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October 16, 2006
WB: Cutting and Running
Comments
Excellent! I haven’t seen the “Tourist of Death” for years! Glad to see he’s still out there!
Posted by: Darryl Pearce | Oct 16 2006 17:10 utc | 1
we are not headed towards an iceburg – we are headed over Niagra Falls
Posted by: Susan | Oct 16 2006 17:20 utc | 2
Today’s Washington Post published the obituary for Gillo Pontecorvo; Film Director of the ‘Battle of Algiers’ .
His film depicted the French use of targeted killing and torture as successful; except in the end the Algerians were never pacified. The French and Charles De Gaulle were unwilling to spend money and lives endlessly to maintain their colony and withdrew even though the French had settled in Algeria.
Sooner or later the costs will be come too great in Iraq and the USA will leave a sinking ship, again.
Posted by: Jim S | Oct 16 2006 19:13 utc | 3
sorry to hear that about pontecorvo. recently watched criterion’s 3-dvd pkg of battle of algiers. several hours of interesting extras there. the feature on the director himself was put together by tariq ali & narrated by edward said. fertile period for a resurgence in political film. calling all auteurs!
Posted by: b real | Oct 16 2006 19:53 utc | 4
From Kuro5hin, Sept. 2004:
In September 2003 several newspapers reported that the Department of Defense was holding screenings in the Pentagon of Gillo Pontecorvo’s 1965 film The Battle of Algiers for military officers and civilian experts. ((description of film…)) There are obvious similarities between the situation depicted in the movie and the one that faced the US government in Iraq. In both, an armed rebellion has broken out in an Arab country against occupation by a wealthy and powerful western nation-state.
In an article for The New York Times, Michael Kaufman wrote that the idea for the screenings “came from the Directorate for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, which a Defense Department official described as a civilian-led group with ‘responsibility for thinking aggressively and creatively’ on issues of guerrilla war.” Those invited to the showings were “urged to consider and discuss the implicit issues at the core of the film — the problematic but alluring efficacy of brutal and repressive means in fighting clandestine terrorists in places like Algeria and Iraq.” What lessons did Rumsfeld and his staff see in this movie?
more: link
Kaufman article linked at footnote 1: What Does the Pentagon See in ‘Battle of Algiers’?
Posted by: Noirette | Oct 17 2006 15:54 utc | 5