A dry, fitfully entertaining historical epic, Robert Rossen’s Alexander the Great features a first-rate cast and some arresting location cinematography all used to narrate a history of one of the planet’s youngest and most driven conquerors.
The Production: 3/5
A dry, fitfully entertaining historical epic, Robert Rossen’s Alexander the Great features a first-rate cast and some arresting location cinematography all used to narrate a history of one of the planet’s youngest and most driven conquerors. With decent historical accuracy and a fine leading role for Richard Burton, the film has its positives, but it’s weighed down by insufficient development of the people surrounding the young warrior, and auteur Rossen (who wrote, produced, and directed the film) either didn’t have the budget or didn’t take the time to make his epic more pictorially splendid (The Ten Commandments which came out the same year lays waste to the relatively meager production values of this presentation).
Proclaimed as a god at his birth by his devoted mother Olympias (Danielle Darrieux), Alexander of Macedonia (Richard Burton) grows into the role of scholar, artist, and warrior quickly, his charisma and ambition for recognition alarming his power-hungry father King Philip of Macedonia (Fredric March) who has made a solid reputation for himself as a ruthless conqueror. But as he grows older, he finds himself losing his focus and his agility, and when Philip is slain by a friend of Alexander whose mind had been poisoned by the quietly treacherous Olympias, Alexander slays him and establishes himself as the new ruler, determined to unite all of the Greek city-states in their war against the Persians. For a decade, Alexander uses his cunning and his knowledge of military strategy to outwit his enemies carving a path of destruction reaching through all of western Asia and into India, but the power-hungry demon consumes him as it had his father as he continually seeks new lands to conquer.
Writer-director Robert Rossen has used a rather patchwork technique for his script fashioning scenes that are sometimes only seconds long and occasionally ending in blackouts as a means of seguing into another shot. That technique has made the characterizations sketchy with the viewer never comfortably familiar enough with Alexander’s surrounding cast of characters. Even the major force in his life – his mother – drifts into and out of scenes staying on the sidelines and not letting us into her feverish brain as she plots ways to gain power for her son and thusly for herself. All of the coterie of warriors who form Alexander’s entourage are simply there behind him and are rarely identified and certainly not explored for their feelings, their loyalty, or their own desires. Only Cleitus (Gustavo Rojo) among those closest to him gets any screen time of note and his presence is specifically noteworthy only in his expression of disappointment over Alexander’s all-consuming thirst for domains to bring under his wing. Rossen stages three major battle scenes (the other military campaigns are covered in montage): Alexander against the Greeks and two battles against the Persians, but none have been executed with great fervor or with the expected rise and fall of momentum that draws the viewer into the great screen battles. Alexander’s personal life doesn’t get much attention either with two particular ladies Claire Bloom’s Barsine and Teresa Del Rio’s Roxane making occasional appearances without fanning much heat with their male co-star. The film’s final quarter hour with Alexander realizing he’s running out of time to accomplish his goals and dreams seems rushed and particularly unsatisfying.
Richard Burton speaks beautifully some of the famous homilies attributed to Alexander with that polished elocution that was unique to him, but the script doesn’t really allow him to dig deeply into Alexander’s psyche and one doesn’t leave the film with as much admiration for the character as might be his due (being saddled with a fluffy blonde wig doesn’t do the actor any favors either). Fredric March pulls out all the stops to make his Philip of Macedonia memorable: lurching for fame at any cost, drunkenly dancing and prancing with victory in his grasp, and lusting fiercely for a new wife after tiring of Olympias. Danielle Darrieux seems far too remote as Olympias, and Claire Bloom’s character of Barsine, wife of loyal Athenian General Memnon, isn’t well written, but she does what she can with it. A great bunch of character actors take their small parts as famous men and act them to pieces: Peter Cushing’s stubborn General Memnon, Barry Jones’ wise Aristotle, Michael Hordern’s crafty Demosthenes, and Harry Andrews’ cocksure Persian King Darrius.
Video: 4/5
3D Rating: NA
The film’s Cinemascope aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is faithfully rendered in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Color values are this transfer’s strong suit, and the saturation and solidity of the hues is impressive throughout with believable and appealing skin tones. Sharpness, on the other hand, varies throughout the presentation with quite a few long shots being soft and poorly defined and other occasional shots oddly cropped and blown up to make for something ugly and unnatural. Contrast has been consistently applied. As with many MGM high definition transfers, there are specks and spots here and there that sometimes are irritating. The movie has been divided into 24 chapters.
Audio: 4.5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo sound mix offers a very pleasing aural presentation. There is clear directionalized dialogue throughout, and Mario Nascimbene’s background score sounds very nice spread across the front soundstage. Atmospheric effects likewise reflect the era of sound recording and have been mixed with surety so as not to overpower the dialogue scenes.
Special Features: 3/5
Isolated Score and Effects Track: presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono.
Claire Bloom Interview (17:26, HD): the actress recalls her first meeting with Richard Burton and their subsequent acting experiences together as well as memories of filming the production in Spain.
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:52, SD)
MGM 90th Anniversary Trailer (2:06, HD)
Six-Page Booklet: contains some tinted stills, original poster art on the back cover, and film historian Julie Kirgo’s estimable examination of the career of Robert Rossen in conjunction with comments on the movie.
Overall: 3/5
Alexander the Great offers a decent historical look at one of the world’s most famous warriors, but recounting and explaining the man’s extraordinary life seems to be something difficult for filmmakers to get just right (Oliver Stone has struggled with different cuts of his biographical offering for many years). Regardless, there are only 3,000 copies of this Blu-ray available. Those interested in purchasing it should go to either www.twilighttimemovies.com or www.screenarchives.com to see if product is still in stock. Information about the movie can also be found via Facebook at www.facebook.com/twilighttimemovies.
Matt has been reviewing films and television professionally since 1974 and has been a member of Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2007, his reviews now numbering close to three thousand. During those years, he has also been a junior and senior high school English teacher earning numerous entries into Who’s Who Among America’s Educators and spent many years treading the community theater boards as an actor in everything from Agatha Christie mysteries to Stephen Sondheim musicals.
Post Disclaimer
Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.
Similar threads