Stone excells at making films that are contoversial. That does not equate with great. They generate a lot of discussion and press, but they are of minimal lasting influence.
Compare this movie with Lawrence of Arabia - another film about a larger than life military hero in the Middle East, also with homoerotic undertones. David Lean was a great filmmaker. Stone is just a workmanlike cinamatographer who occasionally releases a controversial propaganda opus.
Funny you mention it, Lean's Dr Zhivago is on AMC right now as I type.
They dont make em like they used to.
In present dollars, "Lawrence of Arabia" cost a mere $60 million.
The taking of Aqaba. One panning shot as the camera sweeps from the Arabs overrunning the Turkish pickets to them surging through the streets of the town to the final image of the Turkish naval gun pointing futilely out to sea.
I have to disagree with both of you. Wall St. was great. Salvador was great. Conan was a hell of a lot of fun. Midnight express, 8 million ways to die, Scarface were wonderful. Born on the Fourth of July was extremely powerful.