Alexander (DVD)

'Alexander' traces the short, but adventurous life of the Macedonian conqueror, Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.), whom conquered almost the entire known world of his era. From his childhood as the son of King Philip, to acending the thrown at age 20 in 336 B.C. upon his father's murder, and starting in 334 B.C., Alexander crossed into Asia on his 11-year conquest of the known world. From his conquests of Egypt, to battles with the Persians and the capture of Babylon, operations near Maracanda and in Afghanistan, and pushing all the way to India where he reigned unchallenged before his sudden death at age 32. Though Alexander made use of the well-oiled army created by his father, he pushed the limits of Macedonian & Greek power to levels King Philip could not have dreamed of.

Aristotle explains the plot at the beginning when he told the young couple "When two men lie together in lust, it is over indulgence. But when two men lie together in purity, they can perform wonders."

Not the best big budget film granted but great actors, a fantastic story and a great way too lose yourself forn a few hours! Enjoy!

It's hard to see what this movie was trying to be. The script is written as bad soap opera and cycles repeatedly through 3 scenes: battle, quiet reflection, loud speech. Over and over and over. There isn't much else to it.
Boring, bad acting, and a bad movie overall

I'll keep this short.
As a keen reader of history, I looked forward to watching this film, despite some earlier negative reviews I had heard. Similarly I had heard negative reviews of films like TROY, which despite huge historical discretions, proved to be an enthralling and visually stunning 'blockbuster'.
Alexander on the other hand, well; I was stunned at how someone could take the facinating life story of probably the greatest, most driven and successful commander of men and so completley miss the whole point.
Why was he so driven?
How did he win battle after battle often or mostly completley outnumbered and with a tired war weary and ill equipped army?
Why did he need to pursue his dream to conquer Persia and beyond?
This film did not seem to ask or answer these questions.
I still cannot believe that providing every Macedonian with a 'Hammy' Irish Accent could at any point have seemed a good idea?
I do not know how this film ended as I switched it off around 3/4 of the way through. I don't know, maybe it gets better towards the end?
I don't think I'll bother finding out if it does.............good luck.
If you decide to watch it I hope you enjoy it better than I did. If you want a a good quick account of Alexander the Great - Why not read Steven Pressfields 'Alexander' It's historically quite accurate and fills in the gaps with some great drama and politics providing a real insight to the Boy , then the man then the leader.

Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone presents a breathtaking new cut of his sweeping epic film Alexander, the true story of the world's greatest warrior.
Using footage never seen and dramatically reshaping dozens of scenes, he brings to life the overpowering forces and fierce personalities that forever changed history.
Driven by a craving for his father's (Val Kilmer) love and the brutal ambition of his mother (Angelina Jolie), Alexander (Colin Farrell) faced massive armies in Persia, Afganistan and India and was never defeated.
"Fortune favours the bold"
As Stone powerfully demonstrates in this bold film.

Ok, that's the blurb on the film, however, it just doesn't live up to it.
Poor casting, poor acting and poor direction, make this film a huge let down.
Could have and should have been miles better.

Alexander is a flawed work but certainly not worth some of the unfair criticism that came its way on its release. The film tries hard to remain historically accurate while trying to give us a flavour of the great general's character. It is nigh impossible to cover all his deeds in 3 hours but this film makes a good stab at it. More notably for many is the return of composer Vangelis in scoring the movie who does an excellent job with some very memorable themes.

Curiosity and critiscism about the movie made me want to watch it, plus I like historical movies. Overall I enjoyed the movie and felt it wasn't as bad as I had heard.I was expecting worse.

Panned by the critics, box office flop........... but a pretty good film, odd to hear so many Irish accents tho! Good watchable movie ****

I got this film expecting it to be along the lines of "Troy", which I guess in some ways it is, but this film is MUCH slower. In fact, its so slow I still havent bothered watching the end of it. This was a wasted oportunity in my opinion to create a really good film, but it hasnt pulled it off. The fake accents didnt help it in any way either!

My advice would be to forget this one and just watch Troy instead!

I know for some history buffs out there all the historical details in a film must be accurate right down to the smallest point,but for the average layman this is an enjoyable film.Angelina Jolie plays Alexanders manipulating Mother well.The child Alexander looks alot like the adult Alexander(Collin Farrel) which really helps with the continuity as the time line in the'Directors Cut'version dose jumps around abit.I do agree that the choice of an Irish accent was ill advised.There are some amazing scenes in this movie,entering Babylon and the views out over the city and in the Hareem give you a sense of the lusciousness and luxuriousness of Persian Babylon.The fight scenes are bloody and realistic with out going over the top.There is an amazing shot of an Indian elephant and Alexanders horse rearing up at each other.Some great ariel shots of the battles seen from a hawks eye where you can gauge the size of the forces involved!You are aware when watching the film of the ever changing dynamics of Alexanders force and the attitudes that he encounters as he continues to head East.I would recommend this film but dont expect it to be 100% historically accurate.

