The Battle of Algiers is a 1966 Italian-Algerian war film co-written and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. It is based on action undertaken by rebels during the Algerian War (1954–1962) against the French government in North Africa, the most prominent being the eponymous Battle of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It was shot on location in a Roberto Rossellini-inspired newsreel style: in black and white with documentary-type editing to add to its sense of historical authenticity, with mostly non-professional actors who had lived through the real battle. The film's score was composed by Pontecorvo and Ennio Morricone. It is often associated with Italian neorealist cinema.
U.S. theatrical release poster
The Casbah, where the film was shot
Mahmoud, Halima, Little Omar, and Ali La Pointe in the hideout
Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo (second from right) with his wife Picci and Algerian actor and co-producer Saadi Yacef posing beside some guests at the 27th Venice Film Festival, in which the movie won the Golden Lion.
War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war films often end with them. Themes explored include combat, survival and escape, camaraderie between soldiers, sacrifice, the futility and inhumanity of battle, the effects of war on society, and the moral and human issues raised by war. War films are often categorized by their milieu, such as the Korean War; the most popular subjects are the Second World War and the American Civil War. The stories told may be fiction, historical drama, or biographical. Critics have noted similarities between the Western and the war film.
Japanese film poster for Kajiro Yamamoto's The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya (Hawai Mare oki kaisen), featuring acclaimed special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya
John Wayne in The Longest Day, 1962
1918 film poster for Die grosse Schlacht in Frankreich (The Great Battle in France), with Hindenburg in the background
Staged scene of British troops advancing through barbed wire from The Battle of the Somme, 1916