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 90% of the known world by the age of 25, Alexander the Great led his armies through 22,000 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 film will concentrate on those eight years of battles, as well as his relationship with his boyhood friend and battle mate, Hephaestion. Alexander died young, of illness, at 33. 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 | king | india | army | babylon | 

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Taglines:

The greatest legend of all was real

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | 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

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut

Filming Locations:

UK

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

During the Indian battle, Alexander sends messengers to his cavalry commanders. The first messenger he speaks to is named Meleager. After Alexander's death, an infantry commander named Meleager attempted to rouse the army into disowning Alexander's half-Asian heir in favour of his slow-witted half-brother by Philip. This led to the wars between Alexander's generals that lasted for years afterward.

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Goofs

During the battle in India, the infantry are shown fighting in phalanx formation with the long spears (known as sarissas). However, according to such historians as Robin Lane Fox, they had given up fighting with the sarissa by the time they reached India.

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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

Featured in Perfect Is the Enemy of Good (2005)

User Reviews

Real Alexander would be ashamed

Pretty much boring movie is Alexander.Not at all gripping is the story.Based on a true story this should be at least something courageous portraying one of the greatest conquerers of the world.But rather than being courageous this was quite frail.Collin Ferrel never looked Alexander.His acting is terrible in this movie.Rather than inspiring,Alexander(Collin Ferrel) hardly looked a shadow of himself.Angelina Jolie never looked the mother of Alexander.Van Kilmer also fails to deliver,looking very much shabby & over-pretentious.Rest of the casting is OK.Some fight scenes are good though specially the epic battle with Persians.The fighting was quite captivating.In this movie the effort should have been more on Alexander's battle campaigns but this was more of a drama movie.Never at all you enjoy this film,truly if real Alexander would have seen this he would have been ashamed.