«Alexander»

«Alexander» is a 2004 epic film based on the life of Alexander the Great. It is not a remake of the 1956 film which starred Richard Burton. It was directed byOliver Stone, with Colin Farrell in the title role. The film was an original screenplay based in part on the book Alexander the Great, written in the 1970s by historian Robin Lane Fox, Professor of Ancient History at Oxford.

The film was critically derided upon its release and failed at the American box office. It grossed only US$34 million domestically, while costing $155 million to produce. However, it did better internationally in recovering its losses, grossing a total of $132 million in overseas revenue.

The two earlier DVD versions of Alexander ("director's cut" version and the theatrical version) sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States. Oliver Stone's third version, Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut (2007) has sold close to one million copies.

The film is based on the life of Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, who conquered Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia and part of Ancient India. Shown are some of the key moments of Alexander's youth, his invasion of the mighty Persian Empire and his death. It also outlines his early life, including his difficult relationship with his father Philip II of Macedon, his strained feeling towards his mother Olympias, the unification of the Greek city-states and the two Greek Kingdoms (Macedon and Epirus) under the Hellenic League, and the conquest of the Persian Empire in 331 BC. It also details his plans to reform his empire and the attempts he made to reach the end of the then known world.

The story begins 40 years after 323 BC, around 283 BC, with Ptolemy I Soter, who narrates throughout the film. We see Alexander's daily life and the strained relationship between his parents. Alexander grows up with his mother Olympias and his tutor Aristotle, where he finds interest in love, honor,music, exploration, poetry and military combat. His relationship with his father is destroyed when Philip marries Attalus's niece, Eurydice.

After Philip is assassinated, Alexander becomes king of Macedonia and Greece. Having briefly mentioned his punitive razing of Thebes and burning ofPersepolis, Ptolemy gives an overview of Alexander's west-Persian campaign, including his being declared as the son of Zeus by the Oracle of Amun atSiwa Oasis, his great battle against the Persian Emperor Darius III in the Battle of Gaugamela and his eight-year campaign across Asia.

Also shown are Alexander's private relationships with his childhood friend Hephaestion and later his wife Roxana. Hephaestion compares Alexander toAchilles, to which Alexander replies that, if he is Achilles, Hephaestion must be his Patroclus (Achilles' best friend and possibly lover). When Hephaestion mentions that Patroclus died first, Alexander pledges that, if Hephaestion should die first, he will follow him into the afterlife. Hephaestion shows extensive jealousy when he sees Alexander with Roxana and deep sadness when he marries her, going so far as to attempt to keep her away from him after Alexander murders Cleitus the Black in India. After Hephaestion succumbs to an unknown illness either by chance or perhaps poison, speculated in the movie to be Typhus carried with him from India. Alexander distances himself from his wife, despite her pregnancy, believing that she has killed Hephaestion. He dies less than three months after Hephaestion, keeping his promise that he would follow him.

Cast:

• Colin Farrell as Alexander The Great

• Angelina Jolie as Queen Olympias

• Val Kilmer as King Philip II

• Anthony Hopkins as Ptolemy I Soter

• Jared Leto as Hephaestion

• Rosario Dawson as Roxana

• Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Cassander

• Rory McCann as Craterus

• Gary Stretch as Cleitus

• Ian Beattie as Antigonus

• Neil Jackson as Perdiccas

• Raz Degan as Darius III of Persia

• Christopher Plummer as Aristotle

• John Kavanagh as Parmenion

• Annelise Hesme as Stateira

• Nick Dunning as Attalus

• Denis Conway as Nearchus

• Marie Meyer as Eurydice

• Bin Bunluerit as Porus

• Francisco Bosch as Bagoas

• Joseph Morgan as Philotas

• Toby Kebbell as Pausanias of Orestis

• Erol Sander as Pharnakes

• Elliot Cowan as Young Ptolemy I Soter

• Connor Paolo as Young Alexander

• Patrick Adolphe as Alexander's Servant Boy

• Brian Blessed as Wrestling Trainer

• Tim Pigott-Smith as Omen Reader

• Oliver Stone as Macedonian Soldier at Zeus Statue (Uncredited)

Oliver Stone's director's cut was re-edited before the DVD release later in 2005. Stone removed thirty minutes of footage and added nine back. This, then, shortened the running time from 175 minutes to 167. The differences between the director's cut and the theatrical version are as follows:

• Dates in the flashbacks and flashforwards use normal historical figures, such as 323 BC and 356 BC, as opposed to referring to time lapses, like "30 years earlier". In his commentary, Stone explains that, for the theatrical release in the United States, he had to refrain from using regular "BC" dates, since (according to data collected from test screenings) there was a significant number of viewers who did not know that 356 BC represented an earlier historical period than 323 BC.