NOT GREAT FOR ALL THE BIG NAMES THAT WERE IN IT I FOUND IT LONG WINDED AND BORING, I KNOW ITS SUPPOSED TO BE AN EPIC BUT IT COULD OF BEEN DONE SO MUCH BETTER.

This film had all the hallmarks of being a great but sadly fell short due to the over focus on the relationships the main character had and less on the story of his conquests as the trailers for the film suggested.The main lead is still carried off well though and other factors like A* actors like anthony Hopkins bring a little more to the play.The soundtrack is amazing and well chosen for the genre.All in All an average film with sparks of interest every so often.

it was a film i have been wanting to watch for some time. I got it for a good price. I am pleased with it.

Disc in perfect condition and a very smooth transaction.

Wanted the film as we play the theme music in our brass band

Great film

I bought the film because i am a big fan of Colin Farrel as his acting is really good.

The film charts his rise and his fall from grace, the film is well made however it is quite long.

Overall it is a decent film.

Sumptuously filmed, excellent location work, fine battle scene direction and all the usual trappings of today's genre of epic period pieces in the deserts of the Middle East. All spoiled by a predictable story line (I Claudius has been there and done it) and some dire acting. I quite like Colin Farrell but he was truly awful in this. Angelina Jolie was actually the best actor - says it all! And it was far too long (OK, I know it's an epic but the only thing of epic proportions I can recall was my boredom). Had the amazing effect of making Kingdom of Heaven seem really good by comparison. Stick to Gladiator, Ben Hur, Sparticus and Troy.

I found this dvd very interesting. If you watch this in widescreen format, it really does the battle scene great justice; coupled with surround sound, you'll be gripped by the amazing cinematography.

This is quite possibly the worst type casting in the history of film making.Colin Farrell's performance is dire and this normally enthusiastic and contagious actors mannerisms soon catch on to the point that even Val Kilmer sounds Irish. Oliver Stone tried to condense a lifetime of one of the greatest people ever to grace this planet into one film and fails.The acting is diabolical and the directorship worse.

So the critics have been sharpening their knives about this film, and I suppose it all depends on expectations. Oliver Stone and the rest of the gang could have opted for a more intellectually satisfying film. More substance, less spectacle. Do they make these films with passion or just with the boxoffice in mind? That is the real question?? If you want stunning sceneries and constumes, battle violence and the like, then you get plenty. But if you want to understand the man who's name has gone into history as the greatest conqueror of the western world, then I would have loved to see more about what drives a man like this, what is his essence, and all the intrigue of the time. So it fell a bit short in that department, made me laugh at the marching orders, it could have been any UK troup on parade ground in Aldershot and other little niggles, but overall, when you have nothing else to do and want bubblegum entertainment that wont occupy too many braincells, then this one does it in style.

Purchased this movie on ebay, as I am very interested in history and this era in time...........But this is terrible I managed to watch half of it and the dvd was turned off!
Watching the soldiers on the movie do left/right marching etc like the modern day soldiers was just laughable who writes this crap.
Go and buy the 300 spartans instead.

A very dissapointing film. With lots of top names in this film and an epic story to tell I expected better. Was bored!!

This is an Epic Movie.But The film is let down by the Main Actor playing Alexander.The Irish Accent kills it.Some others do better.This could of been up there with Braveheart & Gladiator but takes 2nd best to Troy and that too was a let down.Mainley again the main Actor been poor.

This is a good, if over long, film. The action is good and the atmosphere created is very effective. However, as a Val Kilmer fan, I have to say there just isn't enough of him. I'm still glad I have the dvd in my collection though.

Obviously a film with top notch credentials, well acted well directed. I wanted to like it. I enjoy epic themed movies. I have watched it twice now. Once on it's release ( I was disapointed then and i still am !) and this recent ebay purchase. I just thought it strangely uninvolving. Not sure where to lay the Blame ? It had it's moments of cinematic greatness with some impressive battle scenes. listening to parts of the commentary it was clearly a labour of love for Oliver Stone who tried to stick to the known facts as closely as possable, a great historical giant in Alexander the Great should have had a giant of a movie.......but it is not, which is sad as it has a lot going for it. It just does not stick in the mind after viewing.