Gillo Pontecorvo

[Red Flag Waver]

Have you have seen any of Gillo Pontecorvo's movies (The Battle of Algiers, etc.) and if so, what do you think of them? I believe I can credit his film Burn! as one of the things that chipped away at my liberalism.7D7A983ZmPY

[Jimmie Higgins]

The Battle of Algiers is fantastic on many levels. I saw "Burn" but I don't know - maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I watched it. I can barely remember it and I didn't think it was that impressive at the time. I wouldn't mind revisiting it though.

[brigadista]

there is also from 1979

Operación Ogro- another film about real life events in Spain under Franco

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079655/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operación_Ogro_(film)

I dont know if you can get it with English subtitles .

[Venas Abiertas]

This thread reminded me that for a long time now I have wanted to watch The Battle of Algiers, so I found it in YouTube with English subtitles. I had only planned to watch maybe half an hour and then get back to it later but it was so gripping I ended up watching all two hours without even getting out of my seat!

It has a real documentary feel, although it's historical fiction. The camera work tells the whole story, even without listening to the words or reading the subtitles. I think this film was one of the first to show torture and terrorism in such a graphic form.

[Jimmie Higgins]

This thread reminded me that for a long time now I have wanted to watch The Battle of Algiers, so I found it in YouTube with English subtitles. I had only planned to watch maybe half an hour and then get back to it later but it was so gripping I ended up watching all two hours without even getting out of my seat!

I had a similar experience. I found an old tape copy and played it and one by one my roommates walked by and ended up sitting down and watching the whole thing. This was right around the time of the Iraq invasion and my roommates weren't particularly political or film enthusiasts either.

"Is this about Iraq?" "Is this about Vietnam?" They would ask and then were blown away when I told them it wasn't a documentary.

I love that the film "takes sides" but presents actions and characters without moralizing or making it melodrama like a lot of political movies. The French official in that movie is like a smarter Rumsfeld. Fantastic movie.

[bcbm]

'battle of algiers' is one of my favorite movies. if you can pick up the criterion version i highly recommend it; it has some great special features.

[Two Buck Chuck]

The Battle of Algiers is great, as well as his Holocaust film Kapo.