• Ptolemy's backstory at the beginning is shortened.

• The two flashbacks with the arrival of Eurydice to the court and the wedding feast are shifted into the eastern campaign, enveloping the trial of Philotas and assassination of Parmenion.

• The scene in which Aristotle gives a lesson to the young Alexander and his friends is re-edited and extended by a few seconds.

• Ptolemy's narration leading up to the Battle of Gaugamela gives no reference to the razing of Thebes and burning of Persepolis. He mentions the official Macedonian accusation, that Darius assisted the assassination of Philip – in both versions, it is also mentioned when Alexander rallies the troops – and the proclamation by the Oracle of Amun is moved to a later part of the narrative.

• There is no scene on the night before the Battle of Gaugamela or the omen reader looking into the intestine of the ox-sacrifice before the Battle of Gaugamela.

• In the commentary it is explained that Val Kilmer and other cast members deliberately use an Irish accent as Colin Farrell was unable to lose his, with Irish accents being used as a stand in for a Greek accent.

• Directly after Alexander's mourning the dead after the Battle of Gaugamela, there is an additional flashback in which Philip explains the Titans to the young Alexander.

• In the theatrical version, during Roxana's dance, Perdiccas can be seen breaking up a fight between Hephaestion and Cleitus. This is removed in the director's cut.

• The sex scene between Alexander and Roxana is shortened, and her attempt to kill him after her discovery of his relationship with Hephaestion is cut. More explicit footage of Alexander and Roxana having sex is added.

• When Alexander uncovers the page's plot, the director's cut features a scenelet in which Perdiccas goes to arrest Hermolaus, who falls on his sword with the words "Death to all tyrants".

• There is no narrative explanation by Ptolemy during the trial of Philotas.

• Alexander does not mourn Cleitus.

• The flashback of Alexander questioning Olympias does not appear immediately after the flashback of Philip's assassination; rather, it is moved to follow Alexander's grievous wounds in the Battle of the Hydaspes.

• The scene in which Roxana is prevented from entering Alexander's tent by Hephaestion is also removed. This is the last remnant of a Roxana-Cassander subplot that was filmed but not included.

• Between the scene in which Alexander smashes the "rebellion" within the ranks and the final battle, there is an additional scene in which Alexander reads a letter from Aristotle, who is featured dictating it to an unseen scribe.

• Ptolemy's narration of the march through the Gedrosian desert additionally mentions the helplessness of Alexander watching his broken army die due to natural causes and harsh conditions. He does not mention either Alexander's new marriages in his final years or that the march across the Gedrosian desert was the "worst blunder of his life".

• The scene of the army returning to Babylon, together with that in which Olympias receives the omen of Alexander's death, is shortened.

Stone also made an extended version of Alexander. "I'm doing a third version on DVD, not theatrical", he said in an interview with Ropeofsilicon.com. "I'm going to do a Cecil B. DeMille three-hour-45-minute thing; I'm going to go all out, put everything I like in the movie. He [Alexander] was a complicated man, it was a complicated story, and it doesn't hurt to make it longer and let people who loved the film [...] see it more and understand it more."

The extended version of the film was released under the title of Alexander Revisited: The Final Unrated Cut on 27 February 2007. The two-disc set featured a new introduction by Stone. "Over the last two years," he said, "I have been able to sort out some of the unanswered questions about this highly complicated and passionate monarch – questions I failed to answer dramatically enough. This film represents my complete and last version, as it will contain all the essential footage we shot. I don't know how many film-makers have managed to make three versions of the same film, but I have been fortunate to have the opportunity because of the success of video and DVD sales in the world, and I felt, if I didn't do it now, with the energy and memory I still have for the subject, it would never quite be the same again. For me, this is the complete Alexander, the clearest interpretation I can offer."

The film is restructured into two acts with an intermission. Alexander: Revisited takes a more in-depth look at Alexander's life and his relationships with Olympias, Philip, Hephaestion, Roxana and Ptolemy. The film has a running time of three hours and 34 minutes (214 minutes) (about 40 minutes longer than the theatrical cut and almost 50 minutes longer than the first director's cut) and is presented in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen with English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio. Beyond the new introduction with Stone, there are no other extras on the DVD except for a free coupon to the movie 300. The Blu-ray and HD-DVD releases both feature a variety of special features however, including two audio commentaries and a new featurette.

