Aug 12, BATTLE OF ALGIERS

This week, it's War.

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
Gillo Pontecorvo

This film was commissioned by the Algerian government. It is based on the 1962 memoire novel
Souvenirs de la Bataille d'Alger, written by Saadi Yacef, one of the military chiefs of Algeria's
National Liberation Front The film shows the Algerian revolution from both sides. The French
Foreign L has left Vietnam in defeat and has to prove something. The Algerians are seeking
independence. The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian's
use of bombs in soda shops. A look at war as a nasty thing that harms and sullies everyone who
participates in it.

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".

This is the  only film in Oscar history to be a nominee in two separate non-consecutive years. It was
a foreign film nominee for 1966, and then a nominee for screenplay and direction for 1968.