Film
The Battle of Algiers
- Director
- Gillo Pontecorvo
- Certificate
- 15
- Running Time
- 121 mins
The Watershed’s May ’68: Film and the Revolution May sunday brunch season kicks off with this world cinema classic, which was nominated for three Oscars and regularly features on those all-time-great lists.
Gillo Pontecorvo’s account of the guerrilla war foo Algerian independence from the French in 1954 is filmed in documentary-style monochrome at the real locations, mixing actors with participants in the battle. It’s particularly remarkable for its scrupulous lack of bias, which didn’t stop the film being banned in France for years. Previously censored torture scenes have were restored for this reissue, and you don’t have to look too hard to find contemporary resonances.
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