Alexander (2004)

Alexander, 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 | 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

In this movie, Olympias (Angelina Jolie) has an affinity for snakes. Some ancient authors believed that Zeus (or Ammon) appeared to her in the form of a serpent before they conceived Alexander.

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Goofs

When Alexander tries to ride the wild black horse, the ropes are crossed. In the next shot, they are in place.

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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

The director's cut is nine minutes shorter than the 175-minute theatrical version. It is a reworked version although seamless to many. Eighteen minutes were cut and nine added. Many of the added or extended sequences involved Val Kilmer and Angelina Jolie's characters. With battle of Gaugamela now starts earlier. Taking a cue from classic movie epics, the opening reels now set up the basic themes with greater economy: Alexander's Oedipal relationship with his parents, Olympias' ambitions for her son, the boy's need to surpass his father, and the entirely natural way in which myth/religion is shown as integral to the ancients' behavior. Oliver Stone reworked the third act, juxtaposing events in India and Greece. And Jolie's Olympias emerged more as a genuinely pathetic figure in the whole tragedy. Stone wanting to isolate her character's own ambition from the one person she loves. Ptolemy's final scene was edited. Stone also reworked Alexander's death scene secondary to audience feedback, adding 17 seconds to the scene.

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Connections

Featured in The Death of 'Alexander' (2005)

User Reviews

I believe this beautiful, exotic film will become a collectible much like "Satyricon."

This film presents an intense psychological investigation of the character of Alexander of Macedon. It is thoroughly immersed in the moral, political and philosophical climate of Grecian antiquity, In many ways it bears somewhat of a resemblance to Fellini's "Satyricon" of thirty-five years earlier. There is the similar re-appearance of the Cyclops-like characters, the shrew-like "luna" characters with their sensual but corresponding dark sides, a "token" love garden, the tinted filter/lens effect on specific scenes and the stunning "pagan" beauty evident in the set design. It also features male leads who share a code of honour and love between them. A love which in its "highest" spiritual form was representative as a means of transcendent personal growth and valor; ideas passed down from Plato to Aristotle. Chronological occurrences of Alexander's campaigns and political successes take a back seat as a result, disappointing many more intent on an all-inclusive rendering from this perspective. The variety of spoken accents form a type of "primordial soup" much like Fellini used in "Satyricon" as well; a curiosity thought by some to be symbolic of Jung and his theories of a "collective unconscious" wherein all language is simply an outward babbling to personify the universally shared life experience of all people. There were some cosmetic concerns, most notably Alexander's badly tinted hair and eyebrows. The excessive black eyeliner worn by Hephaestion is a look that does appear periodically on vases and frescoes. However, underneath all of the controversy lies the character of a deeply passionate man with his seemingly many strengths and weaknesses, attempting to grow and to love without limitation in accordance with his own perspective and level of understanding. Kudos to Colin for possessing the maturity and depth to present Alexander's complex personality and feelings with so much intensity and dignity.