Alexander The Great Film Analysis

Alexander: Theatrical Cut (2004) The film, Alexander, is a historic drama about Alexander the Great, who became legendary for his military prowess. Ptolemy I, a Macedonian general, narrated throughout the film. Moments of Alexander’s childhood were shown, such as his difficult relationship with his mother, Olympias, and his father, King Philip II of Macedon. After Alexander became King of Macedonia, he sets out to conquer the Persian Empire. He continued his eight-year campaign across East Asia, before returning home to Babylon. In the film, Alexander struggled to convince his army to continue to follow him across Asia. It was after the Battle of Hydaspes in India that encouraged Alexander to return home. The film also showed Alexander’s

The film showed that Macedonia was a monarchy with a king and queen. For example, the king of Macedonia was King Philip and the queen was Queen Olympias. Also, marriages were displayed as alliances and as a way to secure the place of a throne. For example, Olympias told Alexander to marry a Macedonian woman and have a son. The reason for this was because King Philip II married Eurydice and Eurydice had a son. Olympias was afraid that King Philip II will chose Eurydice’s son as his successor.

Moreover, art was depicted in the film. Cave paintings were used in the film that represented Herakles and Achilles. In a scene, King Philip II of Macedon used cave paintings to teach life lessons to Alexander. In addition, stone statues were depicted in the film. For example, many stone headed statues were displayed on top of pillars when the scene focused on Ptolemy I narrating. Vases were presented in the film too. The artwork on vases showed past historic

However, the setting of Babylon was well-done where the film displayed the artwork used in Babylon and the geometric buildings. Even so, the film did a poor job with the setting of the Battle of Hydaspes, where Alexander the Great and Indians fought in the jungle instead of the Hydaspes River. As with costume designs, the film did all right. For example, in the scene where King Philip II was about to be murdered by his personal guard, Olympias wore a red dress while the others around her wore white. This represented that Olympias stood out in Macedonian society. Another example was the short tunics Alexander and his warrior wore during battle. When it came to the discussion of using the film as an effective teaching tool in the classroom, many people might agree that the film isn’t capable because of its lack of historic accuracy. It barely discusses the reason why Alexander was so “great”, and it briefly went over Alexander’s accomplishments. There were only two battle scenes, and it didn’t show Alexander conquering other areas. Even though the film was three hours, the film focused a lot on Alexander’s relationships. In addition, the film included some nudity and men forcing women into