Alexander the Great (1980)

The film gives a romanticized biography of Theodoros Kolokotronis, a Greek historical hero serving as a metaphor for Greece itself. Drawing upon a circular view of Greek history, the film ... See full summary »

Director:

Theodoros Angelopoulos

Writers:

Theodoros Angelopoulos, Petros Markaris

Stars:

Omero Antonutti, Eva Kotamanidou, Mihalis Giannatos

8 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Omero Antonutti	...	Alexandros
Eva Kotamanidou	...	Alexandros' Daughter
Mihalis Giannatos	...	Dragoumanos
Grigoris Evangelatos	...	Alexandros' Schoolteacher
Miranda Kounelaki	...	Mrs. Tzelepis
Laura De Marchi	...	Italian Anarchist
Toula Stathopoulou	...	Village Woman
Thanos Grammenos	...	Village Man
Elpidoforos Gotsis
Haris Pisimisis	...	(as Haralabos Pisimisis)
Giorgos Kovaios
Haralabos Timotheou
Stratos Pahis
Giorgos Bartis
H. Stamatelos

Storyline

The film gives a romanticized biography of Theodoros Kolokotronis, a Greek historical hero serving as a metaphor for Greece itself. Drawing upon a circular view of Greek history, the film presents conflicting ideologies - primitive communism, anarchism, chiefdom or kingdom, personality cult - and shows the institutions of property and power in a bad light.

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | male frontal nudity | full frontal male nudity | brechtian | character name as title | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Un lugar en el cine (2008)

User Reviews

The crowning achievement in Angelopoulos' oeuvre

Whilst being both the most visually and audibly haunting Angelopoulos film, I will remember it more so for covering most of the thematic concerns of Angelopoulos in his 40 years of film making:

• The troubling foreign involvement in Greek political and cultural affairs

• The failure of the Greek government to respond effectively to the crises presented before it

• The rise and fall of the communistic ideal and the cult of personality

• The burdens of the historical past upon individuals in the present

• The deconstruction of the foreigner as savior (Oedipus, St. George, Kolokotronis, Jesus, Alexander)

• The personal cost of living amidst contested geographic, political and moral borders

• Journeying as a metaphor for the search for meaning

• The nihilism in modernity and the struggle to forge a new way forward

It's not his clearest or most coherent film, and probably shouldn't be watched until one is familiar with 'smaller' Angelopoulos pieces, but it is the film that resonates with me the most after having seen his body of work.

Details

Country:

Greece Italy West Germany

Language:

Greek Italian English

Release Date:

3 September 1984 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Alejandro el Grande

Filming Locations:

Athens, Greece

Company Credits

Production Co:

Theo Angelopoulos Films, Rai 2, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

210 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1