Where to watch Alexander
4 Stars
Conquering ninety percent of the known world by the age of twenty-five, Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell) led his armies through twenty-two thousand miles of sieges and conquests in just eight years. Coming out of tiny Macedonia, Alexander led his armies against the mighty Persian Empire, drove west to Egypt, and finally made his way east to India. This movie concentrated on those eight years of battles, as well as his relationship with his boyhood friend and battle mate, Hephaistion (Jared Leto). Alexander died young, of illness, at the age of thirty-two. Alexander’s conquests paved the way for the spread of Greek culture (facilitating the spread of Christianity centuries later), and removed many of the obstacles that might have prevented the expansion of the Roman Empire. In other words, the world we know today might never have been if not for Alexander’s bloody, yet unifying, conquest.
Oliver Stone’s long-gestating film Alexander is a bold, untidy, massive, and often spellbinding historical biopic that has received three alternative cuts by the ever-retooling director. The version, known as the theatrical release, is the most concise and coherent telling of the story. While the film was initially considered a box-office bomb, the years have been kind to the movie, and it has since gained cult status amongst cinephiles.
Collin Farrell is adequate in his role as the conqueror of the title. However, the magnificent performances of Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins, and Angelina Jolie provide emotional fire to the film. Farrell is muscular and blond but dull compared to the magnetic beauty and danger that exudes from Rosario Dawson, Jolie, and, to a lesser extent, Jared Leto as the lover.
While I prefer this cut of Alexander, I encourage anyone who appreciates cinema to screen any of the three versions released by Warner Bros. since 2004. The ensuing revisions have added more material to the film, but they have also mudded the narrative. Alexander, the theatrical cut reviewed here, is the most coherent and intriguing, and I think Oliver Stone knew it to be the strongest of the bunch and a movie I revisit every few years. It’s not as pristine or easy to watch as Troy (2004), but it’s more ambitious with an epic scope and filled with filmmaking bravado.
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Written by: Oliver Stone, Christopher Kyle, Laeta Kalogridis
Starring: Colin Farrell, Anthony Hopkins, Rosario Dawson