The Battle Of Algiers Reviews

Rock the Casbah!!!

Talk about ahead of its time!!! This films was one of the first portray arabs as not shifty, lowlifes but as heroes.

I loved the grainy photography, the editing and the Morricone soundtrack is sparse and rhymic.

Anyone who loves non-Hollywood classic will be fascinated in this film.

Hollywood! Watch and Learn.

This beautifully shot; documentary style drama is a truly great piece of cinema. The Battle of Algiers holds nothing back in delivering a ferociously visceral account of Algeria’s struggle for independence. The decisions to shot and edit with a documentary style make the events on the screen feel like they are happening today and we the audience feel like we are not only in the front row of a cinema but on the front line in the Kasbah. Stirring performances from non-professional actors pack an emotional wallop and the audience’s allegiance to the LFN (The Algerian’s) is closely conflicted by the surprisingly noble French Para’s, personified by Lieutenant Mathieu. Overall, a tenderly handled, truly gorgeous view of the inevitable conflicts that arise through colonialism. And it has to be said, as clichéd as it is; they just don’t make them like they used to.

A wonderful and moving film

A wonderful and moving film shot in documentary/Pathe newsreel style about this largely forgotten episode in recent history. Using amateur actors. Also worth watching the interview with the director. Recommended

[Highly rated reviewer]

Quite Astonishing

Although set in a particular place and time, this film applies to every situation in which political conviction, religious belief, patriotism, a sense of duty and feelings of grievance lead people into taking positions which seem to justify horrific acts which escalate.

The events are observed with apparent detachment, lack of bias and an unflinching camera, recorded and shown as they unfold with a terrible logic. Both sides of the dispute are given voices which express their opinions and explain their actions, but the film does not fall into the trap of personalising them as characters. The photography and presentation look completely authentic, and it is often difficult to know whether one is watching staged events or newsreel.

This is very powerful, horribly topical and should be seen by all who express opinions about colonialism, revolution and war. It's relevance is timeless.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Unflinching and confrontational without being dismissive

Filmed in a documentary style with non-actors, nearly forty years before City Of God the film tells a story of revolution in Algiers against French colonialism. I wouldn't say that the film has masterful acting performances because it doesn't, it's real strength coming from an unflinching and non-judgemental look at terrorism and colonialism. Asked to film a sympathetic film about the revolution by the Algerians, although the film presents what would be viewed as stereotypical colonial acts nowadays, I think that overall it was relatively unprejudiced yet that would depend on your own viewpoints towards freedom fighters and/or terrorists. The film rarely states the political objectives behind the actions of both and relies a lot on your own viewing as to what's going on and whether subsequent actions are justified. There are no punches pulled when looking at the acts of the French, bombing and shooting civilians without just cause and likewise terrorist bombings are shown in their full glory with shots of the soon-to-die innocent civilians including children stopping any romanticism about the terrorists cause. I thought it was hard to watch with no gloss on the presentation whatsoever and in many ways it was very saddening to think that people would ever feel that desperate that they would do this, on both sides.

Very relevant

Pontecorvo's film is very realistic and it is gripping. Filmed in a convincing documentary style, it is a highly plausible account of the struggle between the French and the FLN independence fighters in Algiers. Given that the film was commissioned by the Algerians in 1968 and initially banned by the French authorities, it's more evenhanded than you might expect - it makes clear that atrocities were committed by both sides. The leader of the French paratroopers comes across as an intelligent if ruthless commander, while the FLN leaders are charismatic and one is engrossed in their struggle to escape the French troops.

The film is surprisingly relevant in today's post 11 September world - the Pentagon apparently arranged special showings of the film last year, when it was rereleased at US cinemas.

Thought provoking and well worth seeing.

Customer Review

This is a film with a rare and timeless pedigree - based on events in Algiers in the mid-1950's, winner of several awards in 1966 when it was released, banned for several years in France, and still relevant to this day, it is a film whose black and white photography gives it immediacy and depth rather than vintage.

The 1950's, and European empires are in decay. The French have lost Indochina ... the USA filling the vacuum in Viet Nam, seemingly oblivious to the defeat the elite of the French army suffered at Dien Bien Phu. In Algeria, there is pressure for the creation of a muslim fundamentalist state and independence from the colonial ruler. The French Right, meanwhile, is backing the many French settlers who have a vested interest in staying. The scene is primed for a civil war of the bloodiest character.

"The Battle of Algiers" opens with a scene of torture ... or shall we say, interrogation. A skeletal Arab has been coerced into giving information. He is dressed in French uniform (black man, white uniform, echoing Fanon) ... ensuring the French don't actually have to kill him themselves ... and paraded around while French troops raid Arab tenement blocks. Within, some of the leaders of the resistance are hiding. And so we drift into flashback mode - how did the protagonists come to be where they are? What is the back story?

You're already fascinated. This is a piece of historical analysis. This is a documentary turned into fiction, and a piece of fiction turned into documentary. The director, Pontecorvo, uses non-professional actors, hand held cameras and diffused lighting to enhance this impression of watching live newsreel footage from the heart of the war zone. The film is about Algiers, but it can symbolise any conflict between a colonial power and the colonised.

The struggle boils down to a battle between the terrorism of the rebels and the terror tactics of the French paratroops. We watch bombs being planted in crowded cafés; it is chillingly real. We watch the cat and mouse games of activists being pursued through the narrow streets of the Kasbah. We watch the impact this has on the bystanders - they are polarised to join one side or the other. One of the leaders of the insurrection comments that terrorism is only a first step - they have to mobilise the people to take action, to strike, to attack the economic base of the colonialists. Already, the resistance is not confined to a few fanatics - men, women and children are actively involved, and their ranks are swelling.

It is superbly paced, beautifully scripted, and astonishingly choreographed - the complexity of the crowd scenes, the rooftop coverage of a living city, the ordinariness of the faces, all combine to create a sense of realism. You feel as if you are there, as if the action is taking place today.

And you wonder why so many invaders have failed to understand what motivates people when they perceive their country as being invaded and their culture as being abused. The French paratroops extol the virtues of the French Resistance fighting the German occupation ... but cannot understand that the Arabs might see themselves as a legitimate resistance movement, not simply 'terrorists'. The paras, themselves, seem to have already forgotten what happened to them at Dien Bien Phu.

"The Battle of Algiers" presents a lesson in history. It also presents a lesson in film-making, for this is cinematography of the very highest quality. A film with no stars, without a glamorous subject, and seemingly dated in its subject matter, yet this is a film which will surprise you by its ability to grip and hold your attention. Beyond a doubt, one of the finest films I have ever seen.

Probably very good in its day

Tells a very good story about the demise of colonialism and how the French tried but failed to hold on to it. No graphic brutality shown but rather implied. The moral of the story would be that politics will prevail over time and the short-term use of terror tactics by either side only deepens existing sadness and waste.

Algerie Francaise

Probably the first ever film to portray the horror and reality of the 'terrorist/freedom-fighter' war that has become such a fact of all our lives today. The use of black and white (whether a budgetary or artistic decision) brings a starkness which greatly enhances the atmosphere.

Palpable tension as the bombers go through police barricades and the views of ordinary lives in the cafes and shops just before they are torn apart is masterly. Although 40 years old the message and reality of this film remains as valid today.

After living and working in Algiers for 4 years and hearing about the fight for independence from my co-workers it was very interesting to watch this film. Even though the language spoken in the film is a mixture of French and Arabic the English subtitles are well written to keep up with the flow of the film. Would have been better if they had shown more of the atrocities that he French committed during the unrest