Alexander the Great (1956)

Director:

Robert Rossen

Writer:

Robert Rossen (written by)

Release Date:

31 August 1956 (West Germany)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

The colossus who conquered the world!

Plot:

An epic film that follows the life of Alexander the Great, the macedonian king that united all ancient...

Plot Keywords:

Empire | Epic | Persian | Macedonian | King

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Richard Burton	...	Alexander
Fredric March	...	Philip of Macedonia
Claire Bloom	...	Barsine
Danielle Darrieux	...	Olympias
Barry Jones	...	Aristotle
Harry Andrews	...	Darius
Stanley Baker	...	Attalus
Niall MacGinnis	...	Parmenio (as Niall Macginnis)
Peter Cushing	...	Memnon
Michael Hordern	...	Demosthenes
Marisa de Leza	...	Eurydice (as Marisa De Leza)
Gustavo Rojo	...	Cleitus
Rubén Rojo	...	Philotas (as Ruben Rojo)
Peter Wyngarde	...	Pausanias
Helmut Dantine	...	Nectenabus

Also Known As:

Alejandro Magno (Spain)

Runtime:

136 min (TCM print) | Spain:143 min | USA:135 min (Turner Library Print) | USA:141 min

Country:

USA | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #17782) | New Zealand:G | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

El Molar, Madrid, Spain

Company:

C.B. Films S.A.

Trivia:

Charlton Heston turned down the title role, adding "Alexander is the easiest kind of picture to make badly".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Macedonian horsemen attack Darius' soldiers, one the the spear tips clearly bends in a way that shows it to be made of rubber.

Quotes:

Olympias: [rocking the infant Alexander in his cradle ] Alexander... Alexander... Achilles, too, was born of a god... and at his birth, it was foretold that he would be greater than his father... and he was*. And this destiny shall be yours too, Alexander...

Movie Connections:

Version of Alexander (2004)

Too ambitious for a movie but fun for the Alexander fanatic!

As long as you don't mind the historical inaccuracies, this movie may prove helpful for the Alexander fanatic (like myself). After 1st seeing this film, I was horrified by the botch job that was done on the real Alexander story, but after forcing myself to sit through it a 2nd time I was able to lighten up a bit on the factual content, and just look for any great scenes that this film had to offer. Particularly, is the scene where Alexander goes to Athen's and the background shows a beautifully recreated shiny white Erectheon. Later, Alexander walks through the Parthenon...a dream scene of ancient history buffs everywhere. Another good scene was right before the Battle at the River Granicus. Here Alexander eyes his opponents on the opposite river bank, and comments on who will be the 1st to fall...Richard Burton did a great job in some scenes, but overall seemed to lack the charisma that exemplified Alexander. He has the look, but the British accent doesn't suit Alexander very well. I could go on, but really, see it yourself, or better yet, read "The Campaigns of Alexander" by Arrian, it is much more than any movie could ever be on this enigmatic historical figure.