Paul Thomas Anderson Breaking Down a 'Battle of Algiers' Clip Is Basically a Full Film School Curriculum

I'm not sure TCM gets enough credit in this wild world. They are such a fun channel and so good at bringing in cool directors to talk about the classics that have influenced them.

And this month, they brought in Paul Thomas Anderson, who sat down with Ben Mankiewicz to discuss the films that have shaped his cinematic DNA. The conversation covered Anderson's latest film, One Battle after Another , and dug into the power of film history and the visual language film created.

Let's dive in.

PTA on 'The Battle of Algiers' and 'The Searchers'

So if you watch TCM, you know the conceit of these interviews is that the director ticks some influences and goes over what they love about them.

Anderson chose the 1966 masterpiece The Battle of Algiers for a very specific reason. In his new film, there is a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is watching the movie, and it's a nod to how it was viewed in the 1960s.

• A "Training Film" for Anarchists: Anderson called the film a "blueprint" for guerrilla movements like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers. It was so authentic that critics at the time, like Jimmy Breslin, famously called it a "training course" for revolutionaries.
• The Power of Non-Professional Actors: One of the film's most striking features is its documentary-like realism. Anderson notes that almost every actor, except for Jean Martin (who plays the French General), was a local non-professional. And that's why he used those people in his movie, too. This "pseudo-documentary" style, influenced by Italian neorealism, makes the camera movement and the unfolding story feel so natural.
• Nuanced Perspectives: Director Gillo Pontecorvo isn’t blind to the brutality on both sides of the war. The movie explores the "absurdity and ridiculousness of human nature" through a cycle of back-and-forth violence. Sounds like a certain PTA movie, too.

The Searchers

Another movie that PTA brought to the table in this discussion was John Ford’s 1956 Western, The Searchers. This is a movie that Anderson considers essential to the American cinematic canon.

• The Beauty of VistaVision: Anderson’s new film was shot in VistaVision. Invented by Paramount, it uses a larger portion of the 35mm negative, which gives you a deep, rich image. While it fell out of fashion for standard filming in the early 60s, it remained a staple for high-quality special effects, including the original Star Wars.
• John Wayne’s Performance: PTA highlights John Wayne’s role as Ethan Edwards, calling it "one of the great performances you’re ever going to see". It's so cold and angry and brutal. He notes that the weight of the story perfectly supports Wayne’s stature as an actor. And you can see echoes of it in Leo's work in One Battle , but he does it with a softness, like it's the other side of the coin.
• Flawed Heroes: Mankiewicz noted a parallel between The Searchers and Anderson's own work, where we see the presence of "massively flawed heroes". Anderson admits that when he makes films, he is constantly "struggling to try to get" the same kind of indescribable emotion found in Ford’s masterpiece.

Summing It All Up

I found this discussion to basically be a film school all unto itself. Hearing PTa break down the gritty, handheld realism of The Battle of Algiers and the sprawling, high-fidelity landscapes of The Searchers was inspirational.

And I really love that these films continue to inspire one of modern cinema's greatest directors.

Let me know what you think in the comments.