Gillo Pontecorvo in his 1966 film “The Battle of Algiers”,
created such a newsreel feel to the movie that American releases carried a disclaimer. Cinematographer Marcello Gatti created a in the moment atmosphere by using a hand held camera, and natural light. Gatti was a pioneer in the use of hand held cameras.
Besides its docu style, the film does an amazing job of telling the story without romanticizing the protagonist, or vilifying the antagonist, which leads to the film being more powerful and the action at time, so cruel. Many critics were surprised by the films even handed narrative, because the filmmaker Pontecorvo was a Communist, but more important to Pontecorvo than politics, was the art of film, and telling a story that the audience could feel without be manipulated by cartoon villains or appealing heroes.
The film depicts, the turning point of the Algerian War, the Battle of Algiers, but it loosely covers the first 6 years of the revolt, the war itself lasted another 2 years. The film is an anthem for insurgent and minority political groups all over the world and time hasn’t decreased its message.
The film won a boat load of awards including three academy award nominations, but the film did have its share of controversy, scenes of torture were cut from the American & British releases, the reason given; It was to inflammatory towards the French, and the French government banned it from playing in France for 5 years.
Roger Ebert's review of The Battle of Algiers101 Great Films: so far
101: One false move
100: The Friends of Eddie Coyle
99: Tampopo
98: The Thing
97: Nanook of the North
96: The Battle of Algiers
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