Alexander (2004)

November 21, 2004 (FR) • War, History, Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance • 176m

Overview

Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians, he leads his army across the then known world, venturing farther than any westerner had ever gone, all the way to India.

Director

Oliver Stone

Writers

Oliver Stone, Christopher Kyle, Laeta Kalogridis

Top Billed

Colin Farrell

Keywords

egypt elephant aristotle persia greece emperor campaign alexander the great sword fight royalty male homosexuality ancient world lgbt ancient greece epic battle historical drama action hero 4th century bc gay theme antiquity

Where to watch

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Top Billed Cast

Colin Farrell

Alexander

Angelina Jolie

Olympias

Val Kilmer

Philip

Jared Leto

Hephaistion

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Cassander

Anthony Hopkins

Old Ptolemy

Jessie Kamm

Young Alexander

Christopher Plummer

Aristotle

Connor Paolo

Young Alexander

Patrick Carroll

Young Hephaistion

Peter Williamson

Young Nearchus

Morgan Christopher Ferris

Young Cassander

Rob Earley

Young Ptolemy

Aleczander Gordon

Young Perdiccas

John Kavanagh

Parmenion

Gary Stretch

Cleitus

Rosario Dawson

Roxane

Toby Kebbell

Pausanius

Fiona O'Shaughnessy

Nurse

Laird Macintosh

Greek Officer

Francisco Bosch

Bagoas

Neil Jackson

Perdiccas

Rory McCann

Crateros

Raz Degan

Darius III

Joseph Morgan

Philotas

David Bedella

Scribe

Brian Blessed

Wrestling Trainer

Nick Dunning

Attalus

Elliot Cowan

Ptolemy

Ian Beattie

Antigonus

Denis Conway

Nearchus

Michael Dixon

Campfire Soldier

Tim Pigott-Smith

Omen Reader

Erol Sander

Persian Prince

Stéphane Ferrara

Bactrian Commander

Tadhg Murphy

Dying Soldier

Annelise Hesme

Stateira

Marie Meyer

Eurydice

Mick Lally

Horse Seller

Garrett Lombard

Leonnatus

Chris Aberdein

Polyperchon

Jean Le Duc

Fat Eunuch

Mohammed Tsouli

Persian Chamberlain

Rab Affleck

Attalus' Henchman

Féodor Atkine

Roxane's Father

Harry Kent

Cup Bearer #1

Sam Green

Cup Bearer #2

Bin Bunluerit

Indian King

Jaran Ngamdee

Indian Prince

Brian McGrath

Doctor

Suzanne Bullock

Roxane Dancer

Kate Eloise Whitfield

Roxane Dancer

Gillian Grueber

Roxane Dancer

Michelle Lukes

Roxane Dancer

Anjali Mehra

Roxane Dancer

Anthony Jean Marie Kurt

Bagoas Dancer

Marta Barahona

Bagoas Dancer

Monica Zamora

Bagoas Dancer

Benny Maslov

Bagoas Dancer

Tania Matos

Bagoas Dancer

Leighton Morrison

Bagoas Dancer

Isaac Mullins

Bagoas Dancer

Monica Perego

Bagoas Dancer

Matthew Powell

Bagoas Dancer

Benjamín Benítez

Amato (uncredited)

Anthony James Berowne

Greek Courtier (uncredited)

Nicolas D. Blake

Palace Page (uncredited)

Max Bollinger

Young Greek Official (uncredited)

Jason Croot

Peasant (uncredited)

Dale Dye

Macedonian Veteran at Hyphasis Speech (uncredited)

Fahar Faizaan

Alexander - Voiceover (uncredited)

Charles Haigh

Aristander (uncredited)

Abbie Hirst

Octavia (uncredited)

Charlie Hollway

Boy (uncredited)

Rowley Irlam

Pausanius's Accomplice (uncredited)

David Leon

Hermolaous (uncredited)

Evelina Manna

Apparition (uncredited)

Desmond O'Neill

Acolyte at Sacrifice (uncredited)

