(1965) Algiers, 1957: French paratroopers inch their way through the narrow, labyrinthine byways of the Casbah to zero in on the hideout of revolutionary stalwart Ali la Pointe (Brahim Haggiag), the last rebel still free in the city. Flashback three years earlier to the beginning of the conflict, as the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) decides on urban warfare. Thus begin the provocations, assassinations, hair-breadth escapes, and reprisals; Algerian women — disguised as chic Europeans — depositing bombs at a sidewalk café, a teenagers’ hang-out and an Air France office; and massive, surging crowd scenes unfolding with such gripping realism that the original U.S. distributor had to insert the disclaimer “Not one foot of newsreel or documentary film has been used.” Having clandestinely written the film treatment on an envelope while in French prison, FLN boss turned producer Saadi Yacef (who also plays rebel leader El-hadi Jaffar, based on himself) interviewed several European filmmakers before settling on Italians Pontecorvo and screenwriter Franco Solinas, who then spent six months in research, interviewing many actual participants in the less-than-a-decade-old events, and six months writing; then filmed on the actual locations. Marcello Gatti’s telephoto lenses jam us into the crowd scenes, with their movements orchestrated by Pontecorvo via chalk marks drawn on the pavement; with many sequences shot and edited to the driving pre-recorded score by Pontecorvo and the legendary Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). Seen by some as a textbook for 60s revolutionaries (but with a surprising even-handedness), Algiers now feels like it’s been ripped from today’s headlines, from its random bombings to the French commander’s chilling press conference pronouncement that to combat terrorism “you must accept all the consequences” — the Pentagon even screened it last August to wise up potential Baghdad occupiers. As paratroop leader Colonel Mathieu (based on the actual granite-jawed General Jacques Massu), Jean Martin dominates with a biting, unashamedly in-your-face evisceration of bleeding-heart cant; with equally striking performances by non-pros Haggiag and Yacef – so convincing that they earned the kudos of legendary theater director Harold Clurman. The opening night film of the fourth New York Film Festival (Buñuel and Godard had opened previous years), The Battle of Algiers was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Film, Best Screenplay and Best Director and took the Golden Lion (Grand Prize) at the Venice Film Festival. This new 35mm print features new subtitles that convey the French and Arabic dialogue accurately for the very first time.

123 minutes

A RIALTO PICTURES RELEASE

ENNIO MORRICONE Film Music Volume 1 and 2
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