Alexander

Introduction

“Alexander” is a 2004 historical drama about Alexander the Great, directed by Oliver Stone and with an an original score by Vangelis. The film starring Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer and Anthony Hopkins premiered in Hollywood on the 16th of November 2004. Partly based on the book “Alexander the Great” by historian Robin Lane Fox, the film is a dramatized account of the life of Alexander since his childhood, his relation with his parents, his rise to power as King of Macedonia and of course his conquests until his death in 323 BC.

On release Alexander received mixed reviews, mostly negative in the United States due to the topic of Alexander’s sexual orientation, while critics pointed out flaws in its casting, narration and length. In Europe and Asia reviews were generally more positive, but this could not prevent a commercially unsuccessful result. Vangelis’s epic score was released on a soundtrack album which received some mixed reviews as well, but is nowadays considered a masterpiece by many.

As is more often the case when Vangelis scores a film, the soundtrack album differs to some extent from the music heard in the film. In case of Alexander the main difference is that the film includes much more music than the album, including several unique and beautiful themes, as Vangelis admitted in an interview: ‘I ended up with more than double the music than is on the CD’. At the same time the soundtrack is not just a collection of cues from the film, but simply Vangelis' edit presenting the music as a coherent whole for an improved listening experience.

Due to the critical reception Oliver Stone made a revised and shorter version of Alexander, released on DVD only as ‘The Director’s Cut’ in 2005. Still he wasn’t happy with the result as only two years later he made a third version: ‘Alexander Revisited - The Final Cut’, with 213 minutes by far the longest cut. A fourth and (so far) last version the film was released in 2014 as ‘The Ultimate Cut’, which is essentially a shorter version of The Final Cut with a couple of small changes. Which version is the best one is very much a matter of opinion, but when it comes to Vangelis’ score The Final Cut has the most music, almost 3 hours of it. This version is currently the only cut available on a high-resolution 4K blu-ray.

Note that completists may be interested in home video releases that feature bonus material such as the featurette ‘Vangelis scores Alexander’, a short interview showing Vangelis recording in his studio in Athens. Other interesting features, such as the documentary ‘Fight Against Time’ by Oliver Stone’s son Sean, heavily uses Vangelis’ music, even some unique cues different from or not present in the film or album.

Vangelis started working on the score for Alexander in September 2003, at the same time as principal shooting took place, which is uncommon as usually the film score is part of post-production. When asked, Vangelis explained: ‘With Alexander I started working immediately, because Oliver needed music for his shooting. So some of the music, for the dances, for instance, I composed before the scenes were shot, working with the choreographer and so forth’.

Details and credits

Title: Alexander
Year: 2004
Country: United States
Length:
Theatrical version: 175 minutes
Director’s Cut: 167 minutes
Revisited - The Final Cut: 213 minutes
The Ultimate Cut: 207 minutes
Directed by Oliver Stone.
Written by Oliver Stone, Christopher Kyle and Laeta Kalogridis.
Based on the book “Alexander the Great” by Robin Lane Fox.
Music by Vangelis.
Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Edited by Thomas J. Nordberg, Yann Hervé and Alex Marquez.
Produced by Thomas Schühly, Jon Kilik, Iain Smith and Moritz Borman.

Cast

Colin Farrell - Alexander
Angelina Jolie - Queen Olympias
Val Kilmer - King Philip II
Christopher Plummer - Aristotle
Jared Leto - Hephaestion
Rosario Dawson - Roxana
Anthony Hopkins - Ptolemy
Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Cassander
Brian Blessed - wrestling trainer
Tim Pigott-Smith - omen reader
David Bedella - Cadmus
Gary Stretch - Cleitus the Black
John Kavanagh - Parmenion
Nick Dunning - Attalus
Marie Meyer - Eurydice
Joseph Morgan - Philotas
Ian Beattie - Antigonus
Denis Conway - Nearchus
Neil Jackson - Perdiccas
Garrett Lombard - Leonnatus
Chris Aberdein - Polyperchon
Rory McCann - Craterus
Raz Degan - Darius
Erol Sander - Persian prince
Stéphane Ferrara - Bessus
Francisco Bosch - Bagoas
Annelise Hesme - Stateira
Toby Kebbell - Pausanias of Orestis
Féodor Atkine - Oxyartes
Bin Bunluerit - King Porus of India
Jaran Ngramdee - Indian prince

Media

Blu-ray

2007 The Final Cut, released worldwide.
2009 Theatrical version, released worldwide.
2014 The Ultimate Cut + Theatrical version. Released in the US, Canada, Italy, Czech Republic and Hungary.
2014 The Ultimate Cut Warner Bros. 3000058262 US and Canada.
2025 The Final Cut 4K UHD Shout Factory SF 25437 US and Canada.

DVD

2005 Theatrical version, released worldwide.
2005 Warner Bros. 70456 US The Director’s Cut (2-disc Widescreen Special Edition). Contains bonus material, including ‘Vangelis scores Alexander’.
2005 Warner Bros. D069974 UK The Director’s Cut
2007 Warner Bros. 114351 US/UK The Final Cut (Two-disc Special Edition).
2007 Constantin Film HC084728 Germany The Final Cut

Synopsis

He was many things to many people - a dashing warrior king, filled with ambition, courage and the arrogance of youth, leading his vastly outnumbered forces against the massive Persian armies…a son desperately longing for the approval of his stern, battle-scarred father, torn and conflicted by his mother’s legacy…a relentless conqueror who never lost a battle and drove his soldiers to the very edges of the Known World…a visionary whose dreams, deeds and destiny echo through eternity, helping to shape the face of the world as we know it today. He was all that and more. He was Alexander the Great.

Oliver Stone’s Alexander (Colin Farrell) is based on the true story of one of history’s most luminous and influential leaders – a man who had conquered 90% of the known world by the age of 25. Alexander led his virtually invincible Greek and Macedonian armies through 22,000 miles of sieges and conquests in just eight years, and by the time of his death at the age of 32 had forged an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. The film takes a bold, honest look at Alexander’s life and his relationships with his mother, Olympias (Angelina Jolie), his father Philip (Val Kilmer), his lifelong friend and battle commander Hephaistion (Jared Leto), Roxane (Rosario Dawson), his ambitious and beautiful Bactrian wife, and his trusted general and confidant Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins). Set in Alexander’s pre-Christian world of social customs and morals far different from today’s, the film explores a time of unmatched beauty and unbelievable brutality, of soaring ideals and staggering betrayals.

His extraordinary journey begins when Alexander launches his invasion from Macedonia, first leading his armies to wrest Western Asia from Persian control, then driving his vastly outnumbered troops to an impossible victory over the mighty Persian army itself. Alexander expands his empire into the unknown lands of modern day Central Asia before venturing across the Himalayan foothills, further than any Westerner had ever gone, continuing his conquests all the way to the exotic world of India. Incredibly, and possibly uniquely in the annals of military history, Alexander was never defeated in battle. He relentlessly pushes his army across the sands, mountains and jungles of strange and mysterious lands, conquering every enemy who dares oppose him.

The film chronicles Alexander’s path to becoming a living legend, from a youth fueled by dreams of myth, glory, and adventure, to his intense bonds with his closest companions, to his lonely death as a ruler of a vast empire. Alexander is the incredible story of a life that united the Known World and proved, if nothing else, fortune favors the bold.

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