The Battle of Algiers

"Brilliantly directed set-pieces and remarkable thronging crowd scenes make the film a masterpiece; the ominous familiarity of its subject makes it a must-see."

"Whatever they made of The Battle of Algiers at the Pentagon, this is a must-see for everyone else now."

"The most important piece of political filmmaking since Battleship Potemkin."

"A riveting reconstruction of the struggle for independence in mid-50s Algiers, its pseudo-documentary style still feels as headline-fresh as its content."

"Superb and unrivalled."

"What lessons a modern viewer can gain from the film depends on who is watching and what they want to see."

"The film is not just a relentlessly gripping entertainment but also a cinematic Rorschach blot, a moral miasma that tosses our sympathies this way and that."

"(It's the film's) formal genius, along with Ennio Morricone’s anxious, staccato score, that truly endures..."

"It uses realism as an effect, documentary as a style. You feel that you're really there, and you can't help but be moved."