Directed by:
Oliver StoneCinematography:
Rodrigo PrietoComposer:
VangelisCast:
Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Christopher Plummer, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brian Blessed (more)VOD (2)
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The true story of one of history's most luminous and influential leaders, Alexander the Great - a man who had conquered 90% of the known world by the age of twenty-seven. Alexander led his virtually invincible Greek and Macedonian armies through 22,000 miles of sieges and conquests in just eight years, and by the time of his death at the age of thirty-two had forged an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. The story chronicles Alexander's path to becoming a living legend, from a youth fueled by dreams of myth, glory and adventure to his lonely death as a ruler of a vast Empire. Alexander is the incredible story of a life that united the Known World and proved, if nothing else, fortune favors the bold. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (8)
With the passage of time and after a second viewing, I must say that it is truly amazing. There is a difference between seeing it in a packed cinema with tons of popcorn everywhere and seeing it in a home theater, in a calm and pleasant setting. The production design is stunning and the battle at Gaugamela is truly an awesome spectacle. Additionally, the characters' psychology is excellent and they had a very unconventional approach to the concept of epic historical blockbuster; it’s different, original and good.
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A bittersweet three-hour history lesson. Without a muscular and masculine historical hero, without action and, in the first two hours, without emotions or clear motivations for the characters’ actions (everything changes in a flashback). But even the historical atmosphere that so pleasantly radiated from the simplistic Troy has been replaced here with a bisexual erotic sultriness reminiscent of the “famous” Caligula. I appreciate the fact that Oliver Stone didn’t simplify anything and is faithful to history. As a psychological profile of a great conqueror with an aching soul, Alexander is a success. However, I expect something more from a three-hour epic. And I mainly don’t understand the investors, or rather how they could invest $150 million in a film based on a screenplay that utterly defies commercial formulas.
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The ultimate cut of 2013, presented by the director himself at the International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic: Unarguably tighter and with a clearer purpose, with most of the problems or the original versions already solved. The problem is that this gave rise to a whole range of new problems. And not even the partial departure from the markedly symbolic direction of the original does anything to help. Paradoxically, the (supposedly) ideal final version of Stone’s opus magnum is the least interesting of the four versions you can see. Theatrical cut 2004: Potential not fully utilized? It depends what you were expecting. Alexander isn’t a movie for everybody. Either you love it, despite its unarguable downsides or you condemn it for those very downsides. And neither attitude is very surprising. As a “slightly different" historical movie, it’s flawless. Alexander requires certain willingness and a good dose of tolerance and a desire to get under its seemingly uninspiring surface on the viewer’s part. In return the viewer is rewarded with an unusual experience full of metaphors, symbols and hints. Something that worked exceptionally well is the character psychology. Perhaps in no other historical epic have the creators worked so hard on characterization of ambiguous characters. The fact that Stone overlooks Alexander’s controversial razing to the ground of certain cities is not pleasing. It doesn’t really fit in with the otherwise quite realistic story. And the misplaced use of Vangelis’ badly composed score is also a great shame. Don’t expect a classic, spectacular epic movie; you won’t find it here. But it has lots of other things waiting to be discovered.
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We live in a strange world when even many serious periodicals do not forget to mention in the first lines of their review of Alexander that the most scandalous facts of the film are two things: Colin Farrell showing his bare behind and yes, his character is bisexual. How surprised I was when this tabloidization fell on infertile ground and the film turned out to be a beautiful and contemplative spectacle. There is not a hint of scandal in the relationship with Hephaestion; on the contrary, it is an honest relationship and I am sorry that contemporary society, behind its supposedly tolerant face, hides so much mockery. I could understand complaints that Oliver Stone is no longer what he used to be, but here it is more about the fact that he no longer wants to provoke or poke at the political and social hornet's nest at all costs. He made a historical film according to his own standards and he has succeeded in my eyes. He let the story and the emotions prevail over the visual aspect, giving enough space to the intense love triangle and especially the fateful relationship with the mother. Moreover, he managed to write a meandering, yet excellently escalating story, the climax of which brought me to my knees. Paradoxically, this film, which brought an end to historical epics in Hollywood, belongs among the excellent ones.
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I’m not going to mince words, I’ve never been a fan of Stone’s film (the only one that I’ve liked is Any Given Sunday). As a historical account of the life of the greatest warlord in history, whose journey was not only filled with glory, victories and friendship, but also with a lot of intrigue and hatred, this film works really well in places. The battle scenes are worth the price, likewise the music, but watching it is still terribly tiring and not everyone can stand it. Instead of entertaining the viewer, Stone gives them a thorough history lesson and introduces them in detail to all the characters. This may not be to the liking of even someone who has been a history buff all his life, let alone an ordinary fan who goes to the cinema primarily to be entertained, as in the case of Petersen's Troy. As I’ve said, it wasn’t bad, I watched it without any problems and got an idea of what Alexander was like, but I don’t think I’ll ever watch it again.
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