Alexander (movie)

Alexandre ( Alexander ) is an epic historical filmdirected by Oliver Stone , released onin France, which tells the story of Alexander the Great . Oliver Stone chose a psychological point of view on Alexander the Great with many antitheses that we see throughout the film.

Synopsis

The film narrates the life of Alexander the Great ( -356 to -323 ) from the point of view of one of his principal generals, Ptolemy , from his childhood to his death, from Aristotle to the conquests that made his legend, from intimacy to the battlefields.

Son of King Philip II of Macedonia , he subjugated the reviled ancient Greece , founded the Alexandria ( cities founded by Alexander ), defeated the Persians , seized Babylonand reached the Indus to establish at 32 the largest empire ever unified before him: the Hellenistic civilization .

Two epochs coexist in the film: that of the narrator, the Ptolemaic Egypt , and that of the life of Alexander, evoked in a non-linear way by an alternation between the general chronological progression and several flashbacks .

Technical sheet

  • Original title: Alexander
  • French title: Alexandre
  • Director: Oliver Stone
  • Scenario: Christopher Kyle, Oliver Stone and Laeta Kalogridis
  • Original music: Vangelis
  • Photography: Rodrigo Prieto
  • Sets: Jan Roelf
  • Costumes: Jenny Beavan
  • Production: Thomas Schuly , Moritz Borman , Iain Smith , John Kilik , Gianni Nunnari , Fernando Sulichin , Paul Rassam
  • Production Companies: Warner Bros. , Intermedia Films, Pacifica Film, Egmond Film & Television, France 3 Cinema , IMF International Medien und Film GmbH & Co. 3. Produktions KG and Pathé Renn Productions
  • Distribution:
 France : Pathé Distribution
 United States :Warner Bros.
  • Original language: English
  • Genre: Historical Biopic , Peplum
  • Duration: 175 minutes
    • Director’s cut : 167 minutes
    • Final cut : 214 minutes
  • Filming locations: Morocco , United Kingdom , Thailand
  • Release dates 1 :
 United States : (First)
 United States :
 France :
 United States : (Arclight Hollywood’s Master Storytellers Series / version director’s cut)
 United States : (long version)

Distribution

  • Colin Farrell VF : Cédric Chevalme , VQ : Martin Watier ) : Alexandre
    • Jessie Kamm VF : Jules Sitruk , VQ : Leo Caron ) : Young Alexander
    • Connor Paolo VQ : Xavier Dolan ) : Teenage Alexander
  • Angelina Jolie VF : Sylvia Bergé ) : Olympias , her mother
  • Val Kilmer VF : Philippe Vincent , VQ : Daniel Picard ) : Philippe II , his father
  • Jared Leto VF : Emmanuel Guttierez , VQ : Paul Sarrasin ) : Hephaestion , his lover, life companion and principal general
    • Patrick Carroll: Teenage Hephaestion
  • Rosario Dawson VF : Mylène Wagram , VQ : Marie-Lyse Laberge-Forest ) : Roxane , one of his wives
  • Anthony Hopkins VF : Michel Piccoli , VQ : Vincent Davy ) : Elderly Ptolemy , one of Alexander’s chief generals
    • Elliot Cowan VF : Bertrand Nadler , VQ : Patrice Dubois ) : Adult Ptolemy
    • Robert Earley: Ptolemy young
  • Gary Stretch  (in) VF : Marc Fayet ; VQ : Gilbert Lachance ) : Cleitos
  • Rory McCann VF : Benoit Bellal , VQ : Denis Roy ) : Crateros
  • John Kavanagh VF : Georges Claisse , VQ : Luis de Cespedes ) : Parmenion
  • Francisco Bosch VQ : Hugolin Chevrette-Landesque ) : Bagoas , his eunuch
  • Jonathan Rhys-Meyers VF : Axel Kiener , VQ : Tristan Harvey ) : Cassandra , his fellow soldier
    • Morgan Christopher Ferris: Young Cassandra
  • Ian Beattie : Antigone the One-eyed
  • Christopher Plummer VQ : Yves Massicotte ) : Aristotle , his preceptor
  • Tim Pigott-Smith : Calchas
  • Nick Dunning VF : Jean Lescot ) : Attal
  • Marie Meyer (VF: herself) : Eurydice
  • David Leon VF : Fabrice Nemo ) : Hermolaous
  • Tsouli Mohammed VF : Bernard Gabay ) : Chamberlain Persian
  • Féodor Atkine (VF: himself) : Roxane’s father
  • Annelise Hesme (VF: herself) : Stateira
  • Joseph Morgan VF : Emmanuel Lemire ) : Philotas
  • Peter Williamson: Young Necca
  • Aleczander Gordon: Young Perdiccas
  • David Bedella : the scribe
  • Brian Blessed : the wrestling coach
  • Fiona O’Shaughnessy : the nurse
  • Stéphane Ferrara : a commander of Bactriane
  • Mick Lally : Horse seller
  • Raz Degan : Darius III
 Source and legend : French version ( VF ) on RS Dubbing 2 and AlloDoublage 3

