Watch The Battle of Algiers For Free

People are voting emotionally.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

This is a film based on true events - the war between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria gaining its independence from France. An important decolonization war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare, maquis fighting, and the use of torture by both sides. The Battle of Algiers remains to this day an important film associated with Italian neo-realism cinema. A failure to win "hearts and minds" it was considered as important material by some in the consideration of the outcome of a War on Terror in Iraq and perhaps even highly prescient. It is a highly dramatic film shot in a documentary reel style with non-actors. While banned for five years in France it now is considered one of the great films of the 20th Century. Its achievement is not only its power of storyline and narrative but the effect of appearing as truth stylistically. No stock news footage is used which is astonishing for the realism it succeeded in depicting. Its value has increased from a historical point of view because those involved with the actual skirmishes and conflict will no doubt have seen the film differently in 1966.

The Battle of Algiers is a controversial film about the struggle of Algerian rebels to throw off French occupation. The film depicts the guerrilla tactics of the Algerian insurgency as well as the French counter-insurgency designed to contain and squash the rebellion. Shot in a documentary/newsreel style, the film follows several narrative threads, and takes us inside the command structures on both sides of the conflict. The film ironically points out that the French commander was part of the resistance against the Nazis, and now he's in the role of the occupier, using his knowledge of resistance against those struggling for freedom. Though The Battle of Algiers has a natural back and forth rhythm, showing attacks by one side and then counter attacks by the other, in the end the film's conscience sides with the Algerians struggling for independence and against colonialism. Even though both sides are shown committing acts of violence against civilians, leading some to believe the film is being objective and neutral, the film gives a clear sense of purpose to the Algerians and celebrates their ultimate victory, even though they lose the battle portrayed in the film. As a result The Battle of Algiers was banned in France for 5 years, and the film stands as a powerful depiction of revolutionary struggle against foreign occupation, as well as the lengths colonial powers will go to in order to maintain their empires.

An account of the bloodiest revolution in modern history.The Criterion Collection released the movie, transferred from a restored print, in a three-disc DVD set. The extras include former US counter-terrorism advisors Richard A. Clarke and Michael A. Sheehan discussing The Battle of Algiers's depiction of terrorism and guerrilla warfare and directors Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone discussing its influence on film. This is the version you must have.The film is striking in its imagery, and while not many Americans probably know about France and Algeria, this might open their eyes a bit. (They could also read the work of Albert Camus, though he tends to side with the colonial power for some odd reason.)

Algerian Government subsidized and hired Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo to shoot a film to recount the bloody clash between FLN (Algerian National Liberation Front) and French colonial only few years after its independence (1962). The film was not only won GOLDEN LION in Venice in 1966 and an Academy Awards nomination for BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM in 1967 but also was nominated for BEST DIRECTOR and SCREENPLAY in 1969 for a rare second round. THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS impresses its viewers with a haunting collection of close-up portraits of various people (both French and Algerian) under a soul-searching orchestration emphasized by stark chiaroscuro, it was years after Italian Neo-Realism, but the non-professional cast (the only pro is a wiry and bulged-eyed Jean Martin, who commands a stance of military mettle perfectly) and locale-revamping contributes a great amount of authenticity in the final work. There are plenty of overlooking angles with extensive depth of focus to examine and the city and enlighten one's appreciation, plus there are fleeting montages of torture under interrogation are disturbing but can potently generates a sense of boldness to show audience the cruelty in reality. However the most indelible ones are the waiting-for-the-bombs-to-explode experiences, with camera panning over innocent white victims-to-be unwittingly relish their last moment of hedonism, utterly guarantee a surge of compassion out of shock value terms. Therefore, the film should also be extolled by its unbiased perspective in telling its stories from both parts, dispassionately channels viewers to witness the vindictive constitution lying underneath common humanity and the aimless and reproachable tit-for-tat acts ensuring. There are radical debates as regards the essence of revolution, a much more penetrating motto is revolution doesn't mean war and terrorism is not a means to win a revolution, which should be indoctrinated all over the world, especially to those tinderboxes where religious and political threats are pervading rampantly at present. Showing no partiality to either sides is not an easy move since the production was backed and green-lit by one of the government, thus the film is a genuine gem in retaining the integrity and fabricating a gripping panorama of a chain of bloodshed and baring its true color under the stark daylight.