Criterion don't fiddle with false bumps and again stick with the original mono with a linear PCM Audio track at 1152 kbps. It is clean and clear, front-centric but The Battle of Algiers aggressive gunfire etc, depth can be jolting despite the mono rendering. The Blu-ray offers optional English subtitles and the disc is, like all Criterion BDs, (both discs) are region 'A'-locked.

Criterion have done a detailed job in describing the package supplements (duplicate of their 3-disc DVD) - far better than I could do - so I will, essentially, just repeat what they have said. On disc one - along with the feature - we get the 37-minute documentary The Dictatorship of Truth narrated by Edward Said about the relationship between Pontecorvo’s politics and filmmaking style. Like all video extras it is in 1080i (unless otherwise noted). Also sharing the first disc is Marxist Poetry -The Making of The Battle of Algiers: an exclusive 51-minute documentary created for Criterion's digital releases - guided by Pontecorvo biographer Irene Bignardi and featuring interviews with the director himself, cinematographer Marcello Gatti, composer Ennio Morricone, editor Mario Morra, actors Jean Martin and Saadi Yacef, and film critic Tullio Kezich. Also the Five Directors: a discussion about the The Battle of Algiers influence, style, and importance featuring, Spike Lee, Mira Nair, Julian Schnabel, Steven Soderbergh, and Oliver Stone running 17-minutes in length. You may access the click-thru Production Gallery with behind-the-scenes stills etc. and two theatrical (4:03 in 1080P) and re-release trailer (2:24 in 1080P) also on the first disc. On disc 2 - another dual-layered Blu-ray we find the remaining extras from the extensive DVD package. These include Remembering History: the documentary featuring interviews with historians Alistair Horne, Hugh Roberts and Benjamin Stora, former FLN members Zohra Drif-Bitat, Mohammed Harbi and Saadi Yacef, and writer and torture victim, Henri Alleg (The Question) lasting 1 hour 8-minutes. “Etats d’Armes” is a 28.5-minute excerpt from Patrick Rotman’s 3-part documentary, L’Ennemi Intime, which focuses on the horror of the French-Algerian War. It features interviews with various members of the French military during the French-Algerian War, including General Jacques Massu, General Roger Trinquier, General Paul Aussaresses, and others. The Battle of Algiers: A Case Study - How to Win the Battle But Lose the War of Ideas: a conversation about the contemporary relevance of The Battle of Algiers between former National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism and author of Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror, Richard A. Clarke, former State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Michael A. Sheehan, and Chief of Investigative Projects for ABC News, Christopher E. Isham. This runs for 25-minutes. Gillo Pontecorvo's Return to Algiers (1992, 58 minutes): three decades following its emergence as a nation, director Gillo Pontecorvo and his son return to Algeria to talk with its people about independence and lastly a liner notes booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Peter Matthews, a reprinted interview with writer Franco Solinas, brief biographies on the key figures in the French-Algerian War, plus photos etc. is included in the BD package.

I've always considered this one of Criterion's greatest triumphs bringing such a masterpiece to digital with such an outstanding supplement package. The Blu-ray only exemplifies this. The extras are to be visited over days and only add further appreciation to the historical context of The Battle of Algiers. This belongs in EVERY cinephile's Blu-ray library. out of

Gary W. Tooze