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)
In terms of acting, Alexander is very high level. Colin Farrell is excellent and Angelina Jolie blew me away, before I had a very poor opinion of her, but her she really put on a great show. The production design is exemplary, the battles duly spectacular, but the magic fades from them under the weight of longwinded soul searching. Some legendary events are left out (cutting the Gordian knot), while they could have spiced up the story nicely and bring in a taste of the unknown. Stone didn’t know when to take his foot off the gas and when to hit the floor. It was his only mistake, but it was huge.
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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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Oliver Stone is a legend who has made great films. However, many say that in recent years he has failed, which is reflected in films like "World Trade Center" or "Alexander the Great". One has a tendency to compare the film with a gem like "Troy". That comparison is a bit harsh, but on the other hand, not completely unjustified. I haven't explored the extent to which Stone stuck to the source material, but I am sure he did it fairly faithfully. Unfortunately, he focused mainly on certain controversial aspects of Alexander's life, such as homosexuality and his strange relationship with his mother, where it would be possible to talk about a certain form of Oedipus complex, which ultimately also affected his relationships with women. Fine, interesting, why not, but Alexander was primarily a warrior, a man who was able to unite a very diverse world for a very short time, something that, in my opinion, no one else has achieved, not even the Soviet Union. The emphasis is not placed on conquest, which is a shame because when the battles occur, they are strong and naturalistic, which has always been Stone's pride. In the current "Savages," he wants to show that he still has it. "Alexander," however, falls short in many respects, and also in the sense that the director likes to use various filmmaking techniques. It is noticeable only when Alexander is injured and falls off his horse. Suddenly, a different camera filter is used, which actually does not look effective, but just strange. Stone did not get anything dazzling from the actors either. Anthony Hopkins plays his classic role, Colin Farrell is sometimes quite unbelievable, and based on this film alone, I would not have liked Angelina. Val Kilmer showed here that he used to have an athlete's body, but today he would not get the role of Philip of Macedon. A very hesitant film, unfortunately. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/10/zitra-nehrajeme-lovci-dinosauru.html
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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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