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Poster for Dawn of the Damned

Dawn of the Damned

Seen it?

1965 | 85 min | Documentary, History, Drama

Monday Morning Maybeearly rating

Why it’s a Monday Morning Maybe

With a box office flop and almost no lasting buzz, this one could be a tough watch. Keep your phone handy.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it
Made for the curious and history buffs. If you loved They Shall Not Grow Old or Killers of the Flower Moon, start here.
The mood
Eye-opening.
The pace
Takes its time with its characters, at 1 hr 25 min.
What might put you off
  • It's in French, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
  • Made in 1965: an older pace and style.

This excellent feature-length documentary - the story of the imperialist colonization of Africa - is a film about death. Its most shocking sequences derive from the captured French film archives in Algeria containing - unbelievably - masses of French-shot documentary footage of their tortures, massacres and executions of Algerians. The real death of children, passers-by, resistance fighters, one after the other, becomes unbearable. Rather than be blatant propaganda, the film convinces entirely by its visual evidence, constituting an object lesson for revolutionary cinema.

How it earned its rating

  • CriticsNot counted

    Not enough reviews on record yet

  • AudiencesNot counted

    Not measured yet: not enough ratings

  • AwardsNot counted

    No major awards or nominations

  • Reach & staying powerWeak

    Streaming release that reached a small audience so far

  • Buzz & cultural impactWeak

    Not enough engagement data yet

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Cast & crew

Directed by Ahmed Rachedi

  • Mouloud MammeriNarrator (voice)
  • Mohamed Chouikh
  • René Vautier
  • Ahmed Rachedi
  • Mazouz Ould-Abderrahmane
  • Sid Ahmed Agoumi
  • Salah Teskouk
  • Samia Meziane
  • Mahdia Magroufel
  • Hamou Saadaoui