Males voted this 8.3, females only 5.4

Er, that sounds like a bit of a generalisation (the nurturing part sounds a bit too Mother Earth!) although I do see what you are getting at. Women probably are less inclined to watch realistically graphically violent films. However, Battle of Algiers in no way glorifies terroism, and warns against the suppression of a nation. Anyone who is a strong advocate of human rights will vouch for that, and should appreciate the film, regardless of their gender. I'm female and I would give this a 10 - it's a masterpiece that everyone should watch. It's a pity that this film still overshadows subsequent efforts by Algerian directors though.

re: "may i put forth the theory that women are naturally peaceful and nuturing at heart"

Clearly you haven't met my Mum.

Actually, Soulcoughi, that's just nonsense. Here in the UK female crime has steadily risen since feminism with 'Violence against the person' now the most common reason for female arrest for the past three years. Women aren't nurturing in the slightest. As soon as society stops forcing a 'nurturing mother' gender role on them they become just as barbaric as everyone else.

I would just like to thank crunch_pixie for alluding to social factors rather tnan a superiority/vs/inferiority nature-based critique of "why women like lousy movies". However, I agree that many films such as the Godfather fare poorly with women because women in the films are negatively portrayed and have dismal lives.

I like what you said about the women needing a strong reason to plant bombs and this showing their dedication. I would guess that they also would feel like cutting their hair, putting on make-up, let alone being ogled by the servicemen as completely disgusting to their religion so they were dedicated.

I liked the movie and knew nothing of the history so I don't think it's the history thing that's making women not like it. Is it fair to say that, somehow, culturally or biologically, women have different tastes?

What hump?

Yeah, us female voters do not seem to have good taste...I don't dispute that most of the titles you mentioned are not fantastic. However, you could attribute the fact that "classic" Hollywood films that make the IMDB such as Godfathers 1 & 2, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest etc. don't have female protagonists. At the end of the day, everyone likes to see films with leads that they can identify with, or at least position themselves against. Most of these "great films" don't have very memorable female characters. Movie narratives have always been written with male audiences in mind. You have to wait until Silence of the Lambs - number 26. No-one can claim that Kay in Godfather was a pivotal female character in 1970s Hollywood cinema. (Diane Keaton had a nice turn in Annie Hall, but most of the mainstream movie-going public don't watch that film)Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction, however iconic, is pure decoration.

Clearly, it's a shame The Battle of Algiers does not rate higher amongst us girls, especially since one of its merits is that you get a sense of a collective protagonist (and therefore the story of the struggle of a people) in the multiple storylines which have minor characters that reflect different aspects of Algerian society, all with a crucial role to play.

Hahaha.


Do The Mussolini! Headkick!

"Lord of the Rings trilogy in the TOP5
That mediocre lovestory The Notebook is at the place 32.
Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Princess Bride in the TOP20!!
The Godfather is only the 12. and The Godfather, Part II 39.!!!
Includes TWO HARRY POTTER MOVIES!!!!"

Chirst...I had nothing to do with that

you can't fight in here, this is the war room!

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All I'm going to say to j727fl is that it's easy to point your finger and make sweeping generalizations when you're not in the driver's seat. Though it may be unfortunate (though that's debatable,) we don't have nearly as many historic examples of women in positions of political power. I submit to you however, that if roles were reversed, the world may very well be a more peaceful place (also highly debatable) but our struggles would lie in a number of different areas. After all, fallability is an attribute of the human condition, and not gender-specific. So instead of making petty, blindly feminist knocks on the opposite sex, let's concentrate on being constructive.

Otherwise, you'd run the risk of being destructive like us men.

"As a rule, males enjoy war, destruction, and killing and females don't"?

Rubbish. Pure ideological rubbish that wilfully closes its eyes both to the victimization of peaceful males by others, and to female collaboration with warmaking throughout history.

Welcome to the looking-glass world of contemporary feminism: an imaginary place where no Spartan mother ever told her son to return either with his shield, or upon it; where the women warriors of Dahomey never existed; where 800,000 Soviet women never served in combat during the Great Patriotic War; and where men are never the helpless victims of violence--only brutal, violent victimizers.

lol Insults women almost as much as men.

heh This post is so dumb and ridiculous I'd guess it's a troll.

"Lord of the Rings trilogy in the TOP5
That mediocre lovestory The Notebook is at the place 32.
Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Princess Bride in the TOP20!!
The Godfather is only the 12. and The Godfather, Part II 39.!!!
Includes TWO HARRY POTTER MOVIES!!!!"

unfortunately, differences in biology or not, these movies really do not deserve such high regard. instructed movie watchers of both sexes would rate the 'male list' movies more than those above.

"Because when all is said and done the movie is about male stupidity and barbarism and how useful males are at initiating violence and how useless males are at finding peaceful solutions. French male efforts at colonialization started the bloodshed, male violence and ego on both sides perpetuated it. "

So the Algierians underneath the French Jackboot are supposed ot aleviate their oppression with flowers and kind words? The French conception of a "peaceful solution" was either the status quo ante or the total pacification of the Algierians. The only reason the French decided to approach the negotiating table in 1962 was because the guerrillia war became to costly to combat (both in human and financial terms). Curious that someone so eager to take a potshot at Bush would chastise the Algieran revolutionaries for their violence? I suppose the Iraqis should've just asked the Americans extra nicely to not invade/leave their country and everything would've been allright, and there would've been no war. If you take away the right of the oppressed to their self-defense (read: liberation) , you are no different than the oppressor, so get off your high horse.

Political Violence is a structural consequence of imbalanced power/resource distribution, every single head of state in the world could be woman and we'd still have war. Blaming the problems of war and violence on "males" is wonderfully counterproductive.

RIS

Because when all is said and done the movie is about male stupidity and barbarism and how useful males are at initiating violence and how useless males are at finding peaceful solutions. French male efforts at colonialization started the bloodshed, male violence and ego on both sides perpetuated it.

As a rule, males enjoy war, destruction, and killing and females don't. Therefore, while the film might be excellent historically and cinematically, the subject matter is as frivolous to females as a historically and cinematically excellent film on child raising would be to most males.

And before anyone goes on criticizing the ladies on their preference for a romance like "The Notebook" over a violent thug movie like "The Godfather," let's remember neither gender is equipped to roll their eyes at the other's choices given the differences in biology and therefore to a great extent tastes -- but if one insists on making value judgments regarding males vs females - romance and domestic bliss is "better" than murder and killing, including romanticized Godfather gang murders.

As The Battle of Algiers illustrated, males usually figure this out...eventually. Yet with short memories and very little insight or foresight, before you know it history is repeating itself again..and again..and again.

More males voted for Bush. More females voted for Kerry. And 2500 young males have died in vain as a result of Bush's idiocy. While these factoids might not seem obviously relevant to the discussion at hand, believe me they are.

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