Alexander is a 2004 drama / war movie, directed by Oliver Stone about the life of Alexander the Great.

According to Stone, the movie is as true to history as possible. It is based primarily on the 1986 biography, Alexander the Great (ISBN 0140088784), written by Robin Lane Fox.

Contents

1 Plot overview 2 Controversy 3 Cast 4 References 5 External links

Plot overview

The movie, beginning with Alexander's early life, shows his parents' ambition to get their child on the throne, and how Alexander ascends to power. Alexander's empire then begins to grow, starting with the defeat of the Persian Empire and the later expansion eastwards and westwards, going as far as India.

The empire, despite its vastness and success, begins to slowly decline, culminating its downfall, with Alexander dying alone, at only 33 years of age.

The focus is primarily on the eight years of fighting, as well as Alexander's relationship with his childhood friend and lover, Hephaestion.

Tagline: Fortune favors the bold.

Controversy

Even prior to its release, there was controversy about the film's depiction of Alexander as a bisexual. A group of 25 Greek lawyers threatened to sue both Stone and the Warner Bros. film studio for what they claim is an inaccurate portrayal of history. "We are not saying that we are against gays but we are saying that the production company should make it clear to the audience that this film is pure fiction and not a true depiction of the life of Alexander," said one of the lawyers, Yannis Varnakos.

At the UK premiere of the film, Stone blamed "raging fundamentalism in morality" for the film's US box office failure. He argued that American critics and audiences had blown the issue of sexuality out of proportion.

Cast

• Colin Farrell – Alexander
• Jared Leto – Hephaestion
• Elliot Cowan – Ptolemy
• Robert Earley – Young Ptolemy
• Anthony Hopkins – Old Ptolemy
• David Bedella – Scribe
• Angelina Jolie – Olympias
• Val Kilmer – Philip
• Rosario Dawson – Roxane
• Jonathan Rhys-Meyers – Cassander
• Fiona O'Shaughnessy – Nurse
• Connor Paolo – Young Alexander
• Brian Blessed – Wrestling Trainer
• Christopher Plummer – Aristotle
• Gary Stretch – Cleitus
• John Kavanagh – Parmenion
• Nick Dunning – Attalus
• Mick Lally – Horse Seller

References

• Stone blames 'moral fundamentalism' for US box office flop (http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1384483,00.html) (Jan 6, 2005). Guardian Unlimited.
• Director Stone Turns on Critics of 'Gay' Alexander (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=peopleNews&storyID=7248164) (Jan 5, 2005). Reuters.

External links

• Official site (http://alexanderthemovie.warnerbros.com/)
• Alexander (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0346491/) at the Internet Movie Database

fr:Alexandre (film)