Rating summary
Movie | | 3.0 |
Video | | 4.0 |
Audio | | 4.5 |
Extras | | 4.5 |
Overall | | 3.5 |
Alexander Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Michael Reuben June 7, 2014
Good trial attorneys never say to a witness, "I just have one more question", because they may
have to go back on their word. What if something else important occurs to them during the
witness' answer? Similarly, Oliver Stone probably shouldn't have called his 2007 extended
version of Alexander "The Final Cut", especially
given Stone's well-established penchant for
tinkering with his films. He also should have left himself some wiggle room in the note included
with the two-disc DVD set, where he said: "[R]est assured this is my last pass, as there is no
more footage to be found" (emphasis added). Sure enough, seven years later, here comes the
writer/director, on Alexander's tenth anniversary, with yet another "pass". This one is entitled
Alexander, The Ultimate Cut, presumably because the word "final" was already taken, but maybe
filmmakers and studios should quit using such definitive names for these works-in-progress.
Who knows whether this is the last Alexander? Think of this as The 2014 Special Edition.
In total, Stone has released four versions of a project that was his life-long ambition. His
biographical portrait of the enigmatic Greek hero known as Alexander the Great now exists in:
- a Theatrical Cut released in 2004;
- a Director's Cut released on DVD simultaneously with the Theatrical Cut in 2005;
- the so-called Final Cut from 2007; and
- the Ultimate Cut.
Until now, only the Final Cut was available on Blu-ray, but with this two-disc set, both the
Ultimate Cut and the Theatrical Cut make their Blu-ray debut. The Ultimate Cut is being released
simultaneously as a
separate disc. For reasons
discussed at greater length in the Feature section of
this review, I don't recommend it. The Theatrical Cut of
Alexander has its share of problems, but
it's Stone's best version of the film, assembled in the heat of the creative process. Ever since
then, Stone has been second-guessing himself, and the film has suffered for it.
In the interest of full disclosure, I note that I have only watched the Theatrical Cut and the
Ultimate Cut to completion. I'm generally a fan of Stone, but not of
Alexander. Watching the
film in two versions for this review gave me a new appreciation of what Stone was attempting to
do, as well as some understanding of why he failed. As the film's narrator, Ptolemy, says of his
former king and commander, some men's failure towers over others' successes. Even when
Stone's films don't work as a whole, they are interesting for their aspirations and for individual
elements. But the fact that Stone keeps re-cutting
Alexander amounts to a public confession that
the film remains problematic. It's striking that the Blu-ray's half-hour documentary, which
features a group of talking heads enthusing over the historical figure that Stone tried to bring to
life on screen, makes him seem more vibrant and vital than three-plus hours of an Oscar-winning
director's labors using all the resources that modern cinema has to offer.
Stone attempts to tell, so far as it can be known, the life story of a young man who, in his mid-twenties, conquered the entire known world across
Europe and Asia. In so doing, Alexander
reimagined warfare and battle tactics, invented the notion of empire that the Romans would
perfect and expanded the concept of "society" beyond an individual's immediate town or city. By
unifying the world as a conqueror, he invented it as the concept we know today. He also became
the first "celebrity ruler". His status as a legend was cemented by an early death just shy of his
thirty-third birthday. Stone sought to explore all of these challenging themes—and on top of them,
to take on Alexander's essential loneliness, his complex sexuality, his tortured relationships with
his parents (who hated each other) and the contradictory role of the visionary in society, a theme
that has intrigued Stone ever since
The Doors.
That's an ambitious underaking, and Stone's biggest challenge as both writer and director was
selecting a focus. A "dramatist" (as Stone calls himself in his commentary) has to choose his
priorities. He has to decide what story elements will provide the "spine" or "through line" that
will keep an audience grounded, engaged and absorbed. Then, if the dramatist is skilled enough,
other elements can be folded in as subtext, not all of which has to be perceived on an initial
viewing. Indeed, the best and most durable dramatic and cinematic works are those that reveal
hidden dimensions on repeat viewings. Still, the work must play well on that initial encounter.
Otherwise, the audience won't come back to discover the subtext.
In
Alexander's Theatrical Version, Stone took the most common approach for a biographical
portrait by proceeding in (mostly) chronological order, taking Alexander from young boy to man
and leader and dramatizing several of his major campaigns. As an introduction, the Theatrical
Version opened with a brief scene of Alexander on his deathbed and a speech, many years later,
by one of his generals, Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins), now an old man dictating his memoirs.
