Reception
- The film received international acclaim and is considered one of the greatest films of all time. It was a subject of sociopolitical controversy in France, leading to a ban for several years. It is widely praised for its realism and is cited as a significant influence on numerous filmmakers and even served as a study for military counter-insurgency tactics.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 99% · scale: percentage · review count: 94; Metacritic · score: 96 · scale: 100
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Lion · Venice Film Festival · win; Academy Award · Best Foreign Language Film · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was not screened in France for five years due to controversy.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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