The Battle Of Algiers

While reading Peter Rainer's review of Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers, it seemed to be more of a informational piece rather than a commenting review. Though he does make a point of admitting he thinks it's "the most electrifyingly timely movie playing in New York", he only goes on to describe the actors involved in making the film and Pontecorvo himself.

I hoped to hear more of what he really liked about the film, and what techniques he enjoyed most. Though he describes techniques used he doesn't reflect on them. Even though I don't really believe this was a review per say, I learned alot from it. I didn't know that Pontecorvo was involved in the Milan resistance. I believe this is what helped this film become so successful, along with the fact it does a wonderful job at depicting realistic events that occured in the FLN resistance against the French. I also had no idea that actor Jean Martin had been blacklisted from France for signing a manifesto against the Algerian war. To me that is ironic he plays the French commander of war.

Overall Peter Rainer should have been published this not as a review but as an article. He does a wonderful job of describing what this film has been used for in the past and the people that were involved in the making of the film, but does poorly on commenting the stylistic details used, like many reviews do.

"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

Throughout the film noir "genre", if it is a genre, I found myself getting lost alot of the time throughout the viewings. It seems that film noir tends to throw in random characters and scenes that later on have no point to the film leaving you to believe you missed something. Roman Polanski's 1974 film Chinatown is a much more entertaining than the other film noirs we've watched in class. It keeps the mystery going but adds the psychological drama to the plot. Though the other films were mysterious, they were extremely overdone in the dramatic factor, pulling away from that feeling. I also didn't necessarily think they threw anything in that didn't make sense.

One thing I really enjoyed about this film was the idea it was in color. Although black and white can show a certain mood and portray a certain feeling I still think much of that can be accomplished even when a movie is shot in color. The contrast between colors can really distinquish the mood rather than having a drab mood the entire film. The mood is also portrayed through the difference in high key versus low key lighting too.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this film is the revisionized femme-fatal. In the end Evelyn Mulray is the good character while her father is a traitor to her family. As his abusive past is revealed we as an audience start to sypathize for her. The hard-boiled detective, J.J. Jake Gittes isn't as violent as portrayed in other film noirs. I think the lack of violence, too, made this film more enjoyable.

Overall, this more contemporary film was much more enjoyable than the old classic film noirs we watched. The colors and the revisionized themes of this film noir made my viewing experience much more enjoyable.