Movies - Alexander

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Alexander is a 2004 biopic/epic film, directed by Oliver Stone about the life of Alexander the Great. According to Stone, the theatrical release is as true to history as possible. It is a heavily character driven film. The continuity is nonlinear.

Together with its controversy, Alexander failed in the United States film market, with only $34 million USD of total box office revenue, while succeeding internationally with $139 million USD outside United States, and has been ranked as the number one grossing film in 39 countries.

Plot summary

The film is based primarily on the biography Alexander the Great (ISBN 0140088784) by Robin Lane Fox, who also served as historical consultant to the film but accepted an appearance as an extra in the cavalry charges in lieu of payment (R. Lane Fox, 1973; in the following, "R. Lane Fox" denotes cross-reference to its individual chapters). It gives a glimpse into some of the key moments of Alexander's youth, and his victory over the Persian Empire until his death. Omitted are Alexander's experience during the campaign by his father Philip II of Macedon and his own campaigning against Greek city-states, as well as his western Persian campaign up to 331 BC. The route from India back to Babylon and his final years are highly abbreviated. The military emphasis are the Battle of Gaugamela and Battle of Hydaspes.

Besides R. Lane Fox, Stone's interpretation of Alexander's life is also strongly influenced by works of William Woodthorpe Tarn and his academically controversial "unity of mankind" interpretation of Plutarch (Alexander the Great vol. 1, Cambridge Univ. Press). Stone also introduced his own Oedipal interpretation of Alexander's life (e.g. G. Crowdus, Cineaste 30:2, 12).

Theatrical version

The film opens with the words "Fortune favours the bold" ("audentes Fortuna iuvat", Virgil, ) and blends into the death scene of Alexander (Colin Farrell, childhood: Jessie Kamm, Connor Paolo) in June of 323 BC.

Young Alexander

The storyline then jumps to Ptolemy I Soter in his late years (Anthony Hopkins, childhood: Robert Earley, Alexander-contemporary: Elliot Cowan), who will narrate throughout the remaining film. In lavish sets and images Oliver Stone shows the daily life in court of his father King Philip (Val Kilmer) in the ancient Macedon, while starkly portrays the crippling relationship between his parents, King Philip and the snake-loving Queen Olympias (Angelina Jolie). With a family that maintains their ancestry back to Heracles and Achilles, it is in this environment that Alexander grows up under a strongly Homeric influence.

Then we see the young Alexander growing up together with Philip's royal pages in Mieza, with Aristotle among their tutors – some of these pages, like Cassander (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, childhood: Morgan Christopher Ferris), Hephaistion (Jared Leto, childhood: Patrick Carroll), or Perdiccas (Neil Jackson, childhood: Aleczander Gordon), will later become officers in Alexander's army (Nearchus and Ptolemy are also shown as pages, which is historically inaccurate). We see Alexander, at that time already known for his interest in music and poetry, taming Bucephalus (mispronounced as "Byousefalus" all the way through the film) (cf. R. Lane Fox, Ch. 3) – here, the eagle as symbol of Zeus first appears –, followed by an intimate scene in which King Philip explains to Alexander the roots of Greek civilization in its ancient mythology.

With another jump, we witness how the strong bond of father and son is destroyed. Goaded by his mother, Alexander objects strenuously to his father's new marriage of Attlus' niece, Cleopatra the Macedon, particularly to Attlus' remark at the wedding feast that "now we will have a legitimate heir to the throne", referring to the Epirote/Molossian ancestry of Olympias. When Phillip bans the 20-year-old Alexander from his palace (cf. R. Lane Fox, Ch. 1).

Ptolemy then narrates that soon thereafter Philip is assassinated and Alexander becomes king of Macedon (336 BC), and after a brief mentioning of his punitive razing of Thebes (335 BC) and burning of Persepolis (330 BC), Ptolemy gives an overview of Alexander's west Persian campaign until 331 BC, including his declaration to be the son of Zeus by the Oracle of Amun at Siwa Oasis. Then Ptolemy introduces the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC), where Alexander faces Darius III of Persia (Raz Degan).

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Movies - Alexander

Plot summary

Theatrical version

Young Alexander

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