"The Battle of Algiers" and the fall of Baghdad

[izzybeans]

If you haven't had a chance to watch "The Battle of Algiers" ever or in a while, then you might want to check it out. A dose of irony: This fictional reconstruction of the role of resistance movement in Algiers is the closest thing to news coverage you might find about our current situation in Iraq.

There are of course some differences between the French colonization of Algeria, namely they had time to enforce French as the lingua franca, and so could actually talk to the citizens. Our soldiers just can't. That's pretty much it.

The parallels are striking (e.g. resistance=terrorism, legitimizng torture, targeting police forces, etc.). I recommend this movie for everyone. It gives a sense of both the desperation of citizens and the ideological justifications given by the occupier.

[4morewars]

1. I've seen it,

Your review is right on the mark, I highly recommend it as well.

[Crankie Avalon]

2. I own it...

...a 3 disc DVD came out several months ago. Disc 1 is the film itself, Disc 2 has extras about the film as a work of art, and Disc 3 has extras about the film as a work of history. It makes for 8 hours of total viewing. A little pricey at around $50 (if I remember right), but good value for all you get, which includes a discussion with Richard Clarke about how applicable the film is to what's happeing in Iraq, and a long feature of Gillo Pontecorvo's return visit to the Algiers of today.

[izzybeans]

3. I rented the movie from netflix. I'll check out the other disks as well

thanks!

[EFerrari]

4. My husband kept comparing the two situations so I finally saw it

a couple of months ago. He was right.

[izzybeans]

5. I decided to rent it because I remembered reading

Franz Fanon's A Dieing Colonialism a couple of years ago.

[hadrons]

6. higher ups at the Pentagon saw the film before the invasion .....

they missed the message

[izzybeans]

7. Well they got Mathiau's message anyway.

If they ever want to remake the film. I'm hoping Rumsfield plays himself.