Abstract
The article explores the impact and legacy of the ‘dictatorship of the truth’ exemplified in Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers (1965). Its central claim of realism has left an extraordinary impact on viewers: the film was (and still is) seen as a truly authentic depiction of the Algerian FLN's successful struggle against French rule. Thus, The Battle of Algiers influenced leftwing revolutionary groups, but it was also screened at military academies for training in anti-guerrilla warfare. The image of the ‘dictatorship of the truth’ has since grown to almost ‘mythical’ proportions, while necessary questions about accuracy tended to be sidelined. Therefore, it is necessary to scrutinize its central claim—offering a view of an historical event as it ‘really’ was—not only on matters of bias and historical accuracy, but also along the inherent limitations of cinematic ‘realism’.
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