Alexander (2004)

Alexander (Colin Farrell), the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest army leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world.

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers:

Oliver Stone, Christopher Kyle

Stars:

Colin Farrell, Anthony Hopkins, Rosario Dawson

6 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Old Ptolemy
David Bedella	...	Scribe
Jessie Kamm	...	Child Alexander
Angelina Jolie	...	Olympias
Val Kilmer	...	Philip
Fiona O'Shaughnessy	...	Nurse
Connor Paolo	...	Young Alexander
Patrick Carroll	...	Young Hephaistion
Brian Blessed	...	Wrestling Trainer
Peter Williamson	...	Young Nearchus
Morgan Christopher Ferris	...	Young Cassander
Rob Earley	...	Young Ptolemy (as Robert Earley)
Aleczander Gordon	...	Young Perdiccas
Christopher Plummer	...	Aristotle
Gary Stretch	...	Cleitus

Storyline

Conquering ninety percent of the known world by the age of twenty-five, Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell) led his armies through twenty-two thousand miles of sieges and conquests in just eight years. Coming out of tiny Macedonia (today part of Greece), Alexander led his armies against the mighty Persian Empire, drove west to Egypt, and finally made his way east to India. This movie concentrated on those eight years of battles, as well as his relationship with his boyhood friend and battle mate, Hephaistion (Jared Leto). Alexander died young, of illness, at the age of thirty-two. Alexander's conquests paved the way for the spread of Greek culture (facilitating the spread of Christianity centuries later), and removed many of the obstacles that might have prevented the expansion of the Roman Empire. In other words, the world we know today might never have been if not for Alexander's bloody, yet unifying, conquest.

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Plot Keywords:

greek | gay | king | india | army | 

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Taglines:

Warrior. King. Lover. Seeker. Conqueror. Savior.

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Drama | History | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace [United States] Official site [Russia]

Country:

USA UK Germany Netherlands France Italy Morocco Thailand

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut

Filming Locations:

UK

Box Office

Budget:

$155,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,687,087, 28 November 2004

Gross USA:

$34,297,191

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$167,298,192

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Intermedia Films, Pacifica Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

175 min 167 min (director's cut) 214 min (final cut) 207 min (Ultimate Cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before he makes his suicidal charge during the Indian battle, Alexander remarks, "Isn't it a lovely thing to live with great courage and to die leaving an everlasting fame!" This paraphrases part of the opening lines to Alexander the Great (1956).

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Goofs

In the battle at Gaugeamela, the Persian army is wearing dark clothes. Their uniforms were yellow and light purple.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Old Ptolemy: Our world is gone now. Smashed by the wars. Now I am the keeper of his body, embalmed here in the Egyptian ways. I followed him as Pharaoh, and have now ruled 40 years. I am the victor. But what does it all mean when there is not one left to remember - the great cavalry charge at Gaugamela, or the mountains of the Hindu Kush when we crossed a 100,000-man army into India? He was a god, Cadmos. Or as close as anything I've ever seen.

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Alternate Versions

A third cut of the film was released in 2007 under the title "Alexander Revisited - The Final Cut". Running at three and a half hours (45 minutes longer than the original).

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Connections

Referenced in Star Stories: Bono Presents Christ 2: My Story (2008)

User Reviews

This movie proves that too many drugs will ruin even the most gifted filmmakers

After watching this film, I came to realize that if the real Alexander the Great looked anywhere near as weird as Colin Farrell with a giant blonde wig, that was probably the distraction he used to stay alive in so many battles. I'm sure that soldiers everywhere dropped their swords in confusion when faced with the awkward blonde menace. I don't blame Farrell for being horribly miscast in this film because I didn't think Val Kilmer was realistic as Philip of Macedonia either. As a matter of fact, the only convincing character was Angelina Jolie as Alexander's mother, and she is probably younger than her on-screen son, Colin Farrell! I tried to find the message in this movie, I really tried. After sleeping... I mean sitting through all three hours of the director's cut, the best I could come up with was that it's cool to conquer the world. Alexander the Great's feats make for impressive history books, but the movie seems as shallow as the Hollywood setting it spawns from because of so little self-sacrifice and true meaning to Alexander's life. I guess I should give Oliver Stone some props for sticking with historical fact and giving Alexander a "feminine male friend" but I admit, my 21st century American bias made it difficult to accept that a man who led thousands of brave soldiers also enjoyed having his nails manicured by transvestites. Speaking of Oliver Stone, I think the biggest lesson of this movie is to stay off drugs. Stone made notorious headlines lately for his many drug escapades, and after watching classics like "Platoon" and "Wall Street," and then viewing his contemporary stuff such as "Alexander," it makes me realize that too many drugs will affect any brilliant mind.