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Ep. 48: The Battle of Algiers & Violence in Movies [ 15:19 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On today’s show, Lady P is joined by co-producer, Martin Kessler, and Flixwise regular, Kristen Sales, to talk about the 48th film on the Sight and Sound Critics Poll, Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1966 feature: The Battle of Algiers. In the years since its release Algiers has become infamous more for its use as a training video rather than its cinematic legacy. It’s been cited by everyone from The Black Panthers to the United States Military as a blueprint for both engaging in and combatting guerrilla-style warfare. However, our panel attempts to separate Pontecorvo’s initial vision from the thorny political aftermath by focusing more on the film’s cinematic sensibilities and directorial choices. We talk about whether Algiers deserves more attention for its artistry, or if it should primary be remembered as an effective piece of agitprop.

Then, for the second topic, the panel uses the depictions of bloodshed in The Battle of Algiers as a jumping off point for a wider discussion about violence in cinema. We know what you’re thinking: “If you’re so against violence, why do you insist on beating this dead horse.” While it’s true that every time a certain notable genre-masher/foot-fetishist releases a movie we get a fresh flurry of think piece about the wider repercussions of movie violence. But for our discussion we’re going to leave the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching to the experts, and talk about instances where we think violence was used effectively. And in case you’re wondering, yes, Mr. Tarantino does come up.

Lastly, we move on to more pleasant subjects with our Final Notes of Positivity:

Here’s Martin’s

Here’s Kristen’s

Here’s Lady P’s