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- 2004
- Not Rated
- 2 h 1 m
- 2004
- Not Rated
- 2 h 1 m
Summary The Battle of Algiers re-creates 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 on the stre...
Directed By: Gillo Pontecorvo
Written By: Franco Solinas, Gillo Pontecorvo
- 2004
- Not Rated
- 2 h 1 m
- 2004
- Not Rated
- 2 h 1 m
The Battle of Algiers
8.3
Where to Watch
Summary The Battle of Algiers re-creates 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 on the stre...
Directed By: Gillo Pontecorvo
Written By: Franco Solinas, Gillo Pontecorvo
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
96
100% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 22 Critic Reviews
96
100% Positive
22 Reviews
22 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
It may be a deeper film experience than many audiences can withstand: too cynical, too true, too cruel and too heartbreaking. It is about the Algerian war, but those not interested in Algeria may substitute another war; The Battle of Algiers has a universal frame of reference.
An extraordinary movie that ruffled many feathers when it first came out. Almost 40 years later, it retains the poignancy it delivered back then. Its message is not lost in our present state of affairs.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 70 User Ratings
8.3
84% Positive
59 Ratings
59 Ratings
13% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 70 User Ratings
8.3
84% Positive
59 Ratings
59 Ratings
13% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
3% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
I really cannot understand the popel that votet negatively here. I mean there is no mistake in this film except telling the truth about war.
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It's a masterpiece.
Like all masterpieces, it speaks to later ages as powerfully and intelligently as to its own.
The greatness of The Battle of Algiers lies in its ability to embrace moral ambiguity without succumbing to it.
Whatever the news-linked reasons for its revival, Pontecorvo's film is wonderfully worth seeing, or re-seeing, for its own sake.
It's back in a handsome new black-and-white print, and it's still powerful stuff -- you can see why Pauline Kael wrote that it was "probably the only film that has ever made middle-class audiences believe in the necessity of bombing innocent people."
Powerful, gut wrenching, moving and biographical film. This film shows all aspects of an insurgency against a superior military force within an urban setting. Extremely relevant considering the Iraq War. The scenes involving the killing of innocents on both sides is simply gut wrenching. You see the true face of war. The film also shows involves crimes by both sides, French and Algerian, making no distinction between the two. The scene of the terrorist bombing of the cafe and its aftermath leaves the viewer no doubt that Pontecorvo views the deaths of innocents to be the same no matter what the nationality. The leadership of the insurgency is shown as well as the French paratrooper commander. This film is a must for those who want to truly understand guerrilla warfare in an urban setting and the tragedy of it all. The torture scenes are especially moving and will bring the viewer to tears. Best foreign film of all time.
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Tensed movie with a serious political topic. Fortunately this movie isnt for the masses and the movies shows details how to begin a revolution, it was almost a documentary. I also liked, that the movie showed also the ugly sides of the Algerians and was not onesided.
Great movie, of course a bit old already.
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(Mauro Lanari)
Mai sopportato il neorealismo: a mio parere non è questo il nostro grande cinema del dopoguerra, e infatti l'ho sempre accuratament'evitato. L'intero genere è simile all'Impressionismo: mera conseguenza d'un'invenzione tecnica che ha permesso agl'autori d'uscire dagli studi pittorici e dai teatri di posa, m'applicat'a una poetica che trovo acerbamente repulsiva, respingente: fosse proseguito il risibile calco d'una quotidianità sotto e davanti agl'occhi di tutti, Fellini avrebbe continuato a inanellare inutili Oscar senza mai giungere al realismo magico.
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Personally, I can't see the beauty and quality of this film. I recognize the ability to be objective and rigorous in the report made, and it is quite unusual to find a film that resembles both a documentary or a major journalistic report. However, the way it was conceived and its high-contrast cinematography make the experience of watching the film truly tiring.
Directed and written by Gillo Pontecorvo, the film addresses, in very broad lines, the effort of the Algerians to resist French colonization and conquer the independence of their country, in one of the most striking colonial conflicts that France faced. However, the way the film approaches the subject could not be worse: instead of building a fictional story on top of historical facts, the narrative is dispersed and, if most of the time we follow in the footsteps of a specific Algerian terrorist, the script proved to be unable to focus on this story and to avoid unreasonable or accessory considerations. Furthermore, and while the film tries to be neutral, the sympathy for the revolutionaries is evident.
The cast is satisfactory, but it's made up of names I don't know. Brahim Hadjadj brought to life the most notable character in the film, a member of the Algerian resistance, and was happy in his effort. Technically, it is an uneven film, with a neo-realistic aesthetic, but an excessively crude cinematography, of high contrast, tiring for the eyes. The sets and costumes are fine and the film is quite authentic, and the soundtrack does not bring anything remarkable.
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 3 Nominations
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists
• 3 Wins & 6 Nominations
Venice Film Festival
• 3 Wins & 3 Nominations