Greg Orvis

Celtic Diplomat (uncredited)

Panayiota Panteli

Indian Servant (uncredited)

Lee Anthony Parnell

Warrior (uncredited)

John Reynolds

Dexapous (uncredited)

Peter Rnic

Greek Nobleman (uncredited)

Oliver Stone

Macedonian Soldier at Zeus Statue (uncredited)

Crew

Oliver Stone

Director

Vangelis

Original Music Composer

Rodrigo Prieto

Director of Photography

Jan Roelfs

Production Design

Jenny Beavan

Costume Design

Jim Erickson

Set Decoration

Oliver Stone

Screenplay

Christopher Kyle

Screenplay

Laeta Kalogridis

Screenplay

Moritz Borman

Producer

Jon Kilik

Producer

Thomas Schühly

Producer

Iain Smith

Producer

Oliver Stone

Producer

Yann Hervé

Editor

Thomas J. Nordberg

Editor

Gladys Joujou

Editor

Alex Márquez

Editor

Tabrez Noorani

Producer

Santa Pestonji

Producer

Pravesh Sahni

Line Producer

Matthias Deyle

Executive Producer

Pierre Grunstein

Executive Producer

Aslan Nadery

Executive Producer

Paul Rassam

Executive Producer

Volker Schauz

Executive Producer

Adil Abdelwahab

Assistant Location Manager

Rich Lee

Pre-Visualization Supervisor

Kerry Barden

Casting

Mark Bennett

Casting

Billy Hopkins

Casting

Suzanne Smith Crowley

Casting

Lucinda Syson

Casting

Chaiyan Chunsuttiwat

Art Direction

Stéphane Cressend

Art Direction

Desmond Crowe

Art Direction

James Lewis

Art Direction

Kathleen Lorden

Art Direction

Kevin Phipps

Art Direction

Stuart Rose

Art Direction

Rosemary Burrows

Costume Supervisor

Lotta Wolgers

Set Designer

Youssef Abagourram

Construction Coordinator

Katie Gabriel

Art Department Coordinator

Abdellah Baadil

Assistant Art Director

Claudio Campana

Assistant Art Director

Frederic Evard

Assistant Art Director

Aziz Hamichi

Assistant Art Director

Christian Huband

Assistant Art Director

Tom Still

Assistant Art Director

Tommy Jolliffe

Scenic Artist

Nicky Kaill

Scenic Artist

Emma Hanson

Sculptor

Colin Jackman

Sculptor

Andy Evans

Construction Coordinator

Ian Whiteford

Greensman

Mohamed Rakaa

Leadman

André Dias

ADR & Dubbing

Wylie Stateman

Supervising Sound Editor

Jean Goudier

Supervising Sound Editor

Chris David

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Alek Goosse

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Bruno Tarrière

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Aurelia Abate

Visual Effects Producer

Joyce Menger

Visual Effects Producer

Kilou Picard

Visual Effects Producer

Andy Stevens

Visual Effects Editor

John Scheele

Visual Effects Supervisor

Elliott Jobe

Visual Effects Supervisor

Rudi Holzapfel

Visual Effects Supervisor

Sébastien Drouin

Visual Effects Supervisor

Stephane Ceretti

Visual Effects Supervisor

Gary Powell

Stunt Coordinator

Jaap Buitendijk

Still Photographer

Ian Foster

Camera Operator

George Richmond

Steadicam Operator

John Higgins

Gaffer

Will Kaplan

Music Editor

Arthur Dunne

Transportation Coordinator

Hicham Regragui

Transportation Coordinator

Piers Gielgud

Choreographer

Julie Brown

Script Supervisor

Sean Button

Stunts

Hans de Weers

Co-Producer

Léonard Glowinski

Associate Producer

Gianni Nunnari

Co-Executive Producer

Fernando Sulichin

Co-Executive Producer

Robert S. Wilson

Associate Producer

Sarah Shepherd

Textile Artist

Jan Archibald

Hair Designer

Barbara Taylor

Key Hair Stylist

Jeremy Woodhead

Makeup Designer

Paula Price

Makeup Artist

Deborah Jarvis

Makeup Artist

Rebecca Cole

Makeup Artist

Stephanie Hovette

Wigmaker

Olivier Pron

Animation Supervisor

Deborah Maxwell Dion

Casting Associate

Mari-An Ceo

Assistant Costume Designer

Stephen Miles

Assistant Costume Designer

