Alexander (2004). The Story of Failure

#movie #show #cinema #facts #actors
Despite its $155 million budget, "Alexander" grossed only $34 million in the United States. The worldwide distribution brought investors another $133 million, but the losses were still colossal.
Many blame Warner Brothers for the film's underperformance in the US. Following unsuccessful test screenings, the studio gave up on the film and cut its advertising budget in the US to a minimum.

[whysoblutube]

The Ultimate Cut is awesome. The 4K disc will be epic, whenever they decide to release it.

[jorgereyna]

Very underwhelming film but I do admire its ambition

[AlternativeElvis]

I got through 20 minutes before I realised I was watching “Day’s of Our Lives” in Ancient Greece.

[FiveSigma]

Nowhere near as bad as it's made out to be. Thank God it didn't finish Farrell as an actor, he's fantastic thesedays.

[carlh-thehermitwithwi-fi]

Alexander the Great is one of my historical fav heroes. Why? Because in the story, he took half a legion to find my patron saint, Diogenes of Sinope...and said to him how much he wanted to find him and admire hime...and Diogenes said :
"could you stand a bit to my left and block the sun. Who are you?"

[Generalfund]

7:28 - The Battle of Gaugamela is depicted accurately imo. They do skip over the entire Egyptian campaign but had to because Oliver Stone could have made this a 12 hour mini-series and probably should have.

[BrandonSharpe-nyhl]

I saw the potential in the theatrical version. His subsequent releases of the director’s cut and Revisited were flawless. Troy and Gladiator were box office hits but were made for the masses. IMHO, Oliver Stone’s work here is a masterpiece in the lost genre of sword & sandal epics. But I’m a natural born killer - I mean contrarian.

[nicks]

I remember how controversial Alexander’s bisexuality was back then and thinking… but he was bisexual… people are mad at history for existing…

[eraserhead]

Alexander is an amazing film, probably one of the most underrated films of all time, a fucking masterpiece. Fuck the naysayers.

[Hudpix]

The soundtrack by Vangelis was quite good.

[bitterbold]

The movie may have flopped at the box office but nonetheless, I think it's a pretty solid movie. I liked it.

[jorgezarco]

Oliver Stone gave us Salvador(1985) and Platoon(1986).

[Generalfund]

4:51 - Truthfully this is probably Angelina's best performance as an actress. It's either this or Gia, because let's face it she isn't getting hired for her acting.

[acegrafik]

One can not simply make an Alexander film. His 13-year campaign in Egypt and Asia is nothing short but legendary. I am studying his life and death for more than 2 decades now.. Mini series would have been great, but the last depiction of him on NF was an abomination. Just like Cleopatra's, again, on NF...

[SlapShotRegatta]

Poor casting, poor script, but there were some high points. A lot of unfulfilled potential. Too bad

[WarioSaysSo]

I remember watching this movie in the cinemas with my lill brother back in 2004 and we loved the movie. Sure I was in my teens and my history knowledge of Alexander was very basic, but like I said, movie wise we liked it.
Afterwards I got a theatre poster used, but my brother got a big paper cut-out of Alexander riding his horse while weilding his sword!
Mabey I still have that poster rolled up but I can't say for sure (?)

[SkyTurnsPurplePhotography]

The dancing scene where we first encounter the Persian dirvishes is one of the most elaborate, gorgeous, perfectly choreographed scenes ever made. The shadows, scale, costume design, music, the way the actors were blocked, the length of the shots... just flawless in every possible way.

There are scenes in films that unexpectedly go so far beyond expectation, and are just so engrossing and rich and visual. That scene where he is seduced by the woman who will become his wife, that scene is worth every annoying aspect of the film that leads up to it.

Another film, Plunkett & MacLeane, has a scene like that, the ball scene. It's absolutely breathtaking filmmaking in that scene as well.

Alexander was a mixture of contradictions. It had moments of boredom, some dialogue I didn't like, but it's still a strong film with some magic hidden in it. It wasn't profitable, initially, but eventually, it made solid earnings. It was not a flop.

Most film projects have these same issues in pre-production, especially big scale films.

Alexander is a lot like Eyes Wide Shut to me. I can't watch it often, but when I do, I appreciate the details, the quality of the filmmaking, the masterpiece scenes, and I can overlook the dialogue I don't particularly care for because the film is still worth watching.

The acting itself in Alexander is excellent, and so are the sets, the art direction, cinematography, and it does have a few scenes that are very unique to the film.

I also do like that it's not formulaic and predictable. It reminds me of the old epic films that were a mix of everything. Some of Ben Hur is boring, overacted, but that chariot scene and the scale of the film, and all the ingredients are there for an epic film.

[TheKOB]

I'm a die hard fan of the classical period... I walked out of the theatre halfway through this movie.

[Cyke]

Catherine Zeta Jones: I'm sorry, I can't do this film. Why don't you try Angelina Jolie?

Indian Elephants: We're sorry, we can't do this film. Why don't you ask the elephants from Operation: Dumbo Drop?

[klaudioabazi]

I really love the Ultimate Cut. Much better crafted than either cut. It's a flawed movie on many aspects but it has a special nostalgic feeling, and it will always have a soft spot on me.