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The Battle of Algiers (in Italian, La Battaglia di Algeri) is a 1966 black-and-white film by Gillo Pontecorvo based on the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 until 1962 against the French occupation. Image File history File links The Battle of Algiers DVD cover Source: Amazon. ... Image File history File links The Battle of Algiers DVD cover Source: Amazon. ... See also: 1965 in film 1966 1967 in film 1960s in film years in film film // Events Top grossing films North America Thunderball Dr. Zhivago Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf? That Darn Cat! The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming Academy Awards Best Picture: A Man for All... Black-and-white (or variations including Black and White) can refer to a general term used in photography, film, and other media (see black-and-white). ... Gillo Pontecorvo is an Italian film director best known for his 1967 film, Battle of Algiers. ... The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was a period of guerrilla strikes, maquis fighting, terrorism against civilians from both extremist sides, and riots between the French army and colonists, or the colons as they were called, in Algeria and the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale) and other pro... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Tagline: The Revolt that Stirred the World!

Subject matter

The film depicts the war of independence in the former French colony of Algeria. It is based loosely on a book of the same name by Saadi Yacef, one of the leaders of the Algerian revolutionaries, but the movie is told from the perspectives of both the French soldiers and the Algerians. The Algerian revolution has been called by many the bloodiest revolution in the history of the world and is often credited as the beginning of bloody post-World War II colonial revolutions, which also include the revolutions against the French in the Vietnam War. Although the revolutionary forces were ultimately "defeated" by the French Army, the long, bloody conflict led to the French withdrawal from Algeria. This French loss was the first in a series of humiliating French defeats in colonial wars. The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was a period of guerrilla strikes, maquis fighting, terrorism against civilians from both extremist sides, and riots between the French army and colonists, or the colons as they were called, in Algeria and the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale) and other pro... A Norwegian soldier (a Corporal, armed with an MP-5) A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. ... World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was by far the bloodiest, most expensive, and most significant war in... The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War was a conflict between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN, or North Vietnam), allied with the National Liberation Front (NLF, or Viet Cong) against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN, or South Vietnam), and their allies—notably the United States military in support of... The French Army (Armée de Terre) is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces. ... -1...

The film reenacts of the events of November 1954 to December 1960 in Algiers during the Algerian war of independence, from the organization of revolutionary cells in the Casbah, through the initial bombing and terror campaigns by both revolutionaries and colonial vigilantes, the introduction of French airborne troops in January and the subsequent general strike, to the subsequent breaking of the strike and largely successful counter-insurgency campaign. The film ends with the 1960 demonstrations depicting the eventual victory of the insurgents and Algeria's independence on July 2, 1962. 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Algiers Algiers (French Alger, Arabic الجزائر El-Jezair, i. ... The Casbah (French) or more correctly Qasbah (from Arabic qasbah, قصبة, citadel) is specifically the citadel of Algiers and the traditional quarter clustered round it. ... Be That way!!!! ... July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The film also depicts the French policies of torture, intimidation, and murder to combat the FLN and MNA insurgents. Those policies have never officially been admitted to by the French Government, although former French General Massu, who wrote a book attempting to rebuke the film in 1971, admitted the policy of torture, calling it a "cruel necessity." The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was a famous torture device, though misconceptions about it do exist. ... The National Liberation Front (French: Front de libération nationale, Arabic: Jabhah al-Taḩrīr al-Waţanī) is a socialist political party in Algeria. ... MNA stands for: Member of the National Assembly (in Quebec) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article is about the political and administrative structures of the French government. ... Jacques Massu (May 5, 1908 – October 26, 2002) was the French general sent to Algeria during the War of Independence from France. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...

Style and release details

Filmed in a style related to that of Italian neorealism and French cinéma vérité, the film is based on actual events, though it makes use of composite characters and changes the names of certain historical figures (for instance, Jacques Massu, the military commander of the counter-insurgency campaign, is renamed "Colonel Mathieu"). The film has been hailed for its stunning visual impact, including many scenes of Algerian city life and large-scale public protest, though it includes no real documentary or news footage. Italian neorealism is a film movement lasting from about 1943 to 1952. ... Cinéma vérité is a style of filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques that originated in documentary filmmaking, with the storytelling elements typical of a scripted or semi-scripted film. ... Jacques Massu (May 5, 1908 – October 26, 2002) was the French general sent to Algeria during the War of Independence from France. ... A documentary is a work in a visual or auditory medium presenting political, scientific, social, or historical subjects in a factual and informative manner. ...

The soundtrack, composed by Ennio Morricone, gives the work an added sense of tension and urgency. Ennio Morricone (born November 10, 1928) is an Italian composer, especially noted for his film scores. ...

