Here is a rather striking poster for a film I must admit I have never seen.

The Battle Of Algiers is supposedly a land-mark movie in cinema-verite.  It covers events in the Algerian war between rebels in North Africa and the French government. The movie was shot on location in 1966, largely with non-professional actors who had lived through the war, and in black and white, with documentary-type editing for added realism.

The movie was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film but generated significant controversy in France given its subject matter. It was banned in France for 5 years, and was eventually released there in 1971, which is when this poster dates from. 

The movie was so realistic that it was also reported that The Pentagon arranged a screening in 2003 as an educational tool for commanders facing similar issues with rebels in occupied Iraq!

Clips can be found of YouTube but is hard to find a full copy. Nonetheless, I do hope to see this movie one day….

I bought this poster in a lot with many others and sold it last year to a buyer in the States. It is a very powerful image, so I hope he has this on his wall.