Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers is his best-known film and is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential political films ever made. Charting the escalation of the conflict during the Algerian War of Independence this Italian classic has lost none of its resonance in the forty years since it was made.
The main focus of the film is the character Ali la Pointe who is recruited by the FLN (National Liberation Front) and leads the fight against the French occupying forces. Initially he is arrested and jailed for standing up for himself against some French youths. Upon his release he swiftly proves himself as a fearless leader.
Women and children join the struggle as the French get tougher and take offensive action against innocent lives. Bombs, knives, torture and gunfights ensue as the French army drive to wipe out the FLN. Racist ignorance, the main theme, is examined from all angles. While the French residents take their revenge on any Arab they can find, their leaders insist that they too once were resistance fighters and that this was why they could not be described as fascist.
The general oppressive atmosphere is both visual and aural. Barbed wire check-points are wheeled out by the French as they attempt to contain the violence within the tightly packed streets of the Arab quarter. Public address speakers in the streets broadcast propaganda from both the French and the FLN through out the film. And an Ennio Morricone soundtrack pushes the film seamlessly through the scenes.
It is not often I say this, but I would say this film is ripe for a remake, except that its influence is such that it has already been remade over and over again. Elements of it can be seen in films such as The Godfather (1972) and more recently Black Hawk Down (2001). I can’t help wondering if it wasn’t for the black and white film stock and the 50’s styles it could quite easily pass off for a present day film.
The main focus of the film is the character Ali la Pointe who is recruited by the FLN (National Liberation Front) and leads the fight against the French occupying forces. Initially he is arrested and jailed for standing up for himself against some French youths. Upon his release he swiftly proves himself as a fearless leader.
Women and children join the struggle as the French get tougher and take offensive action against innocent lives. Bombs, knives, torture and gunfights ensue as the French army drive to wipe out the FLN. Racist ignorance, the main theme, is examined from all angles. While the French residents take their revenge on any Arab they can find, their leaders insist that they too once were resistance fighters and that this was why they could not be described as fascist.
The general oppressive atmosphere is both visual and aural. Barbed wire check-points are wheeled out by the French as they attempt to contain the violence within the tightly packed streets of the Arab quarter. Public address speakers in the streets broadcast propaganda from both the French and the FLN through out the film. And an Ennio Morricone soundtrack pushes the film seamlessly through the scenes.
It is not often I say this, but I would say this film is ripe for a remake, except that its influence is such that it has already been remade over and over again. Elements of it can be seen in films such as The Godfather (1972) and more recently Black Hawk Down (2001). I can’t help wondering if it wasn’t for the black and white film stock and the 50’s styles it could quite easily pass off for a present day film.