Alexander the Great

UPC: 027616911995

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Suitable for Children]

Summary: The short life and quick death of Alexander the Great is recounted in this literate historical epic. Decked out in a blonde wig, Richard Burton stars as the Grecian warrior who conquered the known world while only in his twenties, then wept because there were no more worlds left to conquer. While the film's 141 minutes are occasionally bogged down by near-existential dialogue sequences (What doth it profit a man etc. etc.), the battle sequences are among the best and most accurate ever filmed. Fredric March and Danielle Darieux costar as Alexander's parents Philip of Macedonia and Olympius, Claire Bloom does what she can with the nothing role of Alexander's wife Barsine, and Michael Hordern and Harry Andrews are cast as Demosthenes and Darrius, respectively. Lensed in Spain and Italy, Alexander the Great conquered no new worlds at the box-office, perhaps because Richard Burton, brilliant though he was, hadn't yet attained "saleability". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Epic

Awards: Best Director – Directors Guild of America

Features: ccOriginal theatrical trailer

Alexander the Great

Format: DVD

Release Date: 10/19/2004

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DDS Dolby Digital Surround, DD1 Dolby Digital Mono

Runtime: 136 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Main Title/A Son Is Born [8:50]
2. Aristotle's Pupil [7:51]
3. Moral Duty [8:57]
4. "Foul Lies" [8:18]
5. The Road to Glory [8:50]
6. Divine Idea [9:19]
7. Destiny [8:09]
8. Goaded Into Action [7:46]
9. All of Asia [9:26]
10. Held in the Heart [8:32]
11. Onward & Upward [8:10]
12. "A Little Greek Boy" [7:37]
13. Heaven Help Us [8:41]
14. Death of a King [8:13]
15. Supreme Ruler [8:09]
16. One World [8:46]

Craig Butler

While it is arguably better than Oliver Stone's more recent remake, the 1956 Alexander the Great is a rather mediocre epic. Part of the problem is simply the passage of time; the fight scenes which might have looked rather realistic in the 1950s now seem to be rather paltry in numbers and lacking in imagination. That lack of imagination is present throughout; it's as if director Robert Rossen all of a sudden found himself behind the camera with neither a real vision nor a real passion for the project. In the right circumstances, Rossen could be a director of insight; that's far from the case here. It's not that his work is actually bad, but an historical epic about a larger-than-life character demands someone at the helm whose direction is equally larger-than-life, if not moreso. Rossen is hampered by a script that thinks it is delving deeper into its characters than it actually is, resulting in some leaden speeches that end up quite platitudinous. Alexander undergoes a tremendous character change, but the psychological depth that would underscore that transformation is missing. Under the circumstances, Richard Burton is left to do little more than declaim in a vague and empty fashion; he does not provide the grandeur that the character demands and that the writers have largely omitted. Much better is Fredric March as his father, practically stealing much of the movie from Burton. Claire Bloom does quite nicely with a nothing part, and the supporting cast is solid throughout. Alexander gets a lot of the facts right, which earns it points; it's just a shame the facts were not presented in a more cinematically engaging fashion. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Riccardo Valle  Actor 
Virgilio Teixeira  Actor 
Frederick Ledebur  Actor 
Mario Nascimbene  Composer (Music Score) 
Robert Rossen  Director 
Robert Rossen  Producer 
Robert Rossen  Screenwriter 
Richard Burton  Actor 
Fredric March  Actor 
Claire Bloom  Actor 
Danielle Darrieux  Actor 
Harry Andrews  Actor 
Stanley Baker  Actor 
Niall MacGinnis  Actor 
Peter Cushing  Actor 
Michael Hordern  Actor 
Barry Jones  Actor 
Marisa de Leza  Actor 
Gustavo Rojo  Actor 
Ruben Rojo  Actor 
William Squire  Actor 
Helmut Dantine  Actor 
Peter Wyngarde  Actor 
Julio Pena  Actor 
Jose Nieto  Actor 
Carlos Martínez Baena  Actor 
Larry Taylor  Actor 
Jose Marco  Actor 
Ramsay Ames  Actor 
Mario De Barros  Actor 
Ellen Rossen  Actor 

Country: USA