Alexander The Great [DVD] [1956]

Excellently acted by Richard Burton, aided by a great bunch of English actors. Costumes and sets were magnificent. I first saw this movie in my early teens, when I was studying ancient Greek history at college. I loved every minute of the second viewing. Purchased the Dvd. Very reasonable price.

This story of Alexander the Great has many very competent actors of classic background in British and American and French Theatre which gives the film a serious feel, together with lavish adventurous battle scenes. The main characters of Phillip of Macedonia, Alexander's father, played well by Frederick March in good form, and Alexander played by Richard Burton showing the determination required of leadership and anguish used up in the many trials and tribulations of the task ahead. Alexander not only gathers together the whole of the clashing Greek tribes into a whole, but sets out to conquer the world. All the actors are very good in their roles from the cowardly Persian king, whom Alexander gives respect, to the Mother of this world leader in her reckless belief in magic and in Alexander's god-qualities. This film was criticised when it first came out, but I think it is better than the latest "Alexander the Great" film, and shows the whole of the story with all the characters, even the leader's teacher, Aristotle the great philosopher, as well as the tragedies.

Alexander The Great, like many of its 1950s CinemaScope contemporaries is an ideal subject for Blu ray treatment. These films were composed for the wide frame, not with one eye on a future TV release, and were made, for the most part, in glorious Technicolor or the more economical Eastmancolor.Other reviewers have detailed the plot, or the various perceived shortcomings of Rosson's epic: overlong, talky, weak battle sequences, wooden performances etc. But none of this matters because this was very much a film of its time. If you are going to buy a pre 1960s costume picture on DVD or Blu ray, it will be much the same as Alexander The Great; this was how they made them then. Helen Of Troy has better battles and more spectacle, for example, but Alexander The Great has a better script and acting. Both films look terrific, however and should have been studied carefully by the makers of Alexander and Troy before they set work recreating ancient Greece with CGI.Strangely, this Blu ray release comes from Denmark, with the Blu ray cover in Danish, though even more oddly, the menu page features a photograph of the same Blu ray cover which is entirely in English. The disc defaults to the original English soundtrack - which seems to be in stereo - and optional subtitles in a variety of languages, except English, can be selected. The print is clean and sharp and colours are bright and steady, though one scene has a brief cutaway that is so soft as to appear almost out of focus. That lasts only a few seconds, though. The original aspect ratio has been preserved at 2.35:1, anamorphically enhanced, though this is not stated on the cover. The sound is clear, too, with all dialogue clearly audible (unlike most of today's films), but the downside of this, of course, is that Mario Nascimbene's dull and plodding music is also clearly audible, too. However, he would redeem himself a few short years later with magnificent scores for The Vikings, Barabbas, Room At The Top, Doctor Faustus and One Million Years B.C.Overall, Alexander The Great has never looked or sounded better since it was first released in 1955 and this comes as a two-disc set (a DVD version is included) making this Blu ray release a must-buy for fans of the genre.More of these films on Blu ray, please!

MR Burton Performance Was Spot On. Huge Sporting Cast The Battle Field In Asia Was Huge. No Elephants. Interesting Lesson In World History. The Strongest Gets The Spoils.

Sadly there are no films made like this now , the main criteria for a film today is "how much money will it gross?". I am not saying that money was not a factor when this film was been made but there were other considerations to be taken into account also, like the cast & the story line & a very professional approach to accuracy & quality acting.Sadly in today's world of "Blockbuster" movies action & blood are the main reason for what constitutes a "Success"Richard Burton was a great choice to be Alexander he had it every way Looks Charm & most of all acting ability which is 90% of any film, the use of light & colour which is a trade mark of the 1950's & 60's make it all the more enjoyable, " perhaps I am just nostalgic" but its films like this what make it as I call it a Golden era.Lets be glad they existed & can still be enjoyed all those years after.

