Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

By

  • Genre: Adventure, History, Drama, War
  • Release Date: 1956-03-28
  • Runtime: 136 minutes
  • : 5.9
  • Production Company: Rossen Films
  • Production Country: Spain, United States of America
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5.9/10
5.9
From 86 Ratings

Description

An engrossing spectacle set in the 4th-century BC, in which Alexander of Greece leads his troops forth, conquering all of the known world, in the belief that the Greek way of thinking will bring enlightenment to people. The son of the barbaric and ruthless King Philip of Macedonia, Alexander achieved glory in his short but remarkable life.

Trailer

Reviews

  • CinemaSerf

    6
    By CinemaSerf
    This is essentially a story all of it's own. Though history forms the basis of the subject, Richard Burton's depiction strays quite wilfully from any of the more established legends that are Alexander of Macedonia - or it just chooses to create a completely new one. Frederic March is good as his borderline megalomanic father Philip. with whom Alexander has a love/hate relationship as is Danielle Darrieux - his glamorous, and equally enigmatic mother Olympias who is constantly filling her son's head with tales of his divine origins. The tale leads us on a colourful adventure through his life without much subtlety, artistry or style - indeed Burton is pretty wooden throughout. To be fair, he has little by way of good dialogue to work with and although the assembled cast is impressive, they rarely work together well enough to create anything like a sense of peril, achievement or anything much, really - with Stanley Baker and Clare Bloom as the Persian Princess Barsine proving to be casting at it's most curious. As you'd expect, the budget wasn't meagre and the craft elements are stunningly produced; costumes, scenery and the battle scenes are all staged well with plenty of action. It's far too long however, and the chances to develop the more historically interesting facets of their characterisations are pretty much all missed. Just goes to show that money isn't everything...

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