FILM · 1966 · ITALY
La battaglia di Algeri
- Directed by
- Gillo Pontecorvo
- Runtime
- 122 min
- Studio
- Igor Film, Casbah Film
29 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Paratrooper commander Colonel Mathieu, a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch the uprisings of the Algerian War. There he faces Ali la Pointe, a former petty criminal who, as the leader of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale, directs terror strategies against the colonial French government occupation. As each side resorts to ever-increasing…
29 Interesting Facts About La battaglia di Algeri
Interesting Facts (5)
- #001
In 2003, the New York Times reported that the Pentagon screened this film for officers and civilian experts who were discussing the challenges faced by the US military forces in Iraq. The flier inviting guests to the screening read: "How to win a battle against terrorism and lose the war of ideas."
- #002
In October 1969, the Weatherman faction of Students for a Democratic Society watched this film as part of their training preparation for the Days of Rage, a four-day series of violent acts in Chicago that were intended to create mass action to end the American war in Vietnam.
- #003
Because of its contentious pro-Algerian politics, the film wasn't released in France until 1971.
- #004
One scene in the film depicts a loudspeaker announcement by the French counter-insurgency urging the rebels to surrender and claiming that many of the French officials were themselves anti-Nazis and had fought in the French resistance. Jean Martin, the actor playing Colonel Mathieu, commander of the French paratroopers, actually fought with the French resistance against Nazi occupation during World War II and was one of the signers of the 1960 Manifesto of 121 supporting Algerian independence.
- #005
Rumored to be the favorite film of terrorist Andreas Baader.
Production Story (7)
- #006
Gillo Pontecorvo originally composed the score for the film but was later persuaded to use a more conventional score. Thus, Ennio Morricone was brought in.
- #007
The motion picture was purchased by a Soviet film distributor and dubbed into Russian in 1971. However it never premiered in the USSR for unspecified reasons.
- #008
The movie is famous for using almost only non-professional actors, who were chosen primarily for their resemblance to the people they play, acting skills being secondary. Director Gillo Pontecorvo got the performances he wanted from them by careful lighting, adequate staging, and skillful directing.
- #009
Director Gillo Pontecorvo and composer Ennio Morricone had regular disagreements over the movie's score. At one point, Pontecorvo had a melody stuck in his mind which he desperately wanted as a theme in the movie. He went to Morricone's apartment to play it for him, and hummed the tune all the way up to the top floor. Then Morricone asked him to wait with the tune, since he had conceived a melody of his own. To Pontecorvo's surprise, the tune was exactly the same as the one he had in mind, and he was delighted to find out that after all those months of struggling, they had finally found something, separate from each other, on which they could agree. It wasn't until months later at the Venice film festival that Morricone admitted that he had pulled a prank on him; he had already heard Pontecorvo humming the song while coming up the stairs, and decided to pretend he had come up with the same melody himself.
- #010
Based on the 1962 book "Souvenirs de la Bataille d'Alger" or "Memories of the Battle of Algiers," an FLN military commander's account of the campaign, by Franco Solinas. Yacef wrote the book while he was held as a prisoner of the French, and it served to boost morale for the FLN and other militants. After independence, the French released Yacef, who became a leader in the new government. The Algerian government backed adapting Yacef's memoir as a film. Salash Baazi, an FLN leader who had been exiled by the French, approached Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo and screenwriter Franco Solinas with the project.
- #011
Gillo Pontecorvo spent a month doing screen tests for cinematographers and only eight days for the actors.
- #012
Such was the realistic nature of the pseudo-documentary filming, the movie was released in the USA with a disclaimer that not one foot of newsreel was used.
Behind the Scenes (8)
- #013
When houses needed to be blown up, full-size buildings were erected in the narrow streets, largely from expanded polystyrene.
- #014
As the sunlight was so intense in Algeria, white sheets were hung over the top of most locations to diffuse the intensity.
- #015
Although the mass scenes look spontaneous, it took quite some planning to make them look that way. Director Gillo Pontecorvo would often draw chalk lines on the ground, dividing the mass in separate groups which had to start walking on cue in order to get proper crowd movement. He also used multiple cameras at a time and used footage from different angles to create the impression that crowds were much larger than they were in reality.
