Alexander (2004 film)

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): Ouarzazate, Morocco
• Macedonian amphitheater: Morocco
• Hyphasis: Mekong, northeastern Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand
• Hydaspes: Central Botanical Garden, Amphoe Mueang, Saraburi Province, Thailand

Box office

Alexander was released in 2,445 venues on 24 November 2004 and earned $13,687,087 in its opening weekend, ranking sixth in the North American box office and second among the week's new releases.^[6] Upon closing on 1 February 2005, the film grossed $34,297,191 domestically and $133,001,001 overseas for a worldwide total of $167,298,192.^[3] Based on a $155 million budget, the film was a box office bomb.^[7][8]

Controversies

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 advance screening of the film, the lawyers announced that they would not pursue such a course of action.^[9]

At the British premiere of the film, Stone blamed "raging fundamentalism in morality" for the film's US box-office failure.^[10] He argued that American critics and audiences had blown the issue of Alexander's sexuality out of proportion.^[11] 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".

Criticism by historians

Alexander attracted critical scrutiny from historians with regard to historical accuracy. Most academic criticism was concerned with the insufficient adherence to historical details.^[12]

Persian historian Farrokh questioned the omission of the burning of Persepolis by Alexander and observed that, in the movie, "Greek forces are typically shown as very organised, disciplined, and so on, and what's very disturbing is, when the so-called Persians are shown confronting the Macedonians, you see them turbaned. Their armies are totally disorganized. What is not known is that the Persians actually had uniforms. They marched in discipline, and music was actually used..."^[13]

Oliver Stone has, in his various commentaries in the film's DVD, defended many of the most glaring historical issues in regard to Iranian history by claiming that he had no time or resources to portray accurately 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 the Granicus and the Battle of Issus into the Battle of Gaugamela, as well as heavily simplifying the Battle of Hydaspes into a straightforward clash, while merging the near-death of Alexander from the siege of Malli.

Criticism by film critics

The film performed well in Europe, but, in North America, received mostly negative reviews from film critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 16% rating based on 202 reviews, with an average rating of 3.9/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Even at nearly three hours long, this ponderous, talky, and emotionally distant biopic fails to illuminate Alexander's life."^[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[15]

One of the principal complaints among US film critics was that Alexander resembled less an action-drama film than a history documentary. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times 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."^[16]

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".^[17]

Nominations

The film was nominated in six categories at the Golden Raspberry Awards in 2005: Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Colin Farrell), Worst Actress (Angelina Jolie) and Worst Director (Oliver Stone), Worst Supporting Actor (Val Kilmer) and Worst Screenplay, thereby becoming the second-most-nominated potential "Razzie" film of 2004; however, it won no awards.

Theatrical cut

This is the film as it was originally released in theaters, with a running time of 175 minutes. It was released on DVD and is also available on Blu-ray in some territories.

Director's cut

Stone's director's cut was re-edited before the DVD release later in 2005. Stone removed seventeen minutes of footage and added nine back. This 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 Kilmer and other cast members deliberately use an Irish accent as Farrell was unable to lose his, with Irish accents being used as a stand-in for a Macedonian Greek accent, and British English representing Greek.
• 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 Hephaistion 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 Hephaistion 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 small scene 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 Hephaistion 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.

Alexander Revisited: The Final Unrated Cut

Stone also made an extended version of Alexander. "I'm doing a third version on DVD, not theatrical", he said, in an interview with Rope of Silicon. "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 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."^[18]

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.^[19] The Blu-ray and HD-DVD releases both feature a variety of special features however, including two audio commentaries and a new featurette.^[20]

For seven years, it was the only version of the film available on Blu-ray, until the release of the Ultimate Cut, which also includes the Theatrical Cut.

Ultimate cut

In November 2012, Stone revealed that he was working on a fourth cut of the film, at Warner's request and that this time around he would remove material, as he felt he had added in too much in the "Final Cut".^[21] The version, which is 206 minutes long, premiered on 3 July 2013 at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival^[22] and Stone swears that no more versions will follow.^[23] In February 2014, Oliver Stone announced on Twitter that 'Alexander the Ultimate Cut (Tenth Anniversary Edition)' would be released in the United States on 3 June 2014. According to Amazon.com, some of its features include:

• "40-Page Art Book with Concept Drawings, Storyboards and Behind-the-Scenes Photos
• Collectible packaging
• Correspondence memos between Oliver Stone and the Cast and Crew
• New documentary: The Real Alexander and the World He Made
• The Ultimate Cut commentary by Oliver Stone
• Original theatrical cut version and commentary
• Oliver's son Sean Stone's feature-length documentary Fight Against Time: Oliver Stone's Alexander And much more!