The Battle of Algiers

Released Sep 20, 1967

2h 5m

War

History

Drama

List

99%

Tomatometer

93 Reviews

95%

Audience Score

10,000+ Ratings

Paratrooper commander Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin), a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to 1950s Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch the uprisings of the Algerian War. There he faces Ali la Pointe (Brahim Haggiag), a former petty criminal who, as the leader of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale, directs terror strategies against the colonial French government occupation. As each side resorts to ever-increasing brutality, no violent act is too unthinkable.

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Critics Consensus

A documentary-like depiction of a nation's real-life efforts to expel a colonizing force, The Battle of Algiers puts viewers on the front lines with gripping realism.

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

I think people's senses are so overwhelmed by the surging inevitability of the action that they are prepared to support what, in another context, they would reject.

Sep 18, 2023

Full Review

Eric Hynes

Village Voice

It uses realism as an effect, documentary as a style. You feel that you're really there, and you can't help but be moved.

Oct 5, 2016

Full Review

Mike D'Angelo

AV Club

It neither demonizes nor lionizes either side of the conflict, aiming for just-the-ugly facts objectivity. Nobody who sees it is likely to feel comforted, or even vindicated. The emotion it most frequently and fervently inspires is sorrow.

Rated: A-

Oct 5, 2016

Full Review

Paul Kanieski

KSQD Community Radio

The lessons The Battle of Algiers has to offer are painfully obvious. Why we still haven't learned them over fifty years hence defies all logic.

Jul 22, 2023

Full Review

Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

In terms of the political genre, this one may be among the greatest internationally with its documentary-style shoot...

Mar 8, 2023

Full Review

Luis Fernando Galván

En Filme

[Director Gillo] Pontecorvo emerged during the "boom" of postwar Italian neorealism, but he was above all a documentary filmmaker. Both strains serve him well in this magnificent work. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/5

Aug 21, 2020

Full Review

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Lee C

This movie may be important for anyone interested in Algerian or French history, but it's not a good movie. The screenwriters did not bother to provide the characters with backstories that explain their motivations or provide viewers with reasons to care about them as people. Given that the lead characters that we presumably are supposed to empathize with are terrorists who deliberately kill many, many innocent civilians, that would have been a good thing to do. Instead, characters pop up, do things for reasons that aren't well explained, and then are arrested or blown up or whatever.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/16/24

Full Review

Giuseppe S

Gillo Pontecorvo ha plasmato un'opera senza tempo con "La Battaglia di Algeri", un film avvincente che cattura autenticamente la struggente lotta del Fronte di Liberazione Nazionale (FLN) contro la colonizzazione francese. L'approccio realistico di Pontecorvo è un tuffo nel cuore di questa epica battaglia, trasformando la storia in un'esperienza palpabile e coinvolgente. Il regista adotta un realismo sorprendente, usando volti espressivi e una tecnica documentaristica che getta uno sguardo senza veli sulla brutalità della guerra. Il bianco e nero, curato con maestria da Marcello Gatti, e la colonna sonora coinvolgente di Ennio Morricone si fondono magistralmente, creando un'atmosfera intensa che avvolge lo spettatore dall'inizio alla fine. La maestria di Pontecorvo si manifesta nell'equilibrio impeccabile tra le prospettive, evitando semplificazioni e regalando allo spettatore una visione articolata e completa della storia. Ogni scena racconta una storia indimenticabile, ogni inquadratura unisce dramma e profondità psicologica, dando vita a personaggi iconici come Ali La Pointe e il colonnello francese Mathieu. Il film riflette sull'assurdità della guerra, del terrore e della violenza, presentando entrambi i lati senza pregiudizi. Pontecorvo si distingue per la sua capacità di mettere in discussione gli stereotipi, offrendo una visione senza compromessi della complessità umana. "La Battaglia di Algeri" è un trionfo cinematografico, una testimonianza della potenza dell'arte nel dare voce alla storia in modo straordinario. Con maestria tecnica e narrazione coinvolgente, Pontecorvo ha forgiato un capolavoro che va oltre i confini geografici e le barriere temporali. Il film continua a suscitare riflessioni intense, dimostrando la potenza dell'arte nel raccontare la storia in modo accessibile e coinvolgente. In conclusione, "La Battaglia di Algeri" è un'opera cinematografica senza tempo, un viaggio emozionante attraverso la storia che lascia un'impronta indelebile nella memoria dello spettatore. Un'esperienza visiva e narrativa che va oltre la semplice visione, trasportando il pubblico in un mondo di tensione, speranza e tragica bellezza.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

huck d

Director Gillo Pontecorvo raised the bar forever on movie making with the Battle of Algiers. An almost completely amateur cast, pulled from the streets of Algiers, many who had lived themselves through the uprising against their French colonizers, the movie has an inescapably compelling authenticity. Coupled with a musical score, also with an assist by Pontecorvo, that immediately pulls you in and never lets you go. Unlike almost anything made today, the film takes no sides, but rather presents the story as it unfolded in a documentary style. Are you for the independence fighters or the authorities, and how far is too far for each to go in achieving independence or in maintaining peace. Terrorism? Torture? You'll find no easy answer here. But there are answers plain and simple. Today, on the Freedom Index, Algeria is in the bottom 1/3 of countries in freedom in the category "repressed," while France is in the top 1/3 in the category "mostly free." Algerian's "freedom" fighters in the end purchased oppression with their blood and treasure. The film makers even allude to the difficulty of governing and the uncertainty of revolution in the words of one of the leaders himself, "it is hard to start a revolution, and even harder to keep it going. But the greatest difficulty is in what comes after." Although these lessons come mainly outside of the movie, the movie itself, is an absolute masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/03/23

Full Review

Cem Y

If you would like to more about what was happening in Algiers, this is a good one to have a grasp of it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/23/23

Full Review

Zinou M

one of kind for the history of cinema

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/02/23

Full Review

E C

An excellent movie about a core part of the Algerian War of Independence.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/29/22

Full Review

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Gillo Pontecorvo

Director

Jean Martin

Col. Mathieu

Yacef Saadi

Djafar

Brahim Haggiag

Ali La Pointe

Tommaso Neri

Captain (uncredited)

Samia Kerbash

One of the girls

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Synopsis

Paratrooper commander Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin), a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to 1950s Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch the uprisings of the Algerian War. There he faces Ali la Pointe (Brahim Haggiag), a former petty criminal who, as the leader of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale, directs terror strategies against the colonial French government occupation. As each side resorts to ever-increasing brutality, no violent act is too unthinkable.

Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
Distributor: Rialto Pictures, Image Entertainment Inc., Criterion Collection, Rizzoli
Production Co: Cashbah, Igor Film
Genre: War, History, Drama
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 20, 1967, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 7, 2016
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $55.9K
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Mono

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