Alexander (Two Disc Edition) [2004] | ![Alexander (Two Disc Edition) [2004]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BW9GR3JFL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Oliver Stone
Actors: Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £23.99
Buy Used: £1.98
You Save: £22.01 (92%)
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Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 16717
Format: Box Set, Pal, Special Edition, Widescreen
Languages: English (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 175 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 7321900389365
ASIN: B00099BJ7K
Theatrical Release Date: 2004
Release Date: August 1, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
If you're determined to spend three hours with Oliver Stone's take on the personal and military struggles of ancient Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, you should know that Alexander (Colin Farrell, in blonde disarray) is not half so much fun as mom Olympias (Angelina Jolie) or his future wild bride Roxane (Rosario Dawson). Indeed, it's the women in Alex's life who provide the movie's most satisfying action: Jolie, sporting some kind of Russian accent, wraps herself in snakes while hissing promises of Farrell's destiny; Dawson disrobes and threatens to cut Farrell's throat before shtupping his brains out. The rest is leaden history, supposedly novel because it showcases epic battle sequences and addresses Alexander's great love for his buddy Hephaistion (Jared Leto). But the man-on-man romance is limited to teary hugs, and the battles are indecipherable messes-you have to wait for Anthony Hopkins' narration to tell you what happened (in fact, you have to wait for Hopkins' narration to tell you everything that happens). There's some spectacle on display but, alas, not much that is truly spectacular. --Steve Wiecking, Amazon.com
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Sucks March 23, 2008
F. Nath (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What a shame Oliver Stone ruined this potential blockbuster!
It does portray the life of Alexander historically, with accuracy. That is about as far as it goes. The casting was the worst since Troy. My feeling was that half the actors were miscast and the thought of Angelina Jolie being Alexander's mum, makes the mind boggle. The big battle scene is confused and unclear. If you compare it to the battles in 'Kingdom of Heaven' you can see that there is no comparison at all. In short it was woefully inadequate and will make it impossible for another director like Ridley Scott to pick up the baton for we have now lost Alexander's story to a lot of irish twits running amok in what seemed an aimless film. Sorry, there are much better films around. Don't waste your time on this one.
Woeful September 19, 2007
dli (Oxford, UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I adore history (and studied it at uni), and was very excited about this film. How could a film about Alexander be anything but brilliant? If you want to know - watch this film. It's mind-numbingly boring.
 Refreshingly accurate - awesome story. This is real History! February 12, 2007
Andy Goode (London, UK)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
First off it is sad to see so many negative reviews for this masterpiece. For once we have a film that has been written to portray the true life of a historical figure and not a Hollywood 'version' of events that have been twisted out of all imagination to please those who don't know a particular period of history beyond what they have read in kids books.
The film is beautifully shot and has had some real research done for the costumes and locations and even social interactions and occasions. As a history lesson this would be fine but these are merely the details that enrich the staggering story of Alexander.
Alexander was an immensly flawed character, who had many moments of brilliance, showed compassion, tactical genius and single minded motivation to achieve the unthinkable. He was also in equal measure sometimes cruel and mentally unstable. All of this has been captured wonderfully in this film to show that Alexander wasn't an "All American Action Hero (TM)" but a real person.
In 4th Century Greece it was accepted that men should have male partners, and again thank god that Stone had the guts to show this reality. The truth was that Alexander spent very little time with his wife preffering to spend it with his childhood friend Hephaistion.
The battle scenes are immense, especially the last battle in India, which go a long way to imagining the horror of massed hand to hand fighting, with the blood and confusion it brings. There is little gratuitous violence and certainly this film is more about the character of Alexander and the relationships between his men, his mother and father, and how these all contributed to the character, than it is a documentary on every battle he fought.
The Irish accents used by the Macedonions are there to illustrate how the Macedonians differed to the rest of Greeks. Indeed the rest of Greece saw Macedonia as a Barbarian country.
The bottom line is that this is a well studied film, which hasn't attempted to be a crowd pleaser by showing false history.
If you enjoy history or want to know more about Alexander then watch this film. I have a degree in Classics and have read many many books on Alexander since, and whole heartedly applaud and recommend this film.
! August 22, 2006
Scotty NY (USA)
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
I loved Stone's JFK, but this... Words fail me, but I'll try to find a few. Okay, the pros? Angelina Jolie. I've never been a big fan of hers, but, boy, was she the hottest woman alive in this movie! More pros? Hmmm. Certainly not the action sequences which were muddled and hard to follow. Certainly not the weird Irish accents the lead characters adopted. Certainly not the story.
This is just one of those films you believe can be so bad and that something cool is gonna happen the instant you hit the off button, so it stays your finger. My advice? HIT THAT BUTTON!
And I won't even mention the blonde wig!
A bold movie for a bold man August 9, 2006
pole60 (Cambridgeshire, England)
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
After reading the barrage of hostile reviews and articles criticising Oliver Stone's Alexander I did not even bother to go see it at the cinema, despite even one of my lecturers being in it. More fool me! Having recently purchased the DVD I was enthralled and only wish that I had also seen it at the cinema. The criticism of Colin Farrell seems grossly unfair, as he superbly portrays the ever present conflicting issues and emotions which Alexander has to deal with. Similarly his ability to flit between calm and anger depict a man verging on obsessive megalomania. The film also received criticism for the Irish accents used by many of the Macedonians. At first I was also in agreement that this was a bad decision, however as the movie progressed it is my opinion that the Irish accents helped to illustrate the gap which existed between Macedonians and those citizens of the Greek city states who considered themselves culturally superior to their northern neighbours. Further I find it ludicrous to suggest that the movie was too long, Alexander had problems enough fitting the conquest of the world into his short lifetime, and Oliver Stone had an even greater problem of squeezing his life into 3 hours. Overall the dialogue is lively and compelling, the use of Ptolemy as narrator works very well, while Val Kilmer is brilliant as Alexander's father. I fear perhaps that this film has received condemnation for its portrayal of Alexander the man. For it does not comply with the myth of him as an infallible warlord and perfect hero. Instead he is depicted as a flawed character who was mentally greatly troubled, often misjudged situations and, as was common in 4th century Greece, indulged in sexual relationships with both men and women. The film Alexander does not live up the to legend which has been build up around him since his death, instead it is bolder and attempts to deviate from traditional Hollywood views. Anyhow regardless of all the above, it is an entertaining biography of his life and an awesome movie!
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