- #016
The movie producer had the assistance of the Algerian Army to lend the appropriate military atmosphere needed for this movie. This is apparent by the variety of vehicles appearing in various scenes. Appropriately for the closeup scenes there are jeeps, either American-made Ford GPW/Willys MB or their French-made counterpart, the Hotchkiss M201. For the backdrop in the wide shots taken in public spaces, several larger vehicles make their appearance. The trucks are World War II vintage American Dodge WC-51/52 1 1/2-ton 6x6 trucks and postwar French Simca 4X2 5-ton trucks. Along with the trucks, there is one armored car present: a fairly rare French EBR-75 Model 1951 8-wheeler. Near the end of the movie a pair of Soviet SU-100 tank destroyers, represented as French tanks, are shown confronting the angry Algiers crowds. Finally, one helicopter makes a brief appearance-the viewer gets a glimpse of the underside of the aircraft from between two Algiers buildings. It is a Soviet Mil Mi-4 Hound, which bears a close resemblance to the American Sikorsky S-55 helicopters used by the French during the Algerian War. The jeeps, Dodge trucks, and the EBR-75 were probably war survivors-the trucks look freshly painted, and the armored car is probably a war trophy that is not operational. The Simca trucks, SU-100, and Mi-4 are postwar acquisitions. The Soviets courted young Arab nations, newly independent after their "wars of national liberation" and provided them with military aid.
- #017
Most of the cast were dubbed, as they were all non-professionals.
- #018
The man being executed in the prison scene was picked for the role because he had actually been sentenced to death during the insurgency.
- #019
Gillo Pontecorvo would reshoot most of the scenes 20 times, some scenes even 30 or 40 times. He did that deliberately, so the actors would get tired, and that fatigue would appear on their faces in scenes that need feelings of fear, exhaustion, and frustration to show on their faces.
- #020
Contains a major spoiler — show
The house of Ali La Pointe, which is destroyed at the end, was reconstructed on the precise site of the real house.
Characters & Cast (4)
- #021
Yacef Saadi, whose memoirs were the basis for this film, played his own real-life character - Djafar.
- #022
One scene in the film depicts a loudspeaker announcement by the French counter-insurgency urging the rebels to surrender and claiming that many of the French officials were themselves anti-Nazis and had fought in the French resistance. Jean Martin, the actor playing Colonel Mathieu, commander of the French paratroopers, actually fought with the French resistance against Nazi occupation during World War II and was one of the signers of the 1960 Manifesto of 121 supporting Algerian independence.
- #023
The only professional actor in the film is Jean Martin as Colonel Mathieu. Director Gillo Pontecorvo wanted at least one professional actor, particularly in that pivotal role. The two argued frequently on set as Pontecorvo was trying to reign in Martin so that his performance would lie better with those of the non-professionals.
- #024
The character of Col. Mathieu is loosely based on the real-life General Jacques Massu. In 1958, right-wing elements in the French Army, led by General Massu, seized power in Algiers and threatened to conduct an assault on Paris, involving paratroopers and armored forces based at Rambouillet, unless Charles de Gaulle was placed in charge of the Republic of France. De Gaulle did indeed take charge under the precondition that a new constitution would be introduced, creating a powerful presidency in which a sole executive, the first of which was to be de Gaulle, ruled for seven-year periods. These changes were introduced and the French Fifth Republic, which still exists, was born.
Deeper Meaning (2)
- #025
Film critics and historians have identified this film as one of the first to depict North Africans as complex and fully-developed characters. Historians have argued that previous films had largely included North Africans as little more than part of the backdrop or scenery; this film, in contrast, dealt with them as people.
- #026
According to French government figures, there were 236,000 Algerian Muslims serving in the French Army in 1962 (four times more than in the FLN), either in regular units (Spahis and Tirailleurs) or as irregulars (harkis and moghaznis). Some estimates suggest that, with their families, the indigenous Muslim loyalists may have numbered as many as 1 million. They are not portrayed in this film.
Career & Awards (3)
- #027
British film institute has included it in their top 50 list of critics top 50.
- #028
Ranked #19 in BBC Culture's 100 greatest foreign-language films of all times. The list was created in 2018 by 209 film critics.
- #029
Director Gillo Pontecorvo and composer Ennio Morricone had regular disagreements over the movie's score. At one point, Pontecorvo had a melody stuck in his mind which he desperately wanted as a theme in the movie. He went to Morricone's apartment to play it for him, and hummed the tune all the way up to the top floor. Then Morricone asked him to wait with the tune, since he had conceived a melody of his own. To Pontecorvo's surprise, the tune was exactly the same as the one he had in mind, and he was delighted to find out that after all those months of struggling, they had finally found something, separate from each other, on which they could agree. It wasn't until months later at the Venice film festival that Morricone admitted that he had pulled a prank on him; he had already heard Pontecorvo humming the song while coming up the stairs, and decided to pretend he had come up with the same melody himself.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work