Posted on 11/24/2004 11:52:30 AM PST by EveningStar
Not content to direct a merely mediocre historical epic, filmmaker Oliver Stone marshals all of his talent as a provocateur to direct a colossally bad one in "Alexander," starring Irishman Colin Farrell as the legendary Macedonian warlord.
It's a shame, too, because mediocrity is so tantalizingly within the director's reach. Beginning with Alexander's childhood around 350 B.C., Stone drafts a standard character arc involving Alexander's accomplished but ineffectual father, King Philip (Val Kilmer); his domineering, snake-charming mother, Olympias (Angelina Jolie, butchering vowels like Natasha from "Rocky and Bullwinkle"); and his precocious success as a field commander after rising to power following his father's assassination. All of it is recounted in flashback by one of Alexander's generals, Ptolemy, now a wizened Egyptian pharaoh played by Anthony Hopkins.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
About ten years ago, Michael Woods (the PBS guy) wrote the excellent "In the Footsteps of Alexander". I'll check my library, maybe they have a VHS copy of that PBS series.
related:
What Made Alexander So Great?
slate.msn.com ^ | Monday, Nov. 29, 2004, at 10:30 AM PT | Christopher Hitchens
Posted on 12/01/2004 9:12:17 AM PST by Destro
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1292048/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.