Through Ptolemy's introduction, we are provided an overview of the immense destiny toward
which the young Alexander (first Jessie Kamm, then Connor Paolo) is heading, as we watch him
being pulled back and forth between his irascible, one-eyed father, Philip (Val Kilmer), King of
Macedonia, and his scheming mother, Olympias (Angelina Jolie), a suspected witch who claims
that Alexander's real father is the god Zeus.
For just over half an hour, we experience the young Alexander's education under the great
philosopher Aristotle (Christopher Plummer), his physical training by a wrestling coach (Brian
Blessed), and his growing friendship with the young Hephaistion (Patrick Carroll), who becomes
Alexander's closest friend, because Hephaistion won't let him win in the ring just because he's
the prince. It's the beginning of a life-long relationship in which Alexander can always trust
Hephaistion to tell him the truth. Meanwhile, both of his parents, each with their own designs,
fill Alexander's head with tales of legendary Greeks like Achilles and Heracles (a/k/a Hecules),
while Alexander dreams of joining these names in the annals of glory.
The only major departure from chronological order in the Theatrical Cut is Alexander's
ascension to the throne after Philip's death. Stone saves that for a major flashback near the end of
the film, in part because it also marks Alexander's estrangement from his domineering mother,
who thereafter becomes a reproachful voice in his head, through her letters from Greece.
"It's a high ransom she charges for nine months lodging in the womb", says the adult Alexander
(Colin Farrell) to Hephaistion (played as an adult by Jared Leto). Otherwise, with occasional
narration from old Ptolemy, the Theatrical Cut follows Alexander on his many campaigns in the
East, including his distinctive habit of founding cities named Alexandria and recruiting those he
conquered into his empire and army. The latter practice often leads to disgruntled muttering
among his generals, who consider plunder and enslavement to be their due. As often as his
soldiers cheer Alexander, they also come to doubt his vision. Feuds, mutinies and plots become
as much a part of his campaigns as actual battle, all of which reinforces Alexander's sense of
isolation. (Marriage to a barbarian woman named Roxane, played by Rosario Dawson, only
leaves him feeling more alone.)
Following a harsh and bloody campaign in India, Alexander returns to Babylon, where he dies;
whether of typhus or poison is unknown. Having failed to name a successor, he leaves a
squabbling clan of generals behind, and his empire is quickly dismantled. The campaign in India
is the occasion of the second of two major battles showcased in
Alexander. The first occurs
shortly after Alexander has ascended to Philip's thrown, when he invades the Persian Empire
ruled by Darius III (Raz Degan). In the historic Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander leads his forces
to victory against a much larger Persian opposition, removing Darius from the throne and
reshaping the map of the known world. Stone stages Gaugamela with all the kinetic energy of a
master filmmaker, which is no mean feat, because the battle involved complex military tactics in
which Alexander split his army into several flanks to divert key portions of the Persian army. If
the audience has no sense of who the generals are when they are implementing the commander's
instructions, the result appears as confusion, not military genius.
And confusion is exactly what Stone offers in the Ultimate Cut, where he has moved the Battle
of Gaugamela to the beginning, in contrast to the Theatrical Cut, where it occurs more than half
an hour into the film, after viewers have had a chance to get acquainted with key fighters like
Hephaistion, the young Ptolemy (Elliot Cowan), Cassander (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), Parmenion
(John Kavanagh) and his son, Philotas (Joseph Morgan), Crateros (Rory McCann) and Cleitus
(Gary Stretch). In the Ultimate Cut, as the two armies confront each other, and the generals ride
back and forth while the screen flashes titles like "Macedonian Left" and "Macedonian Center",
the viewer is left to guess who's who (except for Alexander and Darius) and exactly what they're
doing. The great battle that initially served as the climax of the film's first act has now become
its half-hour introduction: a swirling confusion of warriors, armament, dust and the eagle that
flies over the battlefield representing the Olympian eye of Zeus.
The entire rest of the Ultimate Cut proceeds in a zig-zag fashion, leaping backward and forward
in time, with the scenes of Alexander's boyhood parceled out over the length of the film and the
action constantly interrupted by flashbacks and flash-forwards. Titles proclaiming "
X Years
Earlier" and "
Y Years Later" multiply so rapidly that one quickly gives up trying to follow the
timeline. Key portions of the old Ptolemy's speech that helped launch the Theatrical Cut by
explaining Alexander's importance have now been moved to the very end of the film, where it
serves as a summing up instead of an introduction. But if the film has done its work, that kind of
summing up shouldn't be necessary.
