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.
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
Collector's Sets
Collector's Set
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
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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