Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10561 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-01
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 240 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Historian Michael Wood embarks on an idiosyncratic journey of 20,000 miles tracing the expedition of Alexander the Great in this captivating documentary. Relying on the words of Greek and Roman historians, Wood sought to follow Alexander's route of world conquest as closely as possible, and it is simply amazing how much folklore about the great general he is able to pick up on the way. Beginning in Greece and proceeding through 16 countries, including Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan and India, Wood listens intently to local storytellers who are still passing down the legends of Alexander. In one fascinating segment, Wood is barred from entering Iraq, but he is able to view the terrain on which Alexander's troops faced the Persians by scanning the radar screens of an American AWACS plane patrolling high above. In the course of his travels, Wood passes through four war zones and he notes that strategic regions of Alexander's day are still "on the fault lines of history". This is a lengthy production, clocking in at almost four hours, but the relaxed pace is a virtue, as Woods and the people he meets along the way, from local storytellers to noted historians, pass along an amazing array of historical knowledge. Lovers of history will find this documentary to be a joy and may well find themselves savouring every mile of Alexander's great journey. --Robert J. McNamara

Synopsis
Michael Wood takes us on a journey following the triumphant march of Alexander of Macedonia from Greece to India and brings new insights into the man whose myth and achievements are still considered important in the twenty-first century.

Customer Reviews

An excellent well-researched and well-presented documentary
We watched this after watching Oliver Stone's Alexander Revisited (the final cut) and I'd recommend doing that as this documentary works brilliantly afterwards going into depth and giving you further insights. Make sure you watch the interview with Michael Wood at the end in which he comments on the film etc - it is all excellent. Michael Wood's understanding of the need for historical context and his commitment to trying to understand Alexander in his own terms as much as from our modern perpective is to be applauded. This really is a brilliant documentary - visually stunning, intriguing and entertaining. I cannot imagine anyone interested in this subject being disappointed with this 2 DVD set.

Alexander in four parts
Michael Wood is one of that recently popularised band - the celebrity historian. I usually find his work just a little too keen on Michael Wood rather than on the subject in hand, but in this case the sheer range of his travels calls for forgiveness on my part. Although one can arm oneself with Curtius and Arrian, one can get out one's Barrington Atlas and consult Engels on logistics there is nothing quite like seeing the terrain (even after centuries of abuse) at first hand. Since I am unlikely to visit these places personally I am indebted to Michael Wood for doing so on my behalf.

The four parts take us (essentially) through Asia Minor, the Middle East, Central Asia and then India. If one every thought Alexander was just a petulant pretty boy on a Grand Tour the terrain makes one think again. Whatever drove his pothos yet still he organised, led and inspired his army for nearly a decade of hard campaigning.

Alexander the Great, Iskandar and other versions of the tale
This is a superb presentation which has, nevertheless, some flaws. Segment one, which tells the story of Alexander's youth and the launch of the great expedition, gives due credit to Alexander's father, Philip V, as strategist and politician, but fails to mention that Philip planned the expedition to conquer Persia, raised an army and its supply lines and had a route mapped out. He was murdered just before he was due to leave Macedonia. Alexander was able to move so quickly because the work had been already prepared by Philip. Wood gives the impression that Persia was Alexander's idea. Wood also fails to emphasise enough Alexander's rivalry with Philip. A brilliant and commanding personality, Alexander spent his youth being eclipsed by his father's achievements, and it made him furious to excel Philip. This rivalry was cultivated by his mother Olympias, who had been set aside by Philip and would not accept it. The murder of Philip was most likely organised by Olympias, with Alexander's connivance.

Segment two, which deals with the conquest of Darius, fails to mention that Darius was an usurper who did not command the allegiance of his nobles and their forces. To be exact, an ambitious eunuch removed the legitimate heir and used Darius, who was of the royal house and of an impressive appearance, as a pawn through whom he could rule the empire. This was not accepted by the nobles, and if Alexander had not come it is likely the empire would have broken up in civil wars unless another Darius the Great had emerged. This explains why the Persian army was so ineffective, with whole divisions not engaging or deserting during combat. Alexander was fighting an already beaten enemy. These two instances lessen Alexander's achievement but make it much more understandable.

Segments three and four, on the circuit of the empire and arrival at India, return and death, are more of a travelogue, recounting surviving folklore in a leisurely way while reflecting on the possible collapse of Alexander's character through excess. It gave me the feeling that Wood was running out of steam, filling up his allotted time with lesser material.

On the positive side Wood illuminates Alexander's deeds and character by experiencing the same terrain as Alexander did, and in some instances sheds light on Alexander's actions. Wood is, as always, scholarly, and engaging, prompting audience involvement.

As a whole the documentary reinforces the myth, while highlighting aspects of it unknown to western audiences. It's a populist, and amazing, travelogue. For some reason Wood refers to Hercules (the Roman god) throughout, not Herakles (the Greek god). Alexander? A spoiled boy with a megalomania fostered by his unscrupulous mother, he was able to steal the achievements of Philip, a military and political genius of the calibre of Julius Caesar, by murdering him. Then, fortuitously, he was able to take the Persian Empire away from an usurper who could not have held it. He is famous because he was a prime example for Christian moralists of the futility of human ambition by having conquered the world and then dying at 32.