Locations:

• Library of Alexandria: Shepperton Studios, London, England

• Pella/Babylon/Indian palaces and myths cave: Pinewood Studios, London, England

• Alexandria (effect back plate): Malta

• Temple of Pallas Athena, Mieza and Macedonian horse market: Essaouira, Morocco

• Gaugamela: desert near Marrakech, Morocco

• Babylon gates: Marrakech, Morocco

• Bactrian fortress: Lower Atlas Mountains, Morocco

• Hindu Kush (effect back plate): Himalayas, India

• Macedonian amphitheater: Morocco

• Hyphasis: Mekong, northeastern Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand

• Hydaspes: Central Botanical Garden, Amphoe Mueang, Saraburi Province, Thailand

Box office performance

• Budget: US$ 155,000,000.00

• Total Domestic Grosses: US$ 34,297,191.00

• Total Overseas Grosses: US$ 133,001,001.00

• Total Worldwide Grosses: US$ 167,298,192.00

A group of 25 Greek lawyers initially threatened to file a lawsuit against both Stone and the Warner Bros. Film studio for what they claimed was an inaccurate portrayal of history. "We are not saying that we are against gays," said Yannis Varnakos, "but we are saying that the production company should make it clear to the audience that this film is pure fiction and not a true depiction of the life of Alexander". After an advanced screening of the film, the lawyers announced that they would not pursue such a course of action.

At the British premiere of the film, Stone blamed "raging fundamentalism in morality" for the film's US box-office failure. He argued that American critics and audiences had blown the issue of Alexander's sexuality out of proportion. The criticism prompted him to make significant changes to the film for its DVD release, whose cover characterizes them as making it "faster paced, more action-packed".

Alexander attracted critical scrutiny from historians due to its various factual errors. Most academic criticism was concerned with the insufficient adherence to historical details.

Major objections came from Iranian historians, who were upset by the film's renderings of Persians and Macedonians alike. As an example, Alexander and his troops defeat the Persian army in a single battle in the movie, but Persian historian Farrokh holds that the real Alexander had to fight several fierce battles before he was able to defeat Darius III (Alexander had to fight the battle of Granicus,Issus, the Siege of Tyre, and Gaugamela. In the movie Gaugamela is meant to represent the entire campaign). Farrokh also observed that, in the film, "Greek forces are typically shown are very organised, disciplined, and so on, and what's very disturbing is, when the so-called Persians are shown confronting the Macedonians, their armies are totally disorganised.

The final battle depicted in the film, heavily dramatized and altered from history, was the Battle of Hydaspes or Jhelum River in ancient India (now in modern-day Pakistan). Alexander was not (contrary to what the movie claims) severely injured by an arrow during this battle. This only occurred during a siege later that year against the Malhi in what is now the city of Multan, Pakistan. Hydaspes was not fought in a forest on a sunny day, but on a muddy plain on a night with torrential rains. The center of the Macedonian line was never surrounded by any accounts, though the infantry did suffer many casualties. The film has also been criticized for omitting a famous story about Alexander's conversation with Indian King Porus. When Alexander won the battle, Porus was captured and presented to him. "Tell me", said Alexander, "in what way should I treat you?" Porus replied, "Treat me, O Alexander, like a king." However, a similar scene exists in the film regarding the Princess of Babylon.

Oliver Stone has, in his various commentaries in the film's DVD, defended many of the most glaring historical issues by claiming that he had no time or resources to accurately portray a multitude of battles at the expense of storytelling. He goes into great detail explaining how he merged all the major aspects of the Battle of Granicus and the Battle of Issus into the Battle of Gaugamela, as well as heavily simplifying the Battle of Hydaspes into a straight-forward clash, while merging the near-death of Alexander from the siege of Malli. 

The film was largely panned by critics everywhere, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 16% rating based on 194 reviews. The consensus states: "Even at nearly three hours long, this ponderous, talky and emotionally distant biopic fails to illuminate Alexander's life."

One of the principal complaints among US film critics was that Alexander resembled less an action-drama film than a history documentary. Roger Ebert wrote in his review, "[W]e welcome the scenes of battle, pomp and circumstance because at least for a time we are free of the endless narration of Ptolemy the historian".

Faint praise came from Daily Variety Magazine, published on 21 November 2004, for which Todd McCarthy wrote, "Oliver Stone's Alexander is at best an honorable failure, an intelligent and ambitious picture that crucially lacks dramatic flair and emotional involvement. Dry and academic where Troy (2004) was vulgar and willfully ahistorical" Manohla Dargis wrote in The New York Times thatAlexander "brought out the best of the worst in terms of inaccurate storytelling that lacks planning." 

The film was nominated in six categories at the Golden Raspberry Awards in 2005: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Colin Farrell), Worst Actress (Angelina Jolie), Worst Director (Oliver Stone), Worst Supporting Actor (Val Kilmer) and Worst Screenplay, losing four of them to Catwoman (Picture, Actress, Director and Screenplay) and two to Fahrenheit 9/11 (Actor and Supporting Actor).