Maybe not one of the best films made about a real life World War II battle, but the conflict between the British and Italians at Algiers leads to a very direct story getting to know the major players on both sides, mainly the Italians whose perspective it is told from. The film opens very bluntly with a battle, simply letting the viewer know that war is already in progress, and there's no time to waste with frivolous introductions of the real life historical characters who were probably talked about in high school and college history classes. As the film develops though, it becomes a lot more detailed about who these people are, and even though the Italians are taking orders directly from Hitler, the audience manages to find some sympathy with them because they know how the battle is going to turn out, and a good majority of the characters do warrant being felt sorry for.
The international cast features a few well known actors of the time, including George Hilton and Michael Rennie, playing British officers. The battle scenes which encompass a good 75% of the movie are quite good, although a bit more character development could have made this a genuine classic had they cast some other stars in cameos. But it works because the lack of star power prevents the viewer from being distracted, and there's a sense of wonderment between both sides that they have to kill each other to fulfill a goal and don't really seem to want to. This gives the film some poignancy, and that leads to a solemn and touching finale. It does get a little slow since it focuses more on action rather than a strong story, but as an educational piece, it is very well done and I found it very brave in that sense.
The international cast features a few well known actors of the time, including George Hilton and Michael Rennie, playing British officers. The battle scenes which encompass a good 75% of the movie are quite good, although a bit more character development could have made this a genuine classic had they cast some other stars in cameos. But it works because the lack of star power prevents the viewer from being distracted, and there's a sense of wonderment between both sides that they have to kill each other to fulfill a goal and don't really seem to want to. This gives the film some poignancy, and that leads to a solemn and touching finale. It does get a little slow since it focuses more on action rather than a strong story, but as an educational piece, it is very well done and I found it very brave in that sense.