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Battle of Algiers (The) AKA La battaglia di Algeri AKA Maarakat madinat al Jazaer (Blu-ray) (1965)
The revolt that stirred the world!Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
OVERALL: Draw-
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Extras:DISC ONE
* The Film
"Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth" 1992 documentary by Oliver Curtis (37:32)
"Marxist Poetry: The Making of the Battle of Algiers" 2004 documentary (51:23)
"Five Directors" 2004 interviews with Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone (17:18)
Photo gallery (44 images)
Trailers
- French Theatrical trailer (4:02) (1080p)
- Rialto Pictures 2004 Re-release trailer (2:24) (1080p)
DISC TWO
"Remembering History" 2004 documentary (68:15)
"Etats d'Armes" excerpt from L'Ennemi Intime 2002 documentary by Patrick Rotman (28:26)
"The Battle of Algiers: A Case Study" 2004 conversation between journalist Christopher Isham and counterterrorism experts Richard A. Clark and Michael A. Sheehan (24:40)
"Return to Algiers" 1992 documentary by Gillo Pontecorvo from the Italian television series Mixer (58:10) -
Subtitles:English (optional)
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Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
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Picture Format:1080p24 AVC MPEG-4
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Soundtrack(s):French/Arabic LPCM 1.0 (48kHz/24bit)
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Case type:Digipak
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Notes:High-definition digital transfer supervised by cinematographer Marcello Gratti.
All extras are in 1080i 60Hz, except where noted.
"Pontecorvo: The Dictatorship of Truth" is in English, Italian, & French, with burned-in English subtitles for non-English dialogue.
"Marxist Poetry" is in Italian & French, with optional English subtitles.
"Five Directors" & "A Case Study" are in English, with no subtitles.
"Remembering History" is in English & French, with optional English for non-English dialogue.
"Etats d'Armes" is in French, with optional English subtitles.
"Return to Algiers" is in Italian, with optional English subtitles.
Trailers are in French, with optional or burned-in English subtitles.
Includes a 56-page book with interviews, essays and information about the French-Algerian War.
Transfer is slightly windowboxed. -
Special thanks to Rewind user Daniel_Rudolph for providing these specifications.
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Have you spotted a mistake in these specifications? If so, let us know via our forums. -
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Extras:DISC ONE
* The Film
DISC TWO
"Marxist Poetry: The Making of the Battle of Algiers" 2004 documentary (51 min)
"Five Directors" 2004 interviews with Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone (17 min)
"Remembering History" 2004 documentary (67 min)
"The Battle of Algiers: A Case Study" 2004 conversation between journalist Christopher Isham and counterterrorism experts Richard A. Clark and Michael A. Sheehan (25 min)
"The Making of The Battle of Algiers" 2003 interview with director Gillo Pontecorvo (20 min)
"The Real Battle of Algiers" 2008 interview with actor/producer/guerrilla Saadi Yacef (23 min)
"Director Paul Greengrass Reflects on the Film" 2012 interview (7 min)
"Director Ken Loach on The Battle of Algiers" 2012 interview (6 min) -
Subtitles:Japanese
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Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
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Picture Format:1080p24 AVC MPEG-4
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Soundtrack(s):French/Arabic Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mono (96kHz/16bit)
French/Arabic LPCM 2.0 mono (48kHz/24bit) -
Case type:Keep Case
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Notes:High-definition digital transfer supervised by cinematographer Marcello Gratti.
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Have you spotted a mistake in these specifications? If so, let us know via our forums. -
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Extras:"Parlando di cinema" ["Talking About Cinema"] interview with director Gillo Pontecorvo by filmmaker Carlo Lizzani (52 min)
"I giorni della liberazione" ["The Days of Liberation"] photo slideshow of the Algerian liberation set to audio of director Gillo Pontecorvo and writer Franco Solinas
Trailer -
Subtitles:Italian (forced on French/Arabic soundtrack), Italian HoH
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Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
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Picture Format:1080p24 AVC MPEG-4
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Soundtrack(s):French/Arabic DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
French/Arabic Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono -
Case type:Keep Case
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Notes:4K restoration from the original negative.
Extras are in Italian.
Includes a booklet.
French/Arabic soundtrack has no audio during the four extended/additional shots of the Italian version.
Disc has reports of duplicated frame issues. -
Have you spotted a mistake in these specifications? If so, let us know via our forums. -
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Extras:"The Making of The Battle of Algiers" 2003 interview with director Gillo Pontecorvo (18:17)
"The Real Battle of Algiers" 2008 interview with actor/producer/guerrilla Saadi Yacef (23:37)
"Our War for Freedom" 2012 interview with guerrilla Zohra Drif Bitat (16:17)
"Director Paul Greengrass Reflects on the Film" 2012 interview (7:09)
"Director Ken Loach on The Battle of Algiers" 2012 interview (6:05)
Photo galleries
- On Set Photos (26 images)
- Real Battle of Algiers (11 images)
- Awards & Posters (16 images)
2 Trailers (6:00) -
Subtitles:English (optional)
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Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
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Picture Format:1080p24 AVC MPEG-4
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Soundtrack(s):French/Arabic DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
French/Arabic Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono
Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 mono -
Case type:Keep Case
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Notes:Coded Regions B & C.
