Alexander

Alexander (2004)

Timing: 2:56 (176 min)

6/10
3477

7.236/10
291789

5.6/10
183000

All about film

Video 3

Photo 77

Actors and characters

Release date

2004-11-21

Country

France, Germany, India, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures, Canal+, Dune Films, Summit Entertainment, Intermedia, IMF Internationale Medien und Film GmbH & Co. 3. Produktions KG, Pathé, France 2 Cinéma, France 3 Cinéma, Renn Productions, Egmond Film & Television, Pathé Renn Productions, India Take One Productions, Cecchi Gori Pictures, WR Universal Group, Pacifica Film, Santa International Film Productions, Banque Populaire Images 4, Cecchi Gori Group, Gordian Productions, The Great Filmproductie

Genre

War, History, Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance

Budget

$155 000 000

Revenue

$167 298 192

Website

Director

Oliver Stone

Actors

Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anthony Hopkins, Jessie Kamm, Christopher Plummer, Connor Paolo, Patrick Carroll
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Iain Smith, Oliver Stone, Thomas Schühly, Jon Kilik, Moritz Borman, Tabrez Noorani, Santa Pestonji, Pierre Grunstein, Paul Rassam, Matthias Deyle

Operator

Rodrigo Prieto

Composer

Vangelis

Artist

Frederic Evard, Claudio Campana, Christian Huband

Audition

Suzanne Crowley, Lucinda Syson, Billy Hopkins

Editing

Yann Hervé, Thomas J. Nordberg, Gladys Joujou
All team (282)

• The scenes with elephants were filmed in Thailand, at the Phu Kae Central Botanical Garden, 130 km north of Bangkok. The filming lasted 2.5 weeks. The garden was partially altered by designer Jean Ralphs. Originally, the scenes were planned to be filmed in India, but the local elephants were difficult to train.
• The lead actor, Colin Farrell, suffered an unfortunate injury during filming – he broke his ankle after falling from a ladder on set.
• In December 2003, a group of homeless Swedes lined up to buy tickets for "Alexander," even though the premiere wasn't scheduled until late November 2004. They intended to pitch tents near the cinema and live in them for about a year. This was a kind of protest action aimed at drawing the authorities' attention to the problem of homelessness in the Swedish capital. The homeless were trying to capitalize on a statement made by an influential politician, who had declared that any movie fan had the right to pitch a tent and live in central Stockholm while waiting for tickets to a world premiere. However, the politician certainly had a different film in mind – "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003).
• Oliver Stone’s inspiration for creating this film came from the biography of Alexander the Great, written by historian Robin Lane Fox.
• Brad Pitt was considered for the role of Hephaestion, but the actor himself refused to play the character due to personal dislike of his actions. Ultimately, the role went to Jared Leto.
• Oliver Stone initially planned to cast Tom Cruise in the lead role.
• The role of Philip was originally intended for Sean Connery, but ultimately it was played by Val Kilmer.
• Oliver Stone and Val Kilmer first discussed the idea of making a film about the life of Alexander the Great on the set of "Doors" (1991).
• Val Kilmer gained over 20 kilograms for the role of Alexander's father, King Philip II, and also spent a full hour each day in the hands of makeup artists, who "aged" him and applied a scar to his face. The makeup artists tried to make Kilmer's face resemble the historical appearance of Philip, known from his images and skull reconstruction from the so-called "tomb of Philip."
• The film's grand failure is often attributed to Stone's rather frank depiction of the protagonist's bisexuality, which alienated most viewers who expected to see a heroic commander and warrior at the center of the film. Alexander's bisexuality is confirmed by ancient authors, but the film focuses on the king's relationship with his friend Hephaestion, which became the subject of later speculation.
• The Macedonian phalanx was played by soldiers of the Moroccan army.
• A scandal erupted in Greece before the film's release, involving the Greek public, who called for a boycott of the film because it diminishes the image of Alexander by portraying him as bisexual.
• Due to the failure of 'Alexander,' director Baz Luhrmann's long-developed project 'Alexander the Great,' starring Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio, was put on hold.
• Oliver Stone released two additional versions besides the theatrical release: Alexander — Director's Cut (2004) and Alexander Revisited — The Final Cut (2007). In Alexander Revisited, the scenes are arranged in a different order and supplemented with previously cut footage.
• Heath Ledger was originally chosen for the lead role.
• Colin Farrell suffered a severe sunburn during filming.
• Angelina Jolie has greenish-gray eyes, but she had to wear contact lenses to achieve the expressive light-gray eyes of Olympias.
• Rosario Dawson refused to film nude, and neither the director nor the screenwriter's persuasion worked. She was only convinced by her colleagues on set, particularly her co-stars Colin Farrell and Angelina Jolie.
• Many famous actresses auditioned for the role of Olympias: Mila Jovovich, Nicole Kidman, Monica Bellucci, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Jovovich had too busy a schedule, Kidman didn't fit the appearance, Bellucci was almost approved but then refused, citing a difficult relationship with Colin Farrell, while Jones believed that Angelina Jolie would handle the role better.
• With the support of weapons master Richard Hooper, a huge amount of weaponry was created for the Macedonian, Persian, and Indian armies. During preparation for filming, Hooper and his team had to equip more than 1,500 soldiers each day, requiring the manufacture of over 12,000 types of weapons and equipment: approximately 1,000 pikes, 2,000 shields, 2,000 swords, 750 bows, and 9,000 arrows.
• Former Marine Captain Dale Dye served as a military training consultant on the film "Alexander".
• Filming took place from September 22, 2003, to February 2004.
• The lead actor, Colin Farrell, suffered an unfortunate injury during filming – he broke his ankle falling down the stairs during a take.
• In December 2003, a group of homeless Swedes lined up to buy tickets for "Alexander," even though the premiere was not scheduled until late November 2004. They intended to pitch tents near the cinema and live in them for about a year. This was a kind of protest action, aimed at drawing the authorities' attention to the problem of homelessness in the Swedish capital. The homeless were trying to capitalize on a statement by an influential politician who had proclaimed that any movie lover had the right to pitch a tent and live in central Stockholm while waiting for tickets to a world premiere. However, the politician undoubtedly had another film in mind at the time – "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003).
• Oliver Stone drew inspiration for this painting from the biography of Alexander the Great, written by historian Robin Lane Fox.
• Brad Pitt was initially considered for the role of Hephaestion, but the actor himself refused to play the character due to personal disapproval of his actions. Jared Leto eventually landed the role.
• Sean Connery was supposed to play the role of Philip, but Val Kilmer ultimately performed it.
• Oliver Stone and Val Kilmer first discussed the idea of making a film about the life of Alexander the Great on the set of 'Doors' (1991).
• Val Kilmer gained over 20 kilograms for the role of Alexander’s father, King Philip II, and also spent a full hour each day with makeup artists who aged him and applied a scar to his face. The makeup artists tried to make Kilmer’s face resemble the historical appearance of Philip, as known from his portraits and the reconstruction of his skull from the so-called 'tomb of Philip'.
• Following the failure of "Alexander," Baz Luhrmann's long-developed project "Alexander the Great," starring Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio, was shelved.
• Oliver Stone released two further versions in addition to the theatrical release: Alexander — Director’s Cut (2004) and Alexander Revisited — The Final Cut (2007). In Alexander Revisited, scenes are arranged in a different order and supplemented with previously cut footage.