Gillo Pontecorvo, the Italian director whose groundbreaking, verite oriented classic The Battle of Algiers (1966) earned him two Oscar® nominations for directing and and screenwriting, died of heart failure on October 14 in Rome. He was 86.

Pontecorvo was born in Pisa to a wealthy Jewish family. He earned a degree in chemistry at the University of Pisa in 1938, but a growing anti-semetic sentiment in Mussolini's Italy forced him to flee to Paris in 1938. He spent time there as a journalist and tennis instructor before he fell into the film business working as an assistant to such prominent film directors as Joris Ivens and Yves Allegret.

After World War II, Pontecarvo return to Italy, and pursued filmmaking full time. He was spurred by the Italian neo-realism movement (with directors Roberto Rossellini and Vittori De Sica being key influences) and shot documentaries before moving onto his first full length narrative, The Wide Blue Road (1957), a moving character study about a fisherman struggling to provide for his family. His next work, Kapò (1959), was an intense, harrowing drama of a young girl struggling to escape a Nazi conectration camp starring Susan Strasberg. Universally praised for its brooding camera work, suitably harsh set-pieces and overwhelming atmosphere, the movie earned an Academy Award nomination for best foreign language film.

Yet it would be his third film, The Battle of Algiers (1966), that would be his lasting contribution to cinema. In both scope, intent and influence, The Battle of Algiers would be a highwater mark in '60s cinema. This realistic look at the Algerian resistance toward the French that eventually led to independence for Algiers in 1962, was shot on location in Casbah. His use of non-professional actors, brilliant black and white photography, and unique viewpoint was a work of profound political impact (particular his tremendous narrative tracking of the reactionary violence from the sides of both the Alegerian freedom fighters and French police); The effects of the film are felt to this day. Situation in point - the Pentagon screened the film for military and civilian war planners before the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a case study.

Despite his talent and critical recognition, Pontecorvo's output toward the end of his career would be surprisingly small. He would make just two more features Burn! (1969) starring Marlon Brando, another project involving a colonial uprising, this time set in the Antilles and the ensuing revolt of the natives against the Portugese; and Ogro (1979), which studied terrorism during the final years of Francisco Franco's Spanish rule. Although technically well-made, both films lacked the impact and political insight that made The Battle of Algiers so galvanizing.

In recent years, Pontecarvo would concentrate on television and documentaries - the most intriguing of which was Return to Algiers (1992) - before he became the director for three years (1992-94) at the Venice Film Festival. He is survived by his wife, Picci; and three sons, Ludovico, Marco and Simone.

by Michael T. Toole