An American Website Ranks ‘The Battle of Algiers’ Among the Top Three Anti-War Films in History
✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada
Algiers – October 2025 – The acclaimed Algerian–Italian film The Battle of Algiers has been recognized by the American cinema website Collider as one of the three greatest anti-war films in history, alongside Threads and Apocalypse Now. Published on Sunday, October 26, 2025, the ranking celebrates films that depict war with both humanistic sensitivity and political awareness.
Critics have lauded the film as a milestone in political cinema, due to its fearless representation of French colonial oppression and the Algerian fight for liberation. Its documentary-style realism has rendered it a worldwide reference for the study of urban guerrilla warfare.
Pontecorvo’s Masterpiece: Military Lessons and Inspiration for Liberation Movements
Produced in 1966 as an Algerian–Italian collaboration, the film was directed by Italian Gillo Pontecorvo and co-written by Algerian revolutionary Yacef Saâdi, who also starred alongside Brahim Haggiag (Ali La Pointe) and Jean Martin. Shot in black-and-white, it faithfully reconstructs the violent confrontations in Algiers during the revolution, granting the work a rare credibility that has made it part of military training curricula globally.
In 2003, The New York Times revealed that the U.S. Department of Defense screened the film to study the mistakes of the French Army in Algeria after the Iraq invasion, highlighting its enduring relevance and profound global influence.
Golden Lion, Oscars, and a Trilingual Cinematic Triumph
The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 31, 1966, winning the Golden Lion, before subsequent screenings in Algeria, Italy, and the United States in 1967. It also earned the Critics’ Prize at Cannes and received three Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
With a 117-minute runtime, the film was produced in Arabic, French, and English, with a budget near $800,000 and global earnings surpassing $900,000. Contributions included cinematographer Marcello Gatti, composer Ennio Morricone, and producer Antonio Musu.
From Collider Ranking to a Global Legacy
The Battle of Algiers was ranked 48th in Sight & Sound’s 2012 list of the 250 greatest films and 120th in Empire magazine’s 500 Greatest Films of All Time, while also being recognized among the fifty most historically significant films ever made.
Collider emphasizes that, nearly six decades later, the film continues to deliver a powerful anti-colonial and anti-imperialist message. Its candid depiction of the harsh realities of French occupation ensures that it remains more than an artistic masterpiece—it is a timeless human testimony to a nation’s unyielding struggle for freedom.
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