The Battle of Algiers
Gillo Pontecorvo · 1966 · Italy / Algeria · French · Arabic · 121 min · Restauré
The Casbah, 1954–57: insurgency and counterinsurgency filmed with such newsreel conviction that distributors had to swear no documentary footage was used. Pontecorvo watches both sides with a clinical eye, and the drumbeat of Ennio Morricone keeps the moral ledger honest.