Set during the 1954 to 1962 Franco-Algerian conflict, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers effectively and authentically recreates the pivotal political events that took place in the city of Algiers between 1954 and 1957. In an attempt to end French colonialism, which had been in place since 1830, in 1954 the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) began a war of liberation, using terrorism to highlight the plight of the Algerian people to the rest of the world. Shot documentary-style in grainy, newsreel quality monochrome, The Battle of Algiers is an extremely powerful, deeply moving and often shocking cinematic experience.