The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeri) (1966)

"You just have to pull the trigger..." "... If your answer is yes, you have to accept the consequences." A harrowing work of blunt, unglamorous political instruction and conviction, and one of the great pieces of armed revolutionary cinema. A claustrophobic, maze-like,…

Josh Lewis

there’s a child hanging limp, carried from a ruined building. a furious mob marches into the streets, crowded together in a closed-off ghetto. a leader promises retribution. a woman darts nervous eyes in a café. she leaves a bag behind as she exits through the door. no…

kailey

History lessons need to be rewritten so children can learn about the realities and legacies of European colonialism.

Jeremy Corbyn

Ashamed to say this was my first viewing. A very great movie, absolutely scorching. I like how this is unquestionably an anti-colonial, pro-Algerian movie that also has the stones the show the righteous side bombing public places and leaving dozens of ordinary people dead.…

Will Sloan

Nice to take a break from reality and watch a film that has no connection to current events whatsoever.

Séamus Malekafzali

For a film full of specifics, perhaps one of the most timeless films ever made.

Peter Labuza

Quite possibly the most electrifying — and influential — political thriller/war movie ever made.

Jamelle Bouie

"The Battle of Algiers’ continued relevance is both a point of fascination and something to mourn. Thirty-five years before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Pontecorvo’s film gave us a cinematic blueprint of how Western oppression in the Muslim world could lead…

Josh Larsen

Ben M'Hidi: It's hard to start a revolution. Even harder to continue it. And hardest of all to win it. But, it's only afterwards, when we have won, that the true difficulties begin. In short, Ali, there's still much to do. Col. Mathieu: Should we remain in Algeria? If…

Jonathan White