The film was re-released in selected theaters in the U.S. (including Film Forum in Manhattan, New York City) in January 2004. A three-disc Criterion Collection DVD with a high-resolution restored print was released on October 12, 2004. Filmed in Italy and Algeria in 1965, the movie is 136 minutes long. Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Criterion Collection is a joint venture between Janus Films and The Voyager Company that was begun in the mid 1980s for the purpose of releasing authoritative consumer versions of classic and important contemporary films on the laserdisc and DVD formats. ... DVD is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Reputation

Reviewers have commended the film for its relatively even-handed portrayal of combatants on both sides of the struggle in Algiers. In 1971, Massu wrote a book challenging its portrayal of events, though the film was heralded by many reviewers as a highly realistic portrayal of the causes and consequences of terrorism and counter-insurgency warfare. 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...

The film was banned in France for many years beginning in 1966, and scenes of torture were cut from the original American and British releases. It was allegedly used as a training video for the American anti-war Weathermen terrorist organization and the revolutionary black nationalist Black Panther Party in the 1960s. It has also been called communist propaganda by many on the right, as its director, Gillo Pontecorvo, is a member of the Italian Communist Party and has openly voiced sympathy for the Algerian struggle. Still, it has won critical acclaim, winning the Venice Film Festival Grand Prize and being nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Screenplay (Gillo Pontecorvo and Franco Solinas), Best Director (Gillo Pontecorvo), and Best Foreign Language Film. == [[:Weather Underground redirects here. ... ... A revolutionary is a person who either advocates or actively engages in some kind of revolution. ... Black is a color with several subtle differences in meaning. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... Logo of the Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) is a revolutionary Black nationalist organization in the United States that formed in the late 1960s and grew to national prominence before falling apart due to a combination of internal problems... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Communism - Wikipedia /**/ @import /w/skins-1. ... North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... Logo of the Italian Communist Party The Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI) or Italian Communist Party emerged as Partito Comunista dItalia or Communist Party of Italy from a secession by the Leninist comunisti puri tendency from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) during that bodys congress on 21 January 1921... The Venice Film Festival (Mostra Internazionale dArte Cinematografica) takes place every year in late August/early September on the Lido di Venezia in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi, in Venice, Italy. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the awards are voted on by other people within the industry. ... As a Special Award 1947 Shoeshine (Sciuscià) (Italy) - Societa Co-operativa Alfa Cinematografica - Paolo William Tamburella producer - Vittorio De Sica director 1948 Monsieur Vincent (France) - E. D. I. C., Union Général Cinématographique - George de la Grandiere producer - Maurice Cloche director 1949 The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di biciclette) (Italy) - Mayer - Vittorio...

In 2003, the film again made the news after the US Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict offered a rare screening of the film in relation to the on-going American occupation of Iraq in order to show viewers "How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas" (see below). According to the Defense Department official in charge of the screening, "Showing the film offers historical insight into the conduct of French operations in Algeria, and was intended to prompt informative discussion of the challenges faced by the French." Details of the discussion have been withheld from the public. The flyer advertising the screening read: 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article deals with the post-invasion period in Iraq and its occupation. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ...

How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To understand why, come to a rare showing of this film.

The screening of the film at that time brought new controversy to the American occupation of Iraq and the War on Terror, as American officials have repeatedly been accused of promoting the torture and so-called "aggressive interrogation" of prisoners, especially those in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo Bay. The Oxford English Dictionary defines terrorism as a policy intended to strike with terror those against whom it is adopted; the employment of methods of intimidation; the fact of terrorizing or condition of being terrorized. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب Ê»arab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa. ... The war on terrorism or war on terror (abbreviated in U.S. policy circles as GWOT for Global War on Terror) is an effort by the governments of the United States and its principal allies to destroy groups deemed to be terrorist (primarily radical Islamist organizations such as al-Qaeda... Map of Iraq highlighting Abu Ghraib The city of Abu Ghraib (أبو غريب in Arabic) in Iraq is located 20 km (12 miles) west of Baghdad just north of the Baghdad International Airport. ... Map of Cuba with location of Guantanamo Bay indicated. ...

Proposed remake

An American remake of the film is currently being pursued by producer Basil Iwanyk. The new film would include an American character, presumably a journalist or United Nations worker. The idea of a remake has not been well-received by the movie's proponents, however, who fear that it will be "Hollywood-ised" and thereby lose its revolutionary edge. Evidence for this allegation is the consideration of actors for the American role, with names such as Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Leonardo di Caprio, and Sean Penn being passed down the grapevine. The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... ... Tom Cruise as seen on a poster for the 2001 film Vanilla Sky Tom Cruise (born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV July 3, 1962 in Syracuse, New York, USA) is an American actor and producer who has starred in a number of top-grossing movies. ... Brad Pitt (born William Bradley Pitt on December 18, 1963), is an American film actor. ... Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio, born November 11, 1974), is an American actor. ... Sean Penn winning the 2004 Oscar for the Best Actor Sean Penn (born August 17, 1960 in Santa Monica, California) is an American film actor. ... Grapevine can refer to several things. ...

External links

• La Battaglia di Algeri at the Internet Movie Database
• Official Site at Rialto Pictures
• Movie Trailer
• New York Times on the Pentagon Screening