Cinema Resistenza: The Battle of Algiers

Come for dinner 6pm and stay for the film!

Continuing on with the theme of liberation and resistance, the people's struggles, this month we are showing

The Battle of Algiers

Italian: La battaglia di Algeria

Arabic:  معركة الجزائر, romanized: Maʿrakat al-Jazāʾir)

A 1966 Italian-Algerian war film co-written and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. It is based on action undertaken by rebels during the Algerian War (1954–1962) against the French government in North Africa, the most prominent being the eponymous Battle of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It was shot on location in a

Roberto Rossellini-inspired newsreel style: in black and white with documentary-type editing to add to its sense of historical authenticity, with mostly non-professional actors who had lived through the real battle. The film's score was composed by Pontecorvo and Ennio Morricone. It is often associated with Italian neorealist cinema.[3] The film concentrates mainly on revolutionary fighter Ali La Pointe during the years between 1954 and 1957, when guerrilla fighters of the FLN went into Algiers. Their actions were met by French paratroopers attempting to regain territory. The highly dramatic film is about the organization of a guerrilla movement and the illegal methods, such as torture, used by the French to stop it. Algeria succeeded in gaining independence from the French, which Pontecorvo addresses in the film's epilogue.

The film was met with international acclaim, and it is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. It won the Golden Lion at the 27th Venice Film Festival among other awards and nominations. It also was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A subject of sociopolitical controversy in France, the film was not screened in the country for five years.[1] Insurgent groups and state authorities have considered it to be an important commentary on urban guerrilla warfare. In Sight and Sound's 2022 poll of the greatest films of all time, it ranked 45th on the critics' list and 22nd with directors.
Directed by: Grillo Pontecorvo

Screenplay: Franco Solinas

Story by: Franco Solinas and Grillo Pontecorvo

Based on: Souvenirs de la Batailled d'Alger by Saadi Yacef

Produced by: Antonio Musu and Saadi Yacef

Starring: Jean Martin, Saadi Yacef, Brahim Hadjadj, Tommaso Neri

Cinematograhpy: Marcello Gatti

Edited by: Mario Morra and Mario Serandrei

Music by : Ennio Morricone