I got the feeling that this movie was trying to stay as close as possible to the known history. What emerges is a rather tedious history lesson. More than half of the movie is taken up with intrigue involving Alexander's mother (who is played by a French actress) and her attempts to make certain her son succeeds Phillip to the throne of Macedonia. (Phillip had several other offspring from several other women.) The film shows Alexander's character improving throughout his short life, as he at first takes after his mother in cruelty and ruthlessness, then becomes increasingly magnanimous as his empire grows and he becomes more successful. There is a strained attempt to make the movie more uplifting at the end. (My understanding of the reality is that Alexander drank himself to death, which is not depicted in the movie.)Richard Burton turns in a strong performance. On the downside, the sets are cheesily cheap, and the battle scenes are totally unconvincing, both in micro and in macro. The films seems to have been somewhat underfunded, so far as it concerns sets and set-piece battles. There is no attempt to explore strategy, tactics, or anything else that might have played a role in making Alexander so successful as a general and a conqueror. The movie would have been better if it had made some attempt to portray those things, even at the expense of making a longer movie. It should also have been more truthful about the end of his life.

It was a good film Richard Burton very young in it also Peter Cushing

I much prefer this one too the new one which made me very uncomfortable

Es un excelente producto, contiene:1 disco DVDAudio en ingles stereoSubtitulos en españolRegión 1ExtrasOriginal theatrical traileres muy recomendable para la colección, el envío fue rápido y eficiente, gracias.

Loved the dvd learned a lot from.the movie

great

Überpünktlich traf der UK-Import unversehrt ein. Warum MGM die deutsche DVD um 23 Minuten gekürzt hat, ist mir unverständlich, zumal es eine 130minütige deutsch synchronisierte Fassung gibt: Sie wurde 1968 von der ARD um 20.15Uhr ausgestrahlt. Nun zum Film selbst: Seine Bewertung hängt natürlich immer von den eigenen Sehgewohnheiten und Erwartungen ab, was auch sicher generationsbedingt ist. Das heutige Dramaturgieverständnis ist ein anderes: mehr auf "starke Emotionen" aufgebaut mit schnelleren Scenenwechseln, den Betrachter mitreißender. Rossens "Alexander" dagegen entfaltet sich langsam, wirkt vielleicht zunächst statisch im Gesamtcharakter. Er lässt aber dem Betrachter Zeit, die einzelnen Situationen distanzierter anzuschauen, okkupiert nicht gefühlsmäßig. (Die UK-Version von 130 Minuten gibt dem Raum, macht die Gesamthandlung vollständiger und erlebenswerter). Die Dialoge sind anspruchsvoll; Gestik und Mimik der Schauspielerinnen und Schauspieler erschöpfen sich nicht im Gesagten allein, sondern ragen darüber hinaus, schaffen dadurch eine Atmosphäre, die auch das Unausgesprochene ahnen lassen. Die politische, geistige und seelische Gesamtkonstellation, in der Alexander aufwächst, wird dadurch feinziseliert geschildert (immer unter dem Aspekt der subjektiven Auswahl des Regisseurs zu sehen). Sehr facettenreich stellt Frederic March (unvergessen in "Wer den Wind sät", 1960 an der Seite von Spencer Tracy)Phillip II. dar, wie auch Danielle Darrieux (in Max Ophüls "Madame de...") die Olympias. Ebenso werden auch andere, den Film tragende Charakterrollen dargestellt: Peter Cushing den Memnon und Claire Bloom die Basine. An keiner Stelle verliert sich der Film in überzogene Emotionalität und Soap-Opera-Rhetorik. Die Sets vermitteln eine antik-griechische und orientalische Atmosphäre, (wenn auch einige Statuen schon zu sehr römisch erscheinen). Eher unpassend ist für mich die zu pathetische Musik von Mario Nascimbene, aber das war der damalige Zeitgeist. Insgesamt: Robert Rossen schlägt das Geschichtsbuch auf und setzt in Bilder um, bemüht, auch dokumentarisch vorzugehen. Der Film lebt aus der fließenden Gesamthandlung, nicht aus dramaturgisch überzeichneten Einzelsequenzen. Insofern steht er für mich neben Franco Rossis(!) "Quo Vadis" und "Odyssee", neben J. Kawalerowicz`"Pharao", G. Ecksteins "Masada" und A. Amendabars "Agora",in dem die moderne Bilddramaturgie mit den niveauvollen Dialogen harmoniert und nicht einfach mitreißt. Zu "Alexander the great": Seine Langsamkeit lässt Raum für das Feine.

Great DVD, arrived on time, just as described