Alexander

The biography of Alexander by Oxford University professor Robin Lane Fox was an original inspiration and source of information for writer and director Oliver Stone. As a historical advisor, Professor Fox didn't get on-screen credit. His price for giving his advice was to be allowed to take a place at the head of what is one of the largest cavalry charges ever filmed. Professor Fox was used to riding around the English countryside, but gladly dressed up as a Macedonean cavalry officer to live his dream of charging for Alexander.

Ptolemy I is depicted recounting the story of Alexander in 283 B.C. The Lighthouse at Alexandria, seen in the background, was built during the reign of his son Ptolemy II, around 270 B.C.

The Director's Cut is 9 minutes shorter than the 175-minute theatrical version. It is a reworked version although seamless to many. 18 minutes were cut and 9 added. Many of the added or extended sequences involve Val Kilmer and Angelina Jolie's characters. The battle of Gaugamela now starts earlier. Taking a cue from classic movie epics, the opening reel now set up the basic themes with greater economy: Alexander's Oedipal relationship with his parents, Olympias' ambitions for her son, the boy's need to surpass his father, and the entirely natural way in which myth/religion is shown as integral to the ancients' behavior. Oliver Stone reworked the third act, too, juxtaposing events in India and Greece. Jolie's Olympias emerges now more as a genuinely pathetic figure in the whole tragedy. Ptolemy's final scene was edited. Stone also slightly reworked Alexander's death scene because of audience feedback, adding 17 seconds to the scene.

Featured in Charging for Alexander (2004)