We aren't madmen or sadists, gentlemen. We are soldiers and our only duty is to win.

Rating: 9/10 (14 March 2010)

This film received Oscar nominations in 1967 and 1969. First time I have ever seen that.
It was nominated in 1967 for Best Foreign Language Film, losing to A Man and a Woman; and was nominated again in 1969, when Gillo Pontecorvo was nominated for Best Director, and he was nominated along with Franco Solinas for Screenplay.
It shows up on many Top Ten lists as it illustrates the timeless march of men fighting for their basic human rights and freedom. It could be a film about the West Bank or Afghanistan, or any other locale where men struggle to be free. It just happened here to occur in Algeria. This is a timeless film about freedom and the horrors of war.
One of the interesting aspects of this film is how real it looks and feels. This is done without using stock footage. It was filmed that way, and presents a picture of war that is hard to stomach. It will make all other so-called "war movies" seem like cartoons.
Jean Martin as Col. Mathieu was outstanding, especially when he was defending the use of Bush-Cheney tactics to defeat the Algerians.
One has to realize watching this film that the Algerians didn't like being occupied by the French any more than the French like being occupied by the Nazis or Iraq likes being occupied by America.