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Battle of Algiers - Criterion CollectionRating:
Release Date: 21 September, 2004 Retail Price: $49.95 OUR Price: $36.99 You SAVE: $12.96! Cast: |
Battle of Algiers - Criterion Collection Reviews
Original and Superb!
One of the most realistic war movies ever made, Battle of Algiers is a must see for those that would like a deeper insight into revolutionary mentality and/or expert film making. From actual FLN rebels used in the film to the scenes being shot on location, Gillo Pontecorvo is able to combine a terrifying event into a cinematic masterpiece.
As noted plenty of times this film is not a journalistic account of the Algerian liberation or the events that preceded it: this movie is a faithful reenactment of the battle in all of its brutality. The atrocities of a revolution are showed from all sides involved: it is no wonder that the public's opinion of the film in this day and age is favorable, regardless of the viewer's background.
Despite some of the ill-informed reviews that claim the opposite, this story truly is the most unbiased account of any war to date. All sides involved are at fault for the devastation the war caused regardless of whether or not the French had a right to hold onto Algeria in the first place (an Algeria that wanted to be free). French viewers shouldn't have a problem with the film in modern day as most regard the battle of Algiers as a catastrophe. Be prepared to see both French and Algerians alike reverting to acts of barbarism in a fight of ideology and flesh (from torture to the killing of civilians, the fight for freedom and the fight for control both have its cost, the movie shows this beautifully).
The movie follows around a few known rebels such as Ali La Pointe of the FLN as they use every force imaginable to separate Algeria from the French government. Most of the scenes are shot in the Algiers' Casbah, a highly dense Arab Casbah with a community of thousands of Algerians. The scenes are beautiful in a realistic way one typically sees in only documentaries.
And yet on the opposite side of the war we follow the renowned French Colonel Phillipe Mathieu, a decorated and highly intelligent paratrooper. Ali La Pointe is superb - believably fighting for a cause he believes in - while Colonel Mathieu reasonably states in the film that he must achieve victory by any means necessary, and yet he's still portrayed as human. Mathieu explains to the press how, if the French people want, he'll gladly leave Algeria but since a war is what they want he'll humbly do his duty. Jean Martin's (Mathieu) performance is so good that one would find it surprising that he did not win the academy award for the role.
On par with the scenery the music is both intense as well as exciting, treating Battle of Algiers with the proper respect it deserves. The music is of significant note though because it's so emotionally engaging: Middle Eastern sounds supplement the highly suspenseful movie while not overpowering the movie by striving to be better than it.
In Battle of Algiers everything that should be in a good movie is present while we also have a number of unique elements. The realism of Battle of Algiers is extremely unparalleled and the acting (performed by average people for the most part), is superb! Check this movie out today, you won't be disappointed!
Extraordinary film
I'm a good friend of Haskell Wexler, and edited his film, "Medium Cool," in 1968. This film came out the year before and was required viewing for all of us -- especially because of the way it made a scripted story look like a documentary. I loved the film back then but hadn't seen it again until last week. I admit I was a bit worried that it would appear dated and irrelevant.
Quite the contrary!
Given events on and since 9/11, Iraq, Madrid, London, Lebanon -- the West's global struggle against Islam -- this film is more important and relevant today than ever.
There is one sequence in particular in which three Arab women disguise themselves as Europeans in order to slip bombs past the French colonial checkpoints and plant them in locations where they will kill the maximum number of Europeans. I won't spoil the extraordinary suspense of this sequence by telling you whether or not they succeed. They are not suicide bombers, but as they place their deadly packages they look around at the people they are about to kill. It is simply one of the best pieces of pure cinema ever.
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