Oliver Stone’s Alexander Went From Terrible to Great – Without Anyone Noticing
Oliver Stone’s Alexander had everything in its favor during production: an epic story based on one of the most important historical figures of all time, a star-studded cast and an expensive budget, not to mention a passionate director who’d been waiting decades to make this film. But the movie failed to enchant audiences and critics, leading to low box-office earnings. Although it eventually made back its budget, it was a flop by all accounts. Stone came back to the film with several cuts and, after making considerable changes in a Blu-ray released “Ultimate Cut,” turned a terrible movie into a great cinematic piece — and almost nobody noticed.
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The early 2000s saw the return of the epic to the big screen. Ridley Scott’s Gladiator and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy proved there was an audience for a comeback of historical epics like Spartacus and Ben-Hur. Stone found the perfect timing to finally bring to the screen his passion project, the cinematic biopic of Alexander the Great. Warner Bros. came on board, the production spent six months shooting, and he cast Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson and the late Christopher Plummer. So what went wrong?
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Alexander, the Terrible Theatrical Piece
Stone’s theatrical cut of Alexander, as a whole, wasn’t good, even though its talent made a competent effort for the best outcome. The character-driven narrative was too safe for a director who was usually bolder, and considering he was aiming to tell the story of one of the greatest historical figures in history, there simply wasn’t enough time to do him justice through every important incident, even though the film ran past two and a half hours. The story of the Macedonian was narrated by Hopkins, playing Alexander’s mentor Ptolemy, as if to fill in some of the storyline blanks, but still not enough to comprise Alexander’s strategic brilliance. The soundtrack was arguably the best thing about Alexander, composed and conducted by Vangelis, and stood out from the rest of the muddle.
Alexander would not be inspiring more recent historical tales, and even Colin Farrell recently confessed he felt ashamed of the movie. Moreover, Stone had promised to be quite straightforward when approaching Alexander’s bisexuality, but even there he conformed to heteronormative pressures. While there were long, passionate glances between Alexander and his childhood friend, Hephaistion (Jared Leto), their romance was brushed to the side, along with suggestions of Alexander sharing a bed with his servant, Bagoas (Francisco Bosch). On the other hand, Stone emphasized a sensual and heavy sexual scene between Alexander and his wife, Rosario Dawson’s Roxane.
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Alexander, the Great Ultimate Cut
Oliver Stone tried to correct his mistakes by returning to the editing room after the film’s release. After all, such a passion project deserved a happier ending. There are a total of four different versions of Alexander: the first theatrical release, the “Director’s Cut,” a “Final Cut,” and lastly, an “Ultimate Cut,” and it was in this last version that the film finally achieved its greatness. After several tweaks, edits and additional scenes, Stone managed to refine an indisputable proper version of the film and one that should have made its way to the big screen in the first place. Clocking at 206 minutes, it finally had time to breathe as the scenes found a proper rhythm. The characters were allowed to fully develop during the film’s extended runtime, helping the viewers to understand who they were and what they were seeking.
Stone abandoned the chronological sequence of events in favor of Alexander’s accomplishments as a legend, thus creating a pattern that better fulfilled the story. It allowed the film to focus more on Alexander and avoid overfilling the narrative, even if it kept Ptolomy’s narration to highlight a few key points. But mainly, it enhanced Colin Farrell’s nuanced performance, balancing Alexander’s emotional side and his aggressiveness while also expanding deeper into his bisexuality between Hephaistion, Roxane and Bagoas. The Ultimate Cut of Alexander was not a perfect movie, but even if it took longer than expected, Oliver Stone somewhat redeemed himself. The film’s tagline could finally apply to its creator: “fortune favors the bold,” indeed.
