The French Foreign Legion swept through Algeria with something to prove after defeat in Vietnam by crushing the Algerians' desire for independence. What made the film account of the battle of Algiers so striking was the documentary style in which it was shot. This new DVD release comes a chance to find out the thoughts of director Gillo Pontecorvo, nearly 40 years on.

The Look Of The Battle

Given the age and low budget of the film, the transfer to DVD is quite good. Contrast levels are fine and, while the print does suffer from scratches, it's not a big problem.

Behind The Battle

Apart from old laserdiscs, this is the only proper DVD release for The Battle Of Algiers and it comes blessed with a fascinating all-new interview with Pontecorvo. In it he discusses everything from colonialism then and now, and why he picked the documentary-look shooting style. If there's one complaint, it's that a longer interview would have been welcome as Pontecorvo makes for such an interesting subject. The theme is certainly quality over quantity, and if you've wanted to know how, on such a low budget, he managed to achieve the scale he did, then this should please.

EXTRA FEATURES

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.