The Battle of Algiers/La Battaglia di Algeri (1966) - Pontecorvo's groundbreakingly authentic anti-colonial war masterpiece

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A hype-filled, exceedingly colorful and admission-thumping poster for Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers

 
The Battle of Algiers opens up the story of the North-African country in the 1950s and early 60s, where local grassroots form a guerrilla rebellion against the French colonial occupation.

 

The Battle of Algiers is written by Franco Solinas (Una Vita Violenta (1962)) and Italian master filmmaker, co-writer/director/co-composer Gillo Pontecorvo (La Grande Estrada Azzurra (1957)), whose 3rd film it was. The script is inspired by the autobiography Souvenirs de la Bataille d'Alger by Saadi Yacef, Algerian independence fighter and later politician.

 
The dilemmas and human consequences of the fight against French colonialism portrayed in documentary-like style here are perhaps as relevant today, as they were 60 years ago, although Western colonialism is no longer the issue. The Battle of Algiers is incredibly realistic and authentic-looking, (cinematography by Marcello Gatti (Inganni (1986))) engaging and exciting while also being terrible to watch. Tragic, as if you are watching great masses of people tangle together in bloody, worsening knots.
The account is a fairly balanced picture of the sacrifices and cruelties committed on both sides of the conflict, and it has also been rightly hailed for this distinguishing quality. There is only one professional actor in The Battle of Algiers, Jean Martin (The Day of the Jackal (1973)), who was deeply personally invested in the issue.
The music is a fantastic mix of indigenous drums and compositions by Pontecorvo and great Italian composer Ennio Morricone (The Cat O'Nine Tails/Il Gatto a Nove Code (1971)).
The staging of this extraordinary account of colonial/anti-colonial warfare could not possibly have been accomplished any better. The Battle of Algiers is a unique masterpiece with a fierce intensity that is rarely matched.

 
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Gillo Pontecorvo: Top 10: The best B/W movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 0.8 mil. $
Box office: Exceeding 962k $ (only post 2000 re-releases)
= Unknown but likely a box office success (projected return of 3.12 times its cost)

[The Battle of Algiers premiered 31 August (Venice Film Festival) and runs 136 minutes (a 120 minute cut version was released in many markets). Shooting took place at an unknown time in Algeria, including in Algiers. The actors are most all amateurs with real-life experience of the events portrayed. The film was released to acclaim in Italy and the US, among other markets, but regrettably the gross numbers are unknown. It was hugely controversial and banned for a year in France and remained unable to find distribution there for a further 4 years, before it was finally released to bomb threats against theaters and death threats against Pontecorvo. It was also embraced in France with time; however, the film also became a popular feature for radical groups around the world, including terrorist groups. Its relevance carried on into the new millennium, and in 2003 the Pentagon arranged a screening of the film. Without actual numbers it is impossible to ascertain the film's theatrical results, although its acclaim should indicate that it may have landed a considerable result, perhaps in the 2.5 mil. $ range, which would rank it a box office success. The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning none: Best Foreign Language Film, lost to A Man and a Woman (from France), Director, lost to Carol Reed for Oliver!, and Original Screenplay, lost to Mel Brooks for The Producers. The latter two Oscar nominations, - highly unusually, - came in 1969, with the first one being in 1967. The film also won a BAFTA and the Gold Lion in Venice, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #240 on the site's Top 250, sitting between Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) and Groundhog Day (1993). Pontecorvo returned with Burn! (1969). Martin returned in Martin Soldat (1966). The Battle of Algiers is certified fresh at 99 % with a 9.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

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