Sue Field

Script Supervisor

John Marzano

Helicopter Camera

Wayne Leach

Rigging Gaffer

Tarik Bounaaj

Stand In

Jonathan McKinstry

Supervising Art Director

Rob Bliss

Concept Artist

Michael Maker

Associate Producer

Saida Elidrissi

Art Department Assistant

Winston Azzopardi

Location Scout

Larry Gooch

Painter

Julian Caldow

Conceptual Illustrator

Danny Hiele

Additional Photography

Berto

Additional Camera

Olivier Fortin

First Assistant Camera

Zoe Clare Brown

Hairstylist

Norman Baillie

Prosthetic Makeup Artist

Mustapha Haouas

Set Dressing Artist

Warren Lever

Carpenter

Nicolas Aithadi

CG Supervisor

Carl Isherwood

Driver

Cyril Contejean

Post Production Supervisor

Wesley Peppiatt

Propmaker

Phattana Sansumran

Set Production Assistant

Boris Dores

Software Engineer

David House

Stand In

Mustapha Ismaili Alaoui

Transportation Captain

Sarah Bradshaw

Unit Production Manager

Paul Hornsby

Utility Stunts

Simon Warnock

Assistant Director

Kurt Smith

Color Timer

Kevin Edland

Best Boy Electric

Eugene Grobler

Electrician

Paul Kelly

Lighting Technician

Kurt P. Galvao

Executive In Charge Of Production

Said Andam

Location Manager

Sarah Trowse

Production Accountant

Mona Benjamin

Production Coordinator

Karim Abouobayd

Production Manager

Nicolas Bonnell

Production Supervisor

Michael Singer

Publicist

Samuel Cohen

Boom Operator

Julien Bourdeau

Assistant Sound Editor

Budd Carr

Music Supervisor

Nic Raine

Orchestrator

Jean-Paul Mugel

Production Sound Mixer

Frédéric Attal

Sound Editor

Lucie Bories

Digital Compositors

Dave Bonneywell

Special Effects Supervisor

Pierre Michel-Estival

Visual Effects

Laetitia Beaujard

Visual Effects Coordinator

Tom Carrick

Motion Capture Artist

David Allday

Visual Effects Art Director

Nourdine Zaoui

Sound

Enfys Dickinson

Creative Producer

Jonathan Hook

Unit Manager

Michael Stevenson

Second Assistant Director

David Balfour

Property Master

Jonathan Taylor

Second Unit Director of Photography

Anne Delacour

Dialogue Editor

Alain Féat

Dialogue Editor

Damien Lazzerini

Sound Recordist

Gréggory Poncelet

Sound Recordist

Julien Perez

Sound Recordist

Rebecca Roper

Local Casting

Juliette Ménager

Local Casting

Sam Barnes

Clapper Loader

Jemma Scott-Knox-Gore

Contact Lens Technician

Rachid Aadassi

Costume Assistant

Dulcie Scott

Costume Coordinator

Anthony Leonardi III

Costume Illustrator

Hassan Iken

Costumer

Colin Jamison

Hairdresser

Lizz Wolf

Key Costumer

Yann Mari Faget

Second Assistant Director

Iain Lawrence

Second Second Assistant Director

Dale Dye

Second Unit Director

Mohamed Achaour

Third Assistant Director

Robert Allen

Construction Buyer

Matt Lopez-Dias

Daily Grip

Heidi Gibb

Draughtsman

Gary Dawson

Dressing Prop

Martin Asbury

Storyboard Artist

Philippe Soeiro

Title Designer

Iain Eyre

ADR Editor

Peter Gleaves

ADR Mixer

Alexander Beddow

ADR Recordist

Capucine Courau

Assistant Dialogue Editor

Éric Bonnard

Foley Mixer

Vincent Cosson

Sound Assistant

Ken Yasumoto

Sound Effects Designer

Paul Conway

Supervising ADR Editor

Katia Boutin

Supervising Dialogue Editor

Alistair Anderson

Special Effects Technician

Tim Pounds-Cornish

Visual Effects Editor

Benjamin Darras

Visual Effects Production Assistant

Rowley Irlam

Stunt Double

Warwick Drucker

Additional Grip

René Adefarasin

Assistant Camera

Adrian Borg Ghigo

Camera Car

David Churchyard

Camera Trainee

Andrew Baggarley

Data Wrangler

Chas Bain

Focus Puller

Tim Dean

Libra Head Technician

Louis Elman

ADR Voice Casting

Piyanit Amphawat

Casting Assistant

Brendan Handscombe

