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The Battle Of Algiers [1965]
starring: Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi, Samia Kerbash, Ugo Paletti
directed by: Gillo Pontecorvo

Price: £20.41

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Used Price: £14.95
Third Party New Price: £20.41

Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 5023965108524
Format: Black & White, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
Label: Tartan Video
Manufacturer: Tartan Video
Number Of Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Tartan Video
Release Date: July 19, 1993
Running Time: 116 minutes
Studio: Tartan Video
Theatrical Release Date: September 20, 1967
Sales Rank: 4434

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
Director Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 movie The Battle of Algiers concerns the violent struggle in the late 1950s for Algerian independence from France, where the film was banned on its release for fear of creating civil disturbances. Certainly, the heady, insurrectionary mood of the film, enhanced by a relentlessly pulsating Ennio Morricone soundtrack, makes for an emotionally high temperature throughout. With the advent of the "war against terror" in recent years, the film's relevance has only intensified.

Shot in a gripping, quasi-documentary style, The Battle of Algiers uses a cast of untrained actors coupled with a stern voiceover. Initially, the film focuses on the conversion of young hoodlum Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) to FLN (the Algerian Liberation Front.) However, as a sequence of outrages and violent counter-terrorist measures ensue, it becomes clear that, as in Eisenstein's October, it is the Revolution itself that is the true star of the film.

Pontecorvo balances cinematic tension with grimly acute political insight. He also manages an even-handedness in depicting the adversaries. He doesn't flinch from demonstrating the civilian consequences of the FLN's bombings, while Colonel Mathieu, the French office brought in to quell the nationalists, is played by Jean Martin as determined, shrewd and, in his own way, honourable man. However, the closing scenes of the movie--a welter of smoke, teeming street demonstrations and the pealing white noise of ululations--leaves the viewer both intellectually and emotionally convinced of the rightfulness of the liberation struggle. This is surely among a fistful of the finest movies ever made. --David Stubbs

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- One of the best political films ever
One of the best political films ever, about the 1954-1957 uprising of Algiers against French colonial rule. As the film shows, the uprising was brutally crushed, but the seeds of independence had already been sown, and in 1960 a new uprising, covering all Algeria, would rise up, and the country would become independent two years later. The French colonists, who numbered more than a million and who had lived in Algeria for more than a century, would be expelled after wards, marking a complete defeat for France. Made in 1965, with financing by the Algerian independent government, it is nevertheless surprisingly fair in some aspects. It shows the brutal terror tactics employed by the FLN (the main Algerian liberation group) like bombing bars and ... Read More:

Rating:

- Good value set with lots of info
This is a 3 DVD set + a book in quite a funky cover. I have been trying to get this DVD for many months for my Algerian boyfriend and it really is a rare version. The first DVD is a copy of the original film from 1966 which won the Venice Grande Prix, filmed entirely in black and white and acted out mainly by amateurs it tells the interesting and often tragic story of the war in the Casbah in Algiers between the FLA (Front Liberation Algeri) and the French occupying army. The methods used by the FLA inspired such outfits a the IRA, not a good reference perhaps but these were very different times indeed. The Colons had occupied this area for 150 years exploiting the land and its people. The indigenous Algerians were not given opportunity for ... Read More:

Rating:

- Extras worth having
This special,multi-disc edition has to be the best ever of its type.The film is beautifully remastered and sparlkes.A lot of time and money has obviously gone in to it"s restoration.Scene after scene strikes at the heart.One obvious stand oout is the sequance in which 3 women plant bombs and the shocking aftermath.Our politicians should have watched this film before taking us in to Iraq.None of its lessons have been learnt.The 2 discs of extras are fabulous.Every documentary,filmette etc is relevant,important and adds to our understanding of both the film and the conflict it is based in.The film is a masterpiece.The same title should also be given to this special edition.Well done Criterion.If only all other multi-disc sets were like this one.

Rating:

- Completely and utterly compelling
This film is one of those where you almost stop breathing throughout - the tension is so palatable. Plus I think I slightly fell in love with La Pointe. You have been warned.

Rating:

- as brutally realistic as it gets
Cited by many people, including the Pentagon as the most realistic war movie ever made, it was with no little expectation that I came to this film. To briefly sum up, it is the late 1950's, and various colonial empires across the globe are in steady decline, including that of France. In Algeria, Muslim nationalist are calling for a state of their own, free from the interference and suppression of the colonial French forces. Unfortunately, French right wingers are at the same time backing the many French settlers who have a vested interest in staying in the country. And so the scene is set for a bloody civil war.
The film initially deals with the conversion of young street hoodlum Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) to the cause of the FLN, ... Read More:

VHS : The Battle Of Algiers [1965]