For its 50th anniversary The Battle of Algiers comes out in a restored print shown for the first time in the UK. A film subsidised by the Algerian government, it follows the country’s fight for independence from colonial France, reconstructing the main political events that took place in Algiers between 1954 and 1957. Preceded by an introduction with the film director’s son, Marco Pontecorvo. As part of the Cinema Made in Italy season.
Chicago Reader review:
Gillo Pontecorvo's searing documentary-style retelling (1965) of the tough, grinding, and ultimately tragic effort of the FLN to liberate Algeria. Pontecorvo has nearly accomplished the impossible: to make an epic film that convinces the viewer he is watching the real thing. Although the director's sympathies (with the rebels) are never in doubt, the film is tough-minded and fair; the cast (nonprofessional with the exception of Jean Martin as the paratroop colonel) is superb; the editing and the overall production are deft but not slick—in sum, a knockout.
Don Druker
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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