Distinctions

Reward

  • Camerimage 2004: Silver frog for Rodrigo Prieto 4

Appointments

  • Camerimage 2004: Golden frog for Rodrigo Prieto
  • 2005 GLAAD Media Awards : Best Film
  • World Soundtrack Awards 2005: Audience Award for Vangelis
  • Razzie Awards 2005 5 : worst actor for Colin Farrell , worst actress for Angelina Jolie (also for Destinies violated ), worst director for Oliver Stone , worst film, worst screenplay for Oliver Stone , and Christopher Kyle and Laeta Kalogridis, worst supporting actor for Val Kilmer

Soundtrack [ change | change the code ]

Main article: Alexander (soundtrack) .

The music was originally to be performed by Goran Bregovic , Oliver Stone reportedly told Bregovic: “I want to make a film like Queen Margot but commercial”. Bregovic sends two demos but is eventually replaced by Vangelis 6 .

Analysis

Oliver Stone loves History, his filmography is eloquent about it, with films like JFK and Nixon or Born on July 4th , Platoon , Between Heaven and Earth on the Vietnam War . It evokes: The Doors with Val Kilmer or the murderous road movie of the couple: Killers born . With Alexandre , he realizes his childhood dream ref.  desired] , a historical fresco dedicated to Alexander the Great .

Already brought to the screen in 1956 , Alexander the Great aroused the interest of all. In the 1956 film , Richard Burton had Danielle Darrieux for mother and Fredric March for father in a Robert Rossen version – Danielle Darrieux was only eight years older than Richard Burton … In Oliver Stone’s movie, Colin Farrell plays Alexander, and his mother Olympias is played by Angelina Jolie (who was only a year older than the actor), and Val Kilmer ( Jim Morrison in The Doors ) he plays his father Philip II.

Oliver Stone wanted to respect the historical reality and made an effort for the reconstruction of battles and life of Alexander the Great, and sometimes magnifying respecting bisexuality character 7 . From this point of view, he makes direct reference to the work of Klaus Mann: Alexandre, Roman de l’Utopie (Stock, 1931), who was the first to highlight this particular feature of his biography. In general, Stone’s film owes a lot to the work of Klaus Mann [ref.necessary] . However, there are some mistakes like the Alexandria lighthouse , present in the film, actually built later in the reign of Ptolemy IIor the presence of Cassandra throughout the expedition when he did not join Alexander until shortly before his death sent by his father Antipater .

A second important mistake is the reason for the death of Philotas and his father, Parmenion : indeed, in the film, these two characters are killed because they blame Alexander to marry a “barbarian”, Roxane . Now, it turns out that these two generals died in – 330, and that the meeting between Alexander and Roxane dates from only – 327. Thus, there is an inconsistency of date: Parmenion and Philotas can not have blamed Alexander to marry a woman he meets only three years later. Finally, we must note the incoherent choice of a Métis actress to embody a princess of Bactriane.

The will of Alexander to unite the Greek and Persian civilizations by showing tolerance towards the customs of the latter (sometimes going against some of his relatives) is simply reduced in the film to an anachronistic struggle against discrimination 8 .

More surprisingly, the specialist Florent Pallares emphasizes:

“At the sight of AlexanderMany critics have accused Oliver Stone of supporting George W. Bush. They have compared some of the story elements of the work with contemporary events […] The Greek cities would be presented as being corrupted by Persian gold, legitimizing Philippe’s warlike decisions. For his part, Alexander seems to justify to his troops the conquest of the East, on the one hand, by accusing the Persians of being at the origin of the death of his father and on the other hand by bringing freedom to the submissive peoples of the East. In addition, the Persian Empire included several large cities whose capital was Persepolis which is not represented in the film. Only the entry of the Macedonians into Babylon evokes the conquest of the Persian Empire. Therefore, a reflection of the political context of the 2000s, could have seemed obvious. Conquerors, the Americans, led by a leader, George W. Bush who wants to avenge the harm done to his father, come from the West to bring “freedom” to tyrannized Eastern peoples who did not ask them anything, especially in Babylon in Iraq rather than Persepolis in Iran. […] These claims seem to contradict the personality of Oliver Stone, [who presents his film as well]: ‘Alexander knew how to win wars and to study them. He would never have diverted the resources of the front to carry out a war of background, like Bush in Iraq. If your primary goal is Bin Laden, you do not make war in Iraq … Where Alexander passed, whatever his detractors say, he brought peace, he did not sow discord. He always went further, was not content to exploit. Washington seizes oil in the Middle East for the United States … The Romans exploited the East for the benefit of Rome. Not Alexander. ‘ “9

Different versions

st Version: film version (2004)

This is the version of the film that was released in theaters in 2004, with a duration of 175 minutes. She has released on DVD and Blu-ray in different countries.

e Version: Director’s Cut (2005)

Following the failure of the film, Oliver Stone decides to put the film together. He thus made a version director’s cut , reducing the duration of the film from 175 to 167 minutes 10 . It cuts 17 minutes in the initial assembly but reinstates nine 11 . This version appears in some American theaters in 2005 1 .

