Gillo Pontecorvo

The Battle of Algiers

The Battle of Algiers

One of the most influential political films in history, The Battle of Algiers, by Gillo Pontecorvo, vividly 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 streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. Pontecorvo’s tour de force has astonishing relevance today.

Film Info

  • Italy
  • 1966
  • 121 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.85:1
  • French, Arabic
  • Spine #249

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Marcello Gatti, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Gillo Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth, a documentary narrated by literary critic Edward Said
  • Marxist Poetry: The Making of “The Battle of Algiers,” a documentary featuring interviews with Pontecorvo, Gatti, composer Ennio Morricone, and others
  • Interviews with Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone on the film’s influence, style, and importance
  • Remembering History, a documentary reconstructing the Algerian experience of the battle for independence
  • “États d’armes,” a documentary excerpt featuring senior French military officers recalling the use of torture and execution to combat the Algerian rebellion
  • “The Battle of Algiers”: A Case Study, a video piece featuring U.S. counterterrorism experts
  • Gillo Pontecorvo’s Return to Algiers, a documentary in which the filmmaker revisits the country after three decades of independence
  • Production gallery
  • Theatrical and rerelease trailers
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Peter Matthews, a reprinted interview with cowriter Franco Solinas, biographical sketches of key figures in the French-Algerian War, and excerpts from Algeria’s National Liberation Front leader Saadi Yacef’s original account of his arrest and excerpts from the film’s screenplay

New cover by Neil Kellerhouse

Purchase Options

DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director of photography Marcello Gatti, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Gillo Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth, a documentary narrated by literary critic Edward Said
  • Marxist Poetry: The Making of “The Battle of Algiers,” a documentary featuring interviews with Pontecorvo, Gatti, composer Ennio Morricone, and others
  • Interviews with Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone on the film’s influence, style, and importance
  • Remembering History, a documentary reconstructing the Algerian experience of the battle for independence
  • “États d’armes,” a documentary excerpt featuring senior French military officers recalling the use of torture and execution to combat the Algerian rebellion
  • “The Battle of Algiers”: A Case Study, a video piece featuring U.S. counterterrorism experts
  • Gillo Pontecorvo’s Return to Algiers, a documentary in which the filmmaker revisits the country after three decades of independence
  • Production gallery
  • Theatrical and rerelease trailers
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Peter Matthews, a reprinted interview with cowriter Franco Solinas, biographical sketches of key figures in the French-Algerian War, and excerpts from Algeria’s National Liberation Front leader Saadi Yacef’s original account of his arrest and excerpts from the film’s screenplay

New cover by Neil Kellerhouse

The Battle of Algiers
Cast
Brahim Haggiag
Ali La Pointe
Jean Martin
Colonel Mathieu
Saadi Yacef
El-hadi Jaffar
Samia Kerbash
Fatiha
Fusia El Kader
Hassiba
Ugo Paletti
The captain
Mohamed Ben Kassen
Petit Omar
Credits
Director
Gillo Pontecorvo
Screenplay
Gillo Pontecorvo
Producer
Saadi Yacef
Cinematography
Marcello Gatti
Producer
Antonio Musu
Screenplay
Franco Solinas
Cameraman
Silvano Mancini
Music
Ennio Morricone
Music
Gillo Pontecorvo
Musical direction
Bruno Nicolai
Editing
Mario Morra
Editing
Mario Serandrei
Assistant director
Moussa Haddad
Assistant director
Fernando Morandi
Second unit director
Giuliano Montaldo
Production design
Sergio Canevari
Special effects
Aldo Gasparri
Makeup
Maurizio Giustini
Sound
Omar Bouksani
Costumes
Giovanni Axerio

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