One can debate the merits of specific additional footage and of various editorial changes, but
Stone's larger decision to depart from chronological order—which began with the Final Cut—is
the act of a storyteller who has become so immersed in his material that he neglects the
audience. Most contemporary viewers know little about the culture of ancient Greece and even
less about Alexander the Great. It is Stone's job as a storyteller to lead such viewers into this
world, familiarize them with it, intrigue them, then show them why this atypical man is someone
they should care about. Despite many lapses and imperfections, the Theatrical Cut made such an
effort. The Ultimate Cut is strictly for the initiated. It's as if Stone were trying to bring to the
surface all the subtext he thinks people missed in the Theatrical Cut, but in the process forgot
that he is also supposed to tell a coherent story.
Alexander Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
Alexander was shot by the fine Mexican cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, who recently shot The
Wolf of Wall Street for Martin Scorsese, having previously lensed Stone's Wall Street sequel,
Money Never Sleeps. The film was
finished at 2K on a digital intermediate, from which the
Theatrical Cut's Blu-ray was presumably sourced. No information was available on the
provenance of the Ultimate Cut, but the lack of any inconsistency between added and original
footage strongly suggests that it, too, was sourced from digital files. Stone made extensive use of
digital effects, not only to recreate ancient cities such as Babylon and Alexandria, but also to
multiply crowds and armies, as well as enhancing gore effects and changing color saturations to
reflect emotional shifts in the story. (Stone points out many of these moments in his
commentary.)
The two 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-rays included in this set have a consistent look and feel, such
that scenes occurring in both of them look essentially the same (although so many small editing
changes have been made that synching up a scene is a challenge). The image is finely detailed,
within the limits of a 2K source, and sharp without the harshly digital edges that sometimes
accompany video origination. Blacks in night scenes and in a key sequence in underground
caves, where the young Alexander is brought by his father, are deep and solid. The color palette
shows tremendous range, from the delicate blues and pastels of old Ptolemy's rooms overlooking
the harbor at Alexandria to the dusty browns and earth towns at Guagamela to the intensely
saturated reds of the battle in India. Contrast is excellent and never overblown.
As is often the case with films finished on a DI, there is little or no visible grain, since DI
colorists don't try to reproduce grain from fresh negative in that way that, e.g., a film
preservationist would attempt to do with material from a pre-digital era.. This is especially so
when the DI colorist knows that numerous digital effects will be added in post-production, which
would then require an extra layer of "digital grain" in order to blend.
The Ultimate Cut has an average bitrate of 19.57 Mbps, while the shorter Theatrical Cut averages
20.08 Mbps. Both are on the low side, especially given Alexander's huge battle scenes. Warner
has gotten away with these low averages, because the black letterbox bars of the 2.40:1 image
lessen the bandwidth requirement and also because Alexander contains lengthy scenes of
conversation with relatively little motion, where the compressionist can conserve space. Still, it
would be preferable to split any film the length of The Ultimate Cut into two discs. It does, after
all, have an intermission, which would seem to be the ideal break point.
Note: The last five screenshots are from the Theatrical Cut and are labeled as such.
Alexander Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
Alexander's 5.1 soundtrack, presented on both Blu-ray discs in lossless DTS-HD MA, provides
thunderous impact to the two great battle scenes, with arrows flying, horses (and, in India,
elephants) galloping, spears, sword and cudgels striking blows, and men yelling and screaming.
The full surround array is engaged during such sequences, and the surrounds also lend powerful
support to major crowd scenes when Alexander addresses his men or is entertained by his new
allies, or when King Philip celebrates his engagement to a new wife or enters a ceremonial
gathering where he is cheered by his subjects. Subtler effects can be heard when Alexander and
the young Ptolemy stand atop the Himalayas and recall the story of Prometheus and his
punishment at the hands of Zeus; the sounds of chill mountain winds are quietly audible on the
soundtrack.
Dialogue is generally clear, although Val Kilmer often slurs his words as Philip, usually for
deliberate effect. The score by Vangelis (Chariots of Fire
and Blade Runner) is majestic, lush
and dynamic—by far one of the best elements of Alexander.
