Alexander Original Theatrical Version: 2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition DVD Set Review

Buy This DVD Set Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!

Title: Alexander Original Theatrical Version: 2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition

Region: One

Genre: Biographical Drama

Stars: Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, and Anthony Hopkins

Writers: Oliver Stone and Christopher Kyle

Director: Oliver Stone

Feature length: 175 minutes

Extras: Feature Length Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Oliver Stone And Historian Robin Lane Fox, Three Part Feature Length Documentary, Vangelis Scores Alexander Featurette, Theatrical Trailers, DVD-ROM Link To World Of Alexander The Great Website

Languages: English and French Language Dubbed In Quebec Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Subtitles: English Closed Captions and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles

Packaging: Single Size Two-Disc Keep Case

Chapter Stops: 40

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Year of Theatrical Release: 2004/DVD Release: 2005

Theatrical Distributor: Warner Brothers Pictures

Home Video Distributor: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: R

Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera

I was gritting my teeth as I wrote this review because I had written a long comparative DVD review of “Alexander: Original Theatrical Version: 2-Disc Special Edition” and was all ready to prepare it for publication at GENRE ONLINE.NET, only to discover the floppy disc I had saved the file on was corrupted and so I had to start again from scratch. Sorry, but I need to blow of some steam here since I had to rewrite everything from scratch. After writing and publishing my DVD review of “Alexander Director’s Cut: 2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition” I requested and received Warner Home Video’s “Alexander Original Theatrical Version: 2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition” because I wanted to see under the best home video conditions possible if there truly was any difference between the Director’s Cut and the Original Theatrical Version and ultimately decide which is in my opinion the better version of the film to see and why?

I see Oliver Stones filmography as a series of trilogies. There is his Vietnam trilogy, which is made up of “Platoon”, “Born On The Fourth Of July”, and “Heaven And Earth.” There is his 1980s trilogy that is made up of “Salvador”, “Wall Street”, and “Talk Radio.” Then there is his 1990s trilogy, which is made up of “Natural Born Killers”, “U Turn”, and “Any Given Sunday.” In one case at least, Oliver Stone acknowledged his thematic Vietnam trilogy when “Heaven And Earth” was first released theatrically. For Stone, who is a Vietnam Veteran, the film was a reconciliation of sorts. I am not sure if Oliver Stone would agree with me on the other trilogies or not, but all of the films I have noted above are in many ways still timely today while still reflecting a vision of a time now past. Now I see “Alexander” as the conclusion to a trilogy of biographic feature films Oliver Stone began with “The Doors” and continued with “Nixon.” I consider “The Doors” to be a biographical film because really the central focus of the film is Jim Morrison. Interestingly of the three biographical films Stone has directed, “Nixon” was probably the best received at least critically. “The Doors” like “Alexander” got a lukewarm response critically when it was first released theatrically. Now all three films have been released and re-released on DVD in altered version under the heading of a “Director’s Cut”, “Special Edition” or both. Biographies are perhaps the most difficult kind of film to produce because there are always going to be people who will say, “I was there and that’s not the way things happened” and so on. Doing a film about Alexander The Great gave Stone an advantage as well as a disadvantage that would prove extremely challenging.

The advantage that first comes to mind is there is no one alive today that witnessed the actions of Alexander The Great first hand, but the disadvantage is that there have been so many biographical accounts and discoveries made over time that there is absolutely no way anyone can make a film about Alexander The Great and satisfy everyone with an interest in the subject matter let alone try to capture on film what history has painted to be a very complicated man. So for Oliver Stone perhaps the best advantages he had as filmmaker are a maturity and wisdom that one gains with age and experience and the true fact that in last decade and a half digital technology has enabled filmmakers to recreate worlds that twenty years ago just would not have been practical to dramatize using more conventional methods of filmmaking. Now and in the future the only thing that limits a filmmaker, especially one like Oliver Stone, is the imagination.

