Description
Andrew Nette, my co-editor on Revolution in 35mm, joined me for this rather intense episode about Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers (1966). We talk a lot about the film’s powerful impact, the Algerian struggle for independence from French colonial occupation, the cost and effectiveness of violence, Pontecorvo’s time in the Italian resistance during WWII, his career more broadly, and the use of The Battle of Algiers as a training tool for political radicals.
We also discuss films made around the same time that addressed the war, particularly Youssef Chahine’s incredible Jamila, The Algerian (1958). In addition to being one of the only films in cinema history to focus on a female freedom fighter as central to a battle for independence, it was also one of the only film actually made during the Algerian War and from a North African country. And Jean-Luc Godard’s forgotten and neglected Le petit soldat (1960) also makes an appearance.
You can find Andrew at @pulpcurry on social media and here on his website! And of course you can find our book here from PM Press. Thanks as always to Cinepunx and please rate, review, follow, and share!
For the latest Eros + Massacre episode, designer, writer, musician, and jack of all trades Christopher Norris joined me to talk about one of our mutual favorites, Alain Robbe-Grillet, a giant of modern French literature, a genius filmmaker, and an unabashed pervert. We focused on three of his...
Published 11/04/24
Starting this September, the Criterion Channel is running a series on giallo films. It includes thirteen films from The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963) through Tenebrae (1982), covering a lot of the greatest hits of the genre with a few added bonus in the mix as well. Criterion video editor,...
Published 09/20/24