Alexander History and Story

This time we look at Oliver Stone's Alexander (2004) based on Robin Lan Fox's biography of Alexander the Great. The latter acted as historical advisor and it is rare to have so distinguished a scholar helping the team working on a film. Still, critics and audiences were not kind when the film was released. Judging thisfilm is made all the more complicated because there are several different versions of it, producing a range of run-times and structures. Our focus is more on thinking about what they were trying to do and how far any of it reflects history - which then leads to the problems of knowing what really happened to Alexander. Some of the film works, some of it does not, whichever version you choose. It was certainly an ambitious projects and there are some scenes that are really good. We look especially closely at the two big battle scenes. Hydaspes was deliberately stylised and, although it has its moments, is about serving a role in the story rather than strict accuracy. The Battle of Gaugamela stands out as one of the finest depictions of an ancient battle ever put on screen, and it's interesting to look at this and see how the story was simplified while keeping to the essence