Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15177 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-01
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Director's Cut, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 167 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you're determined to spend three hours with Oliver Stone's take on the personal and military struggles of ancient Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, you should know that Alexander (Colin Farrell, in blonde disarray) is not half so much fun as mom Olympias (Angelina Jolie) or his future wild bride Roxane (Rosario Dawson). Indeed, it's the women in Alex's life who provide the movie's most satisfying action: Jolie, sporting some kind of Russian accent, wraps herself in snakes while hissing promises of Farrell's destiny; Dawson disrobes and threatens to cut Farrell's throat before shtupping his brains out. The rest is leaden history, supposedly novel because it showcases epic battle sequences and addresses Alexander's great love for his buddy Hephaistion (Jared Leto). But the man-on-man romance is limited to teary hugs, and the battles are indecipherable messes-you have to wait for Anthony Hopkins' narration to tell you what happened (in fact, you have to wait for Hopkins' narration to tell you everything that happens). There's some spectacle on display but, alas, not much that is truly spectacular. --Steve Wiecking, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Director Oliver Stone chalks up an ambitious entry on his biopic resume (past entries include films about Jim Morrison, Richard Nixon, and JFK among others) with this cinematic treatise on the life of the mighty Alexander the Great. Despite his young death at 32, Alexander packed some unimaginable conquests into his limited years by ruling over a huge chunk of the globe. Stone draws on a voice-over narration provided by Anthony Hopkins, whose character is named Ptolemy, to aurally depict some of the battles. Thus, Stone shifts the weight of the film to focus on the personality of Alexander (Colin Farrell), a man who is stricken by overwhelming personal insecurities that come in direct contrast to his bold achievements. Complex dealings with his mother (Angelina Jolie) and father (Val Kilmer) plague him, as does his turbulent relationship with his wife, Roxane (Rosario Dawson). His connection with his best friend, Hephaestion (Jared Leto), is ambiguous, with Stone touching on their vaunted homosexuality via some shared tender moments. As these personal battles are played out, Ptolemy fills the historic gaps in the narrative by charting the incredible conflicts that raged at Alexander's behest. Eventually, Stone lets loose with an epic on-screen battle, which sees Alexander's troops rumble across India in another country-conquering quest. But while his minions struggle, and Alexander demands success, it becomes clear that he is his own worst enemy. With the only real threat to Alexander coming from a tempestuous struggle with his own ego, Stone's summation of the great historical leader paints a picture of an embittered and solitary figure who was able to rule everyone apart from himself.

Customer Reviews

horrific
this film is bad,its generally accepted,even oliver stone who directed it knows it,he cut 8 minutes to make way for the dvd release,its an epic,overblown,load of nonense that despite having a good cast falls on its face.
Historians have problems with it,the greek nation condemned it for its portrayal of greek sexuality,film critics generally slammed this and last of all the paying man on the street ran to the hills for this load of twaddle.
The film has many problems,an over intrusive soundtrack all playing harps and twanging the life out of them,most of the cast seem to speak with dodgy irish accents,what the hell is that about,the acting is over the top,the film is too talky and preachy and the action while solid at times ultimately outdoes itself and lastly to believe that angie jolie is farrells mother takes some level of disbelief,this film is appalling and to think that an extended version has recently seen the light of day,over three hours is what i have heard,this is a bad film,i need say no more.

Stone's Alexander ain't all that great
So, according to Oliver Stone, who's never met a piece of history he didn't want to distort, Alexander the Great was a girly man crybaby who let his own men insult and belittle him throughout his whole quest for greatness. The very fact that Stone sensationalized the homosexual malarkey of his Alexander cut the rug out from under this film's feet before it ever hit theatres. Alexander the Great is a name that has resounded throughout history for over two millennia - but the history of that story somehow wasn't good enough for Stone. I think even Freud would shudder at the thought of someone who is not a psychologist or even an historian trying to psychoanalyze a man who died over three hundred years before the birth of Christ. It's unfortunate because this could have been a powerful film.

Skipping back and forth across Alexander's life (Stone apparently thinks is a devilishly clever way to tell a story), we follow the great conqueror's story from his childhood to his death through the eyes of Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins). Born to Philip of Macedon and his exotic first wife Olympias (Angelina Jolie) -who claimed Alexander was the son of Zeus -Alexander (Colin Farrell) had a complicated childhood. Olympias groomed him to be the next king, worrying all the while that Philip would not recognize him as the legitimate heir. Interestingly, Olympias doesn't seem to age a day between Alexander's birth and his ascendancy to the throne at the age of nineteen. We're talking about Angelina Jolie here, so I couldn't get past the thought that this is an Oedipus complex just waiting to happen. Anyway, Alexander replaces his murdered father, sets off north to establish his control over the tribes there, and then just keeps heading east conquering everything that gets in his way. After his daring defeat of Persia's King Darius, he fights his way all the way into India, farther than anyone before him had ever gone. If he had known those Indian tribes had war elephants, I daresay Alexander might have just turned around at the border and headed back home early. Instead, his military exploits extend over seven years. We hear him talk about assimilating the conquered peoples, and he certainly likes to build Alexandrias all over the place, but this grand vision theme of Alexander's life doesn't get enough play in the movie to sufficiently explain his motives.

The movie does have some strengths. The battle scenes are very impressive (except the end of the final one, when Stone decides to get artistic with it), especially Alexander's ill-fated fight with the elephant-equipped Indian tribes. Blood and guts are spilled on an epic scale. Angelina Jolie is mesmerizing as Alexander's devious, snake-loving mother - but I have no idea where that accent of hers was supposed to have come from. Speaking of strange accents, Colin Farrell sometimes sounded to me like he should have been leading Braveheart's forces. He never became Alexander in my eyes - there just wasn't enough substance to his character. If the film had been nothing but battle scenes, Farrell would have been more convincing; it's the scenes taking place between battles that leads this film astray. Most of this time is spent watching Alexander exchange meaningful glances with pretty boys wearing more makeup than Jezebel. The rest of the time consists of all those loyal men who supposedly adore their brave king whining about the length of the campaign, criticizing Alexander's motives and strategy, and making snide remarks about his heritage. There's no way Alexander the Great let his men talk to him the way they do throughout this film. There's really not much leadership on display by here. Alexander's brave, certainly, but he's no Patton.

Basically, Oliver Stone does a great disservice to Alexander the Great, passing him off as a dandy with little strategic genius and even less control over men who supposedly loved and respected him enough to fight and die for him thousands of miles from home. Stone's characterization of Alexander is just plain weird - and that's the whole problem with this movie. Let's hope that the youth of today and tomorrow don't see this film and actually believe they're seeing an accurate picture of Alexander the Great because Stone's Alexander ain't all that great.

Pretty Good To Be Honest
Despite the reviews i have to admit i thought that this was a pretty good film. I was swayed by the film reviews when it came out and therefore when i watched it i was really disappointed. But then i watched it again on tv and i began to appreciate the film. The two battle scenes are fantastic emphasising the confusion in ancient battles. The fact the Gaugamela was the second best battle in film in the Empire magazine shows its quality.
Despite the views on the acting it hought some of the performance were very good. Val Kilmer as Phillip was in top form as was Angelina Jolie. It was some of the more unknown actors such as those that act as Cassander and Cleitus that make impressions.
It is also the scenes of tension between Alexander and his men between the fights that are very well done. The death of Cleitus and mutiny in India are highlights.
I personally think that too any people have been influenced by the reviews by critics and dont let their own minds make a judgement.