Oliver Stone’s Alexander is a movie, like the man Oliver Stone himself, that polarizes opinions.  It’s difficult to talk about Stone without politics being dragged into it.  The story of Alexander has often been a forum for one’s ideology.  Historian and writer John Keegan has this to say about the politicization of the “Alexander the Great” story:

“…sir William Tarn…ultimately conceived him to be a sort of pre-Christian saint;  Ernst Badian…saw him as a sort of Hitler in prefiguration. … Pompey called himself a second Alexander, Caesar wept at not having accomplished by the same a fraction of his achievements, Augustus worshipped at his tomb… Napoleon thought the study of his life the supreme military education.”

Few legends in history have had as many interpretations as that of Alexander, but legend is all we have as so little is known about the man.  Oliver Stone works his own vision of the legend through film.  Perhaps not so surprisingly Stone doesn’t try to tell us a story that fits any political or ideological interpretation.  I believe Stone attempts to draw a personal picture of the man and his motivations.  The movie opens with Ptolemy (played by Anthony Hopkins) telling his memories of those days of Alexander the Great.  We’re introduced to Alexander’s early childhood, his mother Olympias played Angelina Jolie.  We’re introduced to Philip of Macedon, Alexander’s father the barbarian tribal leader who, by his own wit, united the northern tribes then conquered all of classical Greece uniting the city states into the Hellenic Union.  Then we’re jarringly cut to the final battle for Persia where Alexander finally meets Darius in the battle of Gaugmela.  Here Alexander had about 40,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry while Darius had about 250,000 infantry and 40,000 cavalry.  The battle is spectacular as it unfolds on film, the numbers of extras and low key CGI, the overhead views give you a sense of numbers and strategies.  Effort is made to convey the tactics used by Alexander.  The viewer really gets a sense that these battle scenes were thought out and not simply an excuse to throw some gory swordsmanship into the middle of all the speeches.  The film progresses employing flashbacks to Alexander’s childhood.  Later in the film we see the insecurity of Alexander and his officers, which leads first to glory then eventually a degeneration of their situation as they follow Alexander’s naked ambition and ego to the ends of the Earth.  

In the end I believe the reason the movie failed to attract the attention of the mainstream is because it’s a heavy film, a lot of very heavy concepts, relationships, speeches and lessons are thrown at us from every angle.  Oliver Stone’s interpretation of Alexander’s influences and life is brilliant and I loved watching it.  But as a film to entertain the masses, it’s a movie that aspires to be so much more than mere entertainment perhaps this is self indulgence on the part of Oliver Stone, I believe it’s where Oliver Stone failed to produce a “good movie”, but it succeeds in being more than just a “good movie” all the elements of great film are here.  There are spectacular sets, battles, costumes and an amazing musical score by Vangelis.  Oliver Stone is a skilled filmmaker and this could be his best use of the medium yet, I can forgive him for leaving the masses of mainstream filmgoers behind.

The DVD

The film takes on a series of camera qualities; grainy dark scenes, filtered smooth scenes and dreamy sequences where colors are distorted.  This is one that runs the gamut of visual representation.  If, like me, you have several settings for your display device depending on the kind of movie you’re watching, this will pose a problem because from a display perspective, this movie is all kinds simultaneously.  The most stunning scenes are the overhead views of battle and the vistas of ancient Babylon in all its glory.  CGI is well used here, it’s muted with no oily textures that scream computer animation.  The soundtrack is dazzling with aggressive surround effects and lots of sub, especially when they meet the Asian elephants, the walls shake.  There are subtle parts to the soundtrack as well, moody scenes with a musical score to match are conveyed eloquently here. 

Extra features on the 2 disc set

The only version I have seen of this movie is the director’s cut with 12 mintues removed from the film.  If I have a choice I’ll always take the director’s cut, this prevents me from drawing a comparison.  One thing I like about the extra features is the behind the scenes looks.  These are rarely that good as DVD extras, but this one’s different from so many I’ve trudged through.  Oliver Stone has a sort of ‘hidden’ camera (which really isn’t so) following him around on the set giving us a photojournalistic view of what it’s like shooting the film.  I appreciated the originality of this angle to the usual making of documentary.  But all together they’re quite long and have no real revelations about the filming.  A few tidbits were interesting to note, Colin Farrel was injured in the last three days of shooting and had to be carried around.  There are always the usual budgetary restrictions and of course the European crew and mostly American cast caused some language barriers that are no more than humorously remarked upon by some of the staring actors.  They did shoot on location at several exotic parts of the world and this gives you some appreciation for the effort that went into this movie, love it or hate it.

• Format: Color, Director's Cut, Widescreen
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: August 2, 2005
• Run Time: 167
• DVD Features:
• Available subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Commentary by director Oliver Stone
• Resurrecting Alexander: explores the filming of Alexander
• Perfect Is the Enemy of God: provides an in-depth look at the details that go into the filming of an epic
• Interviews with the cast on how they prepared for their roles
• "Vangelis Scores Alexander" featurette
• Theatrical trailers
• Number of discs: 2