The theatrical version of “Alexander” is 8 minutes longer than the Director’s Cut. The story is presented in a more linear fashion and as a result the build up toward the sword and sandal action that viewers expected to see on the big screen takes longer. There are also more scenes with Jared Leto and Colin Farrell that reveals what Oliver Stone describes as Alexander’s “Pan Sexuality.” One has to take into consideration that values and beliefs were very different back then as opposed to contemporary times. It is not so much that homosexuality or bisexuality was openly encouraged, but between two men it was acceptable to share a bonding that went beyond the boundaries of brotherhood. However when you are a King like Alexander, just as the media as well as the public scrutinize celebrities and public figures more closely than it does private citizens, so it would be not uncommon that a man of Alexander’s stature would be watched, written about, and spoken of. You don’t need tabloids and paparazzi in order to spread gossip. The hunt for the murderers of King Darius is also expounded upon more so in the Original Theatrical Version than in the Director’s Cut. However the pacing of “Alexander Director’s Cut” is much better than the Original Theatrical Version and there are some new scenes that appear in the Director’s Cut that help to round off the story better too. Ultimately what makes the Director’s Cut in my opinion superior to the Original Theatrical Version is that in reshaping and reorganizing the film in a more nonlinear fashion, Stone is able to bring key character and story points in a clearer fashion than in the Original Theatrical Version.

Cosmetically, both DVD versions of the film are presented in a beautiful anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of approximately (2.35:1) and the picture quality is flawless, however the colors in the theatrical version appear a bit more vibrant while the Director’s Cut looks grittier. It is unclear if the muted tones found in the Director’s Cut is something Stone consciously chose or if the color timing somehow just carried over differently between DVD editions. Even the manner in which the film is viewed, like the choice of television for example can yield unintended results no matter how skilled one as at tweaking their home theater setup.

An aggressive English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack has also been included along with English Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and English, French, and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded onto the first disc as options. Exclusive to the Original Theatrical Version is the addition of a French Language Dubbed In Quebec Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack option. Also exclusive to the Original Theatrical Version are the feature length comments by Historian Robin Lane Fox. Fox’s comments are very interesting in part because as a consultant on the film, he brings perspective to the screen action that is different from Oliver Stone’s. He also has no problem pointing out where the film takes dramatic license. Unfortunately Mr. Fox’s comments are edited with what are more or less excerpts from the feature length audio commentary with Writer/Director Oliver Stone that is exclusive to the Director’s Cut DVD set. It would have been nice to either have the two men sit together for a commentary session that is different from the solo one Stone provides on the Director’s Cut or to just provide a separate commentary with Historian Robin Lane Fox. As it is I’d say both are equally interesting and well worth listening to, but if you want to hear the complete uncut Oliver Stone feature length audio commentary track, you will have to buy or rent the Director’s Cut DVD. As far as I know there is no version of “Alexander” on DVD with Mr. Fox’s commentary unedited.

The placements of the film as well as the manner in which the otherwise identical extra value materials between both versions are different to. While the Director’s Cut contains the feature film on one disc, the Original Theatrical Version spreads the film across two discs with the first 20 chapters on disc one (81:49) and the remaining twenty chapters on disc two (93:51). The companion featurette with Vangelis discussing the film’s score complete with a quick CD Soundtrack Spot (4:29) as well as the theatrical teaser (1:45) and trailer (1:48) are on disc one for the Original Theatrical Version while the entertaining and in-depth behind the scenes documentary remains on disc two. The documentary can be viewed individually in three parts under the subheadings “Resurrecting Alexander”, “Perfect Is The Enemy Of Good”, and “The Death Of Alexander” or can be viewed using a “Play All” feature that presents the three parts as one feature length documentary of approximately 86 minutes and 44 seconds. Outside of the exclusive Oliver Stone commentary for the Director’s Cut, all of the extra value DVD-Video materials are on the second disc of the Director’s Cut DVD set. Windows based DVD-ROM users with access to the Internet will also be able to visit the Online World Of Alexander The Great Website by placing the second disc in their DVD-ROM drive.

The main menus on both discs feature scenes from the film while the subsequent menus are all standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. Ideally it would have been nice for both versions to have been released in one DVD set with seamless branching enabling the viewer to decide which version they wish to watch, but at this point if you want to make your own comparison, you will have to buy or rent the titles individually since they are sold separately. Both “Alexander Original Theatrical Version: 2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition and “Alexander Director’s Cut: 2-Disc Widescreen Special Edition” are available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline courtesy of Warner Home Video and both are well worth checking out and comparing for yourself.

Return To The Previous Page

Buy This DVD Set By Clicking On The Icon Below!