Main changes 11
  • The dates mentioned are now “chronological”, unlike before they were in the form of “jumps in time”;
  • The story of Ptolemy at the beginning of the film was shortened
  • Les deux flashbacks montrant l’arrivée d’Eurydice à la Cour et le banquet de mariage sont déplacés et incorporés à la partie consacrée à la campagne de l’Est, avec le procès de Philotas et l’assassinat de Parménion
  • La scène dans laquelle Aristote donne une leçon au jeune Alexandre a été rallongée
  • Le récit de Ptolémée de la bataille de Gaugamèles est modifié pour ne faire plus aucune référence à la destruction de Thèbes et au sac de Persépolis
  • La scène de nuit avant la bataille de Gaugamèles et le sacrifice rituel avant la bataille ont été supprimés
  • Après la scène dans laquelle Alexandre se plaint des morts de la bataille de Gaugamèles, un flashback, montrant son père Philippe lui expliquer ce que sont les Titans, est rajouté
  • La scène où Perdiccas interrompt un combat entre Hephaistion et Cleitus a été supprimée
  • La scène dans laquelle Roxane tente de tuer Alexandre a été supprimée
  • La scène dans laquelle Alexandre pleure la mort de Cleitus a été supprimée
  • La scène du procès de Philotas a été raccourcie : les explications de Ptolémée y sont retirées
  • Une scène supplémentaire dans laquelle Alexandre lit une lettre d’Aristote s’intercale entre la scène où il écrase la rébellion dans ses rangs et la bataille finale
  • La scène dans laquelle Olympias apprend la mort d’Alexandre a été réduite.

e Version: final version Alexander Revisited: The Final Unrated Cut (2007)

In parallel to the director’s version, Olivers Stone released Alexander Revisited: The Final Unrated Cut , the extended version, bringing the film length to 214 minutes 10 . For the director, this version is intended as a “form of tribute to the films of Cecil B. DeMille ” and is divided into three areas ( “the birth of a man”, “Introspection” and “Revolution”) 11 . It comes out in a few rooms in 2007 1 .

th Version: ultimate version (2012)

In November 2012, Oliver Stone reveals that he is working on a fourth version of his film, after a request from Warner, and this time, he deleted passages, having the feeling that he added too many in the Revisited version from 2007 12 . This version, which lasts 206 minutes, is projected for the first time on 3 July 2013 at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 13 and Stone said on this occasion that there would be no version that would come out after this one 14 . In February 2014, Oliver Stone announced on Twitter that the ultimate version of Alexandre would be released in the United States on June 3, 2014. This version was released in France at the end of 2015 by Pathé, in a box that brings together the movie version of 2004, the Revisted version of 2007 and the ultimate version of 2012 15 .

Notes and references

  1. ↑ a , b and c Release dates  [ archive ] – Internet Movie Database
  2. ↑ ” French dubbing sheet of the film ”  [ archive ] , on RS Dubbing .
  3. ↑ “French dubbing sheet of the film”  [ archive ] on AlloDoublage .
  4. ↑ (en) Awards  [ archive ] – Internet Movie Database
  5. ↑ Awards nominations 25th Razzie Awards  [ archive ] , on the site of the Razzie Awards. Page accessed on October 21, 2011.
  6. ↑ (en) Goran Bregovic in  [ archive ] Hep Taxi .
  7. ↑ (in) ” Bisexual Alexander angers Greeks  [ archive ] ,” BBC , November 22, 2004
  8. ↑ Martin Peltier, “Completely Stone”, Le Figaro special issue No. 65 “Alexander the Great. The kingdom – the epic – the legend “, October 2011, pages 112-114.
  9. ↑ Florent Pallares “Representations of war and peace in the ancient theater about Hollywood,” in Images of war, war pictures, images in peace: War in art, art in the war , Perpignan , University Presses of Perpignan, 2013, p. 112-113.
  10. ↑ a and b Alexander Final Cut  [ archive ] – TF1 News
  11. ↑ a , b and c “silence on cut” file – Alexandre page  [ archive ] – Screenrush
  12. ↑ Hugh Armitage, ” Oliver Stone Plans fourth Alexander ‘cut ‘  [ archive ] , Digital Spy,
  13. ↑ ” Alexander: The Ultimate Cut ” [ archive of] , Karlovy Vary International Movie
  14. ↑ Iain Blair, ” Oliver Stone Insists Latest Cut of ‘Alexander’ Is the ‘Ultimate Version’ “, Variety , ( read online  [archive ] )
  15. ↑ http://www.blu-rayphile.fr/edition-collector-alexandre-doliver-stone/  [ archive ]

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