Wardrobe Assistant

Mutita Na Songkla

Wardrobe Supervisor

Aurélie Bensoussan

Assistant Editor

Yvan Lucas

Colorist

Mike Thomas

Editorial Consultant

Suzanne Gilbert

Post Production Coordinator

Nic Raine

Conductor

Vangelis

Music Arranger

Rebecca Gatrell

Music Coordinator

Sana El Kilali

Accountant

Gill Raddings

Animal Coordinator

Smart Sumalee

Animal Wrangler

Aziz Bousfiha

Assistant Accountant

Phyl Allarie

Assistant Production Coordinator

Majid Aoulad Abdellah

Assistant Unit Manager

Kat Szuminska

Compositing Supervisor

Catherine Charlton

Dialogue Coach

Paul Holley

Generator Operator

Michael Elson

Head of Production

Arnaud Pecqueur

Matte Painter

Marc Wolff

Pilot

Hassan Aridal

Production Assistant

Dan Maag

Production Executive

Matthew Lee

Production Runner

Kathleen Lorden

Researcher

Helen Chapman

Set Runner

Richard Hooper

Supervising Armorer

Olivier Chiavassa

Digital Intermediate

Anabelle Boudineau

Animation

Jean Hemez

Animation

Tatiana Makogon

Animation

Ekkarat Rodthong

Animation

Jean-Claude Deguara

Animation

Matthew Rappaport

Compositor

Daniel Szeto

Compositor

Ron Frankel

Pre-Visualization Supervisor

Emmanuelle Carlier

Visual Effects Coordinator

Danielle Costa

Visual Effects Coordinator

Séverine De Wever

Visual Effects Coordinator

Sarah Moreau

Visual Effects Coordinator

Ian Murray

Visual Effects Coordinator

Andy Taylor

Visual Effects Coordinator

Georgia Scheele

Visual Effects Coordinator

Karine Binaux

Visual Effects Coordinator

Caroline Rivière

Visual Effects Coordinator

Gregory Tournier

Visual Effects Coordinator

Stefan Lange

VFX Director of Photography

John Marzano

Aerial Director of Photography

Charlie England

Assistant Camera

Max Glickman

Assistant Camera

Chaz Lyon

Assistant Camera

Dean Morris

Assistant Camera

Adam Lee

Electrician

Driss Marzak

Electrician

David Sinfield

Electrician

John Gamble

First Assistant Camera

Ben Wilson

First Assistant Camera

Jonathan 'Chunky' Richmond

First Assistant Camera

Charlie Woodburn

First Assistant Camera

Sean Connor

Focus Puller

Steve Costello

Gaffer

Chesda 'Pop' Smithsuth

Gaffer

Moulay Mustapha El Idrissi

Grip

Rachid Mssiaidi

Grip

Sam Phillips

Grip

Garth Sewell

Grip

Gary Smith

Grip

Kamaleddine Talmi

Grip

Paul Tsan

Grip

Malcolm Huse

Key Grip

W.C. 'Chunky' Huse

Key Grip

Mustapha Steila

Special Effects Supervisor

Trevor Wood

Special Effects Supervisor

Rangsun Rangsimaporn

Special Effects Supervisor

Dave Bonneywell

Special Effects Supervisor

François Lepeuple

Foley Artist

Tim Wooster

Camera Operator

Levan Doran

Stunts

Stuart Thorp

Stunts

Mark Southworth

Stunts

Peter Field

Camera Operator

Peter James

Standby Art Director

Sallie Hard

Other

George Richmond

"A" Camera Operator

Tom Brewster

Other

Reviews

Dark Jedi

⭐ 2/10

June 15, 2017

My wife picked this one up together with the weekly TV magazine. Luckily we didn't pay full price. I hoped for a film about one of the greatest warlord of all time but what I got was something about a crying homosexual wimp.

John Chard

⭐ 7/10

June 22, 2019

Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut.

Alexander is directed by Oliver Stone and Stone co-writes the screenplay with Christopher Kyle and Laeta Kalogridis. It stars Colin Farrell, Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, Anthony Hopkins, Rosario Dawson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Christopher Plummer. Music is by Vangelis and cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto.

Alexander is an historical epic based on the life of Alexander the Great.