All extras are in 1080p.
Paul Greengrass & Ken Loach interviews are in English, with no subtitles.
Gillo Pontecorvo interview is in Italian, with burned-in English subtitles.
All other extras are in French, with burned-in English subtitles. -
Have you spotted a mistake in these specifications? If so, let us know via our forums. -
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Extras:DISC ONE (Blu-ray)
* The Film
"The Making of The Battle of Algiers" 2003 interview with director Gillo Pontecorvo (18:29)
"The Restoration of The Battle of Algiers" 2016 documentary (29:49)
"The Real Battle of Algiers" 2008 interview with actor/producer/guerrilla Saadi Yacef (23:32)
"Our War for Freedom" 2012 interview with guerrilla Zohra Drif Bitat (16:15)
"Director Paul Greengrass Reflects on the Film" 2012 interview (6:58)
"Director Ken Loach on The Battle of Algiers" 2012 interview (5:53)
Photo galleries
- Awards & Posters (16 images)
- On Set Photos (25 images)
- Real Battle of Algiers (12 images)
Startup trailers (2:18)
- Suspiria
- A Special Day
DISC TWO (DVD Copy) -
Subtitles:English (optional)
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Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
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Picture Format:1080p24 AVC MPEG-4
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Soundtrack(s):French/Arabic LPCM 2.0 mono (48kHz/16bit)
Italian LPCM 2.0 mono (48kHz/16bit) -
Case type:Keep Case
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Notes:4K restoration from the original negative.
Coded Regions B & C.
All extras are in 1080p.
Gillo Pontecorvo interview is in Italian, with burned-in English subtitles.
Saadi Yacef & Zohra Drif Bitat interviews are in French, with burned-in English subtitles.
Restoration documentary is in English & Italian, with optional English subtitles for Italian dialogue.
All other extras are in English, with no subtitles.
Comes with a reversible cover.
Packaged in a cardboard slipcase.
Includes a 30-page booklet featuring critic David Forgacs' essay "Italians in Algiers" and professor Alan O'Leary's essay "Spaces and Times in The Battle of Algiers".
Back cover incorrectly lists soundtracks as "Dolby Digital stereo/LPCM stereo". -
Have you spotted a mistake in these specifications? If so, let us know via our forums. -
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OVERALL: Draw
French/Arabic version:
The US Criterion release and the UK Cult Films release each contain differing substantial extras.
Note that the Cult Films release is sourced from a 4K restoration.
The Japan release includes a 96kHz audio track and combines a selection (but not all) of extras from both the US & UK releases. Note it uses the older transfer and is not English-friendly.
Italian version:
The Italian release uses a 4K restoration and has some exclusive extras, but note it is not English friendly and has reports of some video errors.
Versions:
The film was a joint Italian-Algerian production written & directed by Italians, filmed in Algeria with an Arabic & French-speaking cast.
- The French/Arabic version is the most widely-distributed version, with French titles and a French/Arabic soundtrack.
- The Italian version contains 4 additional/extended shots, and is dubbed in Italian with Italian titles.
The restoration documentary on the Cult Films release shows 2 of the differences between the versions.
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CUTS:
- Blu-ray A America- Criterion Collection - No cuts - French/Arabic version (121:39).
- Blu-ray A Definitive Edition Japan- King Records - No cuts - French/Arabic version (121:29).
- Blu-ray B Italy- Cecchi Gori TV - No cuts - Italian version (~122 min).
- Blu-ray B United Kingdom- Argent Films - No cuts - French/Arabic version (121:26).
- Blu-ray B United Kingdom- Cult Films - No cuts - French/Arabic version (122:11).
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Do you own a release not listed? Then please visit our forums and let us know!
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Comparison added by Anthony_DiPaola on 09/09/11
Comparison last updated by Rob_Hunt on 02/12/20UPDATE LOG:
09/09/11: Initial entry.
Please ensure you read our disclaimer.
18/12/15: Addition of UK.
17/03/18: Added UK 4K Remastered release.
11/09/20: Added Italy & Japan, corrected audio on Cult Films release to PCM, added exact runtimes for film & extras on Cult Film release, added link to DVD comparison, updated notes on all releases, updated Winner notes.
02/12/20: Added Versions info.
02/12/20: Corrected a few typos and updated title.
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