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REVIEW: There can’t be many films that have been released and re-edited as often as Oliver Stone’s Alexander.
When the film first turned up in 2004, it was a flop. Despite having a couple of the best battle sequences ever put on film, the movie still dragged badly and spent far too much time talking about what Alexander did, without showing us why it mattered.
Also, the casting of Colin Farrell as the Macedonian king was widely regarded as a hilariously misguided. Russell Crowe in Gladiator and Mel Gibson in Braveheart were still fresh in the memory – and Farrell just didn’t fill out that toga the way we though a legendary historical king should have.
Stone was stung by the criticism – and released a home video Director’s Cut in 2005. This was nine minutes shorter than the theatrical cut, and probably should have been the version released to cinemas. The action arrived faster and the history lessons from Anthony Hopkins’ Ptolemy are slashed.
And then, in 2007, Stone released another version of Alexander. And this is the one that has just arrived on Netflix NZ.
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Angelina Jolie stars opposite Colin Farrell in Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut.
Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut comes in at three-and-a-half hours – 45 minutes longer than the original – with whole subplots restored and a couple of battles better explained and portrayed. The narration from Hopkins is still mostly left out – and the film is the better for it.
This “Final Cut” (spoiler: it wasn’t) is probably the right version to watch. It’s long, but it’s still more engaging and immersive than the original theatrical cut. And the Battle of Gaugamela, which is the first major set-piece in the film, is still rated as the best and most accurate staging of an ancient battle that any Hollywood movie has ever managed.
Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto and Rosario Dawson all star.
Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut is now available to stream on Netflix.
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