Italian film director Gillo Pontecorvo died yesterday. He was old, and probably most well known as director of the film Battle of Algiers.
What a truly awesome film. Watching some sections it is easy to forget this is not newsreel but was made in Algeria soon after that country's independence. A frighteningly vivid portrait of the secular, national liberation struggle during the 1950s of the Algerians against the French colonial system, it was made in the Italian neo-realist cinematic style (with music by Ennio Morricone and Pontecorvo). The film is a classic of 20th cinema.
The Pentagon are reported to have watched the film in 2003, soon after their occupation of Baghdad started to go awry. Given how the situation there has since spiralled out of control, it is difficult to see what they learned.
Mister B saw Battle of Algiers a long time ago. The following two clips from the film are in French and have no subtitles. This is not a problem for Mister B, but may be for others. Oh, the prints are not very good. Stiil, I think a look at both clips gives a taste of the manner, pace and style of the film. Hopefully, there are prints available elsewhere with English subtitles.
Clip 1: youtube
Clip 2: youtube
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