Off the bat I have to say that this "Final Cut" version of the film is the only one I have seen. Upon its initial home format release - the first theatrical version - I lasted an hour and 15 minutes before growing restless and sought enjoyment elsewhere. Consequently as a massive fan of historical epics through the years, it has been a constant nagging itch for me to see Alexander in its entirety. So with Oliver Stone tinkering away with versions - convinced he has made a worthwhile epic - I finally delved in.

The Final Cut, as far as I'm aware, is a vast improvement on that savagely received theatrical release, well that is said by those who tried again instead of calling quits at the first production. Straight away I could see the difference, where once was a plodding first hour, now sits a vibrancy, with Stone seemingly saying that he can do great action and drama, just please hang around during all the historical chatter, sexual connotation, family strife and conquering machinations, and I will enthral you as a whole.

By his own admission, Stone reveals he took on a most complex historical character and in his eyes has made a film to befit such complexity. We get a splintered narrative, as we kick off with the crux of Alexander the Great, the leader, while Alexander's childhood and family forming is interspersed at various junctures. The battles are high in intensity and blood letting - exhilarating at times - but more crucially they let us engage with the tactical "ahead of their time" manoeuvres of Alexander the Great. This version mostly flows alright, and I got to feel how Alexander's mind was working in the process, even if come pics closure I didn't fully know the man.

Epically cast of course, some of them work, others not so much. Farrell's looked odd, in the way that Pitt's was in Troy (released this same year as Alexander), but apart from the accent issue he grows into the role and is fiercely committed. Jolie is just wrong for the role of domineering Olympias, worse still the scenes she does with Farrell are damp and threaten to derail the drama already built up. This latter point is more annoying given a great thread involving Dawson as Alexander's wife Roxanne is built up superbly, only to not be pulled until some drama very late in the play. The rest of the cast come through as ok for period flavours (expected for Hopkins, Plummer and Meyers, interesting as regards Leto).

This is not the life ambition masterpiece Stone wanted to make, even if he proclaims on the extras that he's happy and content with The Final Cut version. This cut still shows some cracks, but these are not seismic enough to hurt the film. For there's a lot of grandeur, blood stirring and thought gone into the production, and there's a lot to be said for that in this day and age of soulless cash making filmic exercises. Honourable failure then? Yes for sure, but a better film in this form than some may have thought possible back in 2004. 7/10

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Wuchak

⭐ 6/10

August 10, 2021

_**Alexander’s conquests from Greece through Persia into northwestern India**_

After being tutored by Aristotle (Christopher Plumber), Alexander (Colin Farrell) takes over the Macedonian throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 after his father is assassinated (Val Kilmer). Over the next 13 years he, amazingly, conquers the Persian Empire and heads into India before finally turning back. Anthony Hopkins narrates as Ptolemy in his old age while Angelina Jolie plays Alexander’s snake-loving mother. Rosario Dawson plays his wife acquired in Bactria (in what is today part of Afghanistan).

Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” (2004) was a challenging undertaking and has many attributes despite not being as compelling as the contemporaneous “Troy.” It’s a colorful, entertaining epic with a great cast, awesome battle scenes, exotic locations/sets and a fine score by Vangelis. Naturally the storyline is not as one-dimensional as “Troy” seeing as how it involves a movable empire traveling across western Asia.

Historically-minded critics complain about the sequence where Alexander's fatigued soldiers request not to push further into India in favor of returning to Macedonia to see their families again. Alexander denies their request and does something that paints him as an unreasonable tyrant. In real life Alexander pondered their demands for a few days before agreeing to turn back and didn't execute anyone, which showed what a compassionate, merciful leader he was. However, this dubious sequence was simply Stone’s amalgamation of several mutinies during his conquests, which was placed at that particular point in the story for dramatic reasons. Besides, the movie certainly illustrates how Alexander brought the light of civilization to his foreign subjects and was accepting of their cultures, wanting to unify the many tribes under one banner, so to speak.

The scenes with Val Kilmer as Alexander’s father are entertaining while the ones with Angelina Jolie get boring after the first two or three. We get it: she loves snakes, hates her husband and thinks Zeus was Alexander’s father. Half of the sequences with Jolie could’ve been cut with no harm done, which would’ve helped momentum.

I didn’t have an issue with Alexander’s relationship with his childhood friend, Hephaistion (Jared Leto), since it’s clearly depicted as platonic in the sense of David and Jonathan in the Bible (see 2 Samuel 1:26). In the film the two are depicted as having a loving friendship wherein they occasionally hug and that’s it. I occasionally hug my best friend too, but I only sleep with my hot wife.

As far as Alexander being bisexual, there’s zero historical proof of this. Yes, the kiss between Alexander and Bagoas (Francisco Bosch) was mentioned by Plutarch who lived in the Roman Empire 200 years later but, assuming it happened, it doesn't mean much. Some cultures in history kissed on the mouth when greeting, like Russians; it’s a social tradition and has nothing to do with sexual desire. To put it in perspective, imagine a filmmaker saying Trump was gay 2327 years in the future even though he had numerous women, marriages and children in his life. It's slanderous and can be attributed to Stone's catering to Liberal propaganda as opposed to historical reality. In short, he played the homosexual card to be ‘hip’ and give his movie Lefty ‘edge,’ but it backfired because it bombed at the box office. Still, the scene in question is brief and all it suggests is that Alexander experimented with homosexuality once after partying which, let’s face it, is something Greeks are known for (although Alexander would argue that he’s technically Macedonian, lol).

If you can ignore that glaring flaw, there’s a lot to appreciate in “Alexander” since Stone is unquestionably a top-of-the-line filmmaker. And the flick certainly inspires viewers to look up the real history.

The film was shot at Pinewood Studios & Shepperton Studios, both just west of London, as well as Morocco and Thailand (it’s pretty easy to figure out which scenes were done where).

There are no less than four cuts of the film available: The theatrical cut runs 2 hr 55 min (175 min); the 2005 Director’s Cut runs 2 hr 47 min (167 min); the so-called Final Cut from 2007 runs 3 hr 34 min (214 min); and the 2013 Ultimate Cut runs 3 hr 27 min (207 min).

GRADE: B-

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CinemaSerf

⭐ 6/10

January 7, 2023

Opinion on this film seems to have been hijacked somewhat by the definition and appropriateness of the relationship between Alexander (Farrell) and Hephaestion (Leto). It seems daft to try to apply 21st century social morals onto a society in which same sex relationships were simply unremarkable. Whether or not it was about sex, or love, or both isn't really that important - I think Oliver Stone was trying to involve us in a much more complex sto… read the rest.