Alexander Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
Ultimate Cut:
- Commentary with Oliver Stone: Perhaps the most striking feature of Stone's new
commentary is that nowhere does he directly address the reason for revisiting Alexander
anew after The Final Cut. Nor does he describe differences between The Final Cut and
the new version. Instead, Stone talks continuously (or so it appears; the commentary has
obviously been edited together from several sessions) about all aspects of the film, the
actors and their performances, the production design and cinematography, the themes and
imagery and, above all, the history, both known and inferred, of the historical Alexander
and the people around him. Stone is frank about the many aspects of the story that had to
be invented and the many uncertainties surrounding Alexander's life and especially his
death (was he poisoned? if so, by whom?). As fascinating as much of Stone's
presentation is, he too often sounds like someone trying to make a case for the film
because the film is failing to speak for itself.
- The Real Alexander and the World He Made (1080p; 1.78:1; 29:45): This artfully
constructed documentary features a collection of scholars enthusiastically discussing the
historical Alexander and his accomplishments, based on their years of study. Stone also
participates, as does his long-time collaborator, former U.S. Marine and military historian
Dale Dye, who directed the second unit on Alexander.
- Fight Against Time: Oliver Stone's Alexander (480i; 1.85:1, enhanced; 1:16:13): This
is the same documentary by Sean Stone previously included on Alexander Revisited: The
Final Cut.
Theatrical Cut:
These extras have been ported over from the 2005 two-disc DVD release of
Alexander's
theatrical cut. The documentaries, Vangelis featurette and trailers reappeared, along with the
"Fight Against Time" documentary, on
Alexander Revisited:
The Final Cut.
- Commentary with Oliver Stone and Robin Lane Fox: Fox is a historian of ancient
Greece at Oxford University who served as historical advisor to the film. He and Stone
were recorded separately and their comments edited together. Stone's observations on the
structure of the Theatrical Cut are particularly interesting in light of his subsequent major
revisions. Fox's description of some of the services he rendered to the production and his
approving comments on the film's invented scenes provide an interesting perspective on
the challenges of transforming history into narrative fiction, especially where the
historical record itself is full of gaps.
- Resurrecting Alexander (480i; 1.33:1; 26:41).
- Perfect Is the Enemy of Good (480i; 1.33:1; 28:53).
- The Death of Alexander (480i; 1.33:1; 31:16).
- Vangelis Scores Alexander (480i; 2.39:1; 4:31).
- Trailers (480i; 2.39:1).
- Teaser Trailer (1:55).
- Theatrical Trailer (1:57).
Non-Blu-ray Extras
- The Art of Alexander: A small book of storyboards, production stills and behind-the-scenes photos.
- Correspondence: Examples of letters written by Stone to the cast and crew, plus a letter
written by Anthony Hopkins to Stone.
- Stone's Alexander: A Scholar's Perspective: A historical note by Ivana Petrovic, Senior
Lecturer in Greek Lecturer at Durham University.
Alexander Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
At several points in Alexander, Stone employs a technique he began with JFK and fully
developed in Natural Born Killers that he calls
"vertical editing". It allows a filmmaker to
deepen an event—to descend, if you will, into its subtext—through inserts of images that are
deliberately not part of the scene. At key moments in Alexander, when a character is speaking,
we will see them for a flash as Alexander does: not speaking, but staring at him with mockery. A
subordinate expressing anger will morph for a moment into the image of his father, Philip. The
image of his devious mother will suddenly flash into Alexander's head. "Vertical editing" was
one of Stone's most creative breakthroughs in the cinematic interweaving of story and subtext,
but one must plan in advance to make the movie in that fashion. Otherwise, the necessary footage
may not get shot.
Stone's restless re-cutting of Alexander, and his steady retreat from the Theatrical Cut's
chronological order, appears to be an attempt to impose "vertical editing" on a film that wasn't
shot for it. The Ultimate Cut contains a number of powerful and impressive sequences, but as a
whole, it lacks the impact of the Theatrical Cut. For anyone seeing the Ultimate Cut as their first
encounter with Alexander, I strongly recommend first watching "The Real Alexander"
documentary as an introduction. Otherwise, the Theatrical Cut is the place to start. For existing
fans of the film, this two-disc set is an easy recommendation, because it's the only way to obtain
the original version on Blu-ray. For those new to the Alexander experience, I suggest renting
whatever version is easiest to get, and see whether it grabs your interest.