First released in 1967 against a backdrop of violence in American cities, The Battle of Algiers (Battaglia di Algeri, La) was hailed by the Black Panther Party and other radical leftist groups as a handbook for urban revolution. In 2003, the Pentagon hosted a special screening of the film, in hopes it would shed light on how to deal with rebel forces in Iraq.
Shot in black-and-white “documentary” style, The Battle of Algiers chronicles the four year insurgency in the streets of Algiers that galvanized public support of the FLN (National Liberation Front) and marked the path towards Algerian independence from France in 1962. The film examines the apartheid of colonial Algeria, and the enormous differences between the majority Muslim Arab population and French colonists.
The Battle of Algiers begins as French soldiers are interrogating a captured Algerian prisoner. The man’s will broken, he reveals the hiding place of the last remaining guerrilla leader, Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag); his tear streaked face telling the story of the terror he has endured. The French soldiers, led by the charismatic Col. Mathieu (Jean Martin), assure the prisoner he’s done the right thing. However, the man’s emotionally dead gaze belies a different emotion. When his hideout is efficiently surrounded, La Pointe hides in a blind behind a wall, which is quickly discovered. He’s given a choice to come out or die. As La Pointe contemplates his fate, we flashback three years, to the origin of the conflict, when the FLN issued a proclamation asking the population to unite in a struggle for independence.
Desperate and illiterate, Ali is being inducted into the FLN. From there, we are taken into the heart of a clearly escalating conflict: policemen being killed and their weapons stolen; retaliation by the police with a bomb; retaliation for the retaliation with bombs at cafés and in the Air France terminal…
Each side experiences “a duty of resistance,” committing atrocious war crimes to achieve their political goals. The French police don’t think twice about bombing the house of an innocent man in the Casbah, and killing dozens of civilians in the process, while the FLN carries out a devastating three-pronged attack on different strategic areas in the European district.
Director Gillo Pontecorvo—an Italian, and a leader in the Resistance against Italian fascism—decided against using actors. Instead, he used local Algerians which created a gritty, grainy and immediate style. The jumpy camera looks like it’s getting knocked around in the milling crowd, and results in scenes that look so real that audiences in 1966 had to be told the film wasn’t a documentary.
Although Pontecorvo’s sympathies are clearly with the Nationalists, he’s acutely aware that there are victims on both sides of the conflict; bombs don’t have the luxury of choosing their victims, and both sides can provide rational arguments to prove he is fighting with the utmost integrity. The biggest strength of the film, I think, comes from its passion and neutrality. Throughout, the story remains concerned about the fate of both sides. No one is entirely good or bad, and war, whether won or lost, comes at a tremendous cost for everyone—politicians, soldiers, civilians—involved.
With the ongoing situation in Iraq, and the Pentagon’s 2003 screening of The Battle of Algiers, much has been made of the film’s relevance to current events. As we all know, the French refused to support military action in Iraq. What they learned during the Algerian conflict, and is vividly conveyed in this film, is that winning the battles is not the same as winning the war.
Presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, this 1080p transfer represents another solid Blu-ray release from Criterion. While the images suffer some inconsistencies regarding sharpness, at its best grays are superb, whites are breathtaking and blacks are deep. There are several shots where focus is a bit off, and blacks look a bit crushed. Since The Battle of Algiers was shot in 1965 Algeria, one wonders if some of this is the films age.
The PCM 1.0 sound mix is very typical of its era. The movie’s dialogue was post synched, so it contains that constrained resonance that post dubbing often exhibits. Still, the score by Ennio Morricone and Gillo Pontecorvo resonates throughout the movie, and sound effects blend nicely without overpowering the dialogue. Criterion engineers have eliminated age-related artifacts like hiss, crackle and hum from the soundtrack leaving the audio quality about as good as it’s ever likely to get.
Criterion offers an impressive slate of special features:
• The Dictatorship of Truth: a documentary narrated by Edward Said about the relationship between Pontecorvo’s politics and filmmaking style (37:32 in 1080i).
• Marxist Poetry -The Making of The Battle of Algiers: an exclusive new documentary created for this release guided by Pontecorvo biographer Irene Bignardi and featuring interviews with the director himself, cinematographer Marcello Gatti, composer Ennio Morricone, editor Mario Morra, actors Jean Martin and Saadi Yacef, and film critic Tullio Kezich (51:23 in 1080i).
• Five Directors: a discussion about The Battle of Algiers lasting influence, style, and importance featuring, Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone (17:18 in 1080i).
• Click-thru Production Gallery.
• Theatrical (4:03 in 1080P) and re-release trailer (2:24 in 1080P).
Disc 2:
• Remembering History: a new documentary featuring interviews with historians Alistair Horne, Hugh Roberts and Benjamin Stora, former FLN members Zohra Drif-Bitat, Mohammed Harbi and Saadi Yacef, and writer and torture victim, Henri Alleg (The Question) (1:08:15 in 1080i).
• “Etats d’Armes”: an excerpt from Patrick Rotman’s 3-part documentary, L’Ennemi Intime, which focuses on the horror of the French-Algerian War. It features interviews with various members of the French military during the French-Algerian War, including General Jacques Massu, General Roger Trinquier, General Paul Aussaresses, and others (28:26 in 1080i).
• The Battle of Algiers: A case Study – How to Win the Battle But Lose the War of Ideas: a conversation about the contemporary relevance of The Battle of Algiers between former National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism and author of Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror, Richard A. Clarke, former State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Michael A. Sheehan, and Chief of Investigative Projects for ABC News, Christopher E. Isham (24:40 in 1080i).
• Gillo Pontecorvo’s Return to Algiers (1992): three decades following its emergence as a nation, director Gillo Pontecorvo and his son return to Algeria to talk with its people about independence (58:10 in 1080i).
• A 57 page booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Peter Matthews, a reprinted interview with writer Franco Solinas, brief biographies on the key figures in the French-Algerian War, film stills, and more.
