In 2004, Hollywood history repeated itself as Troy, the ambitious sword and sandal epic about Trojan War, competed against Alexander, an equally ambitious epic about the greatest conqueror of the ancient world. Forty-eight years earlier, in 1956, the same phenomenon occurred when Helen of Troy competed with Alexander the Great ,"an epic biopic written, produced, and directed by Robert Rossen. s.
The plot of the film covers the short but eventful life of King Alexander III of Macedonia, better known as Alexander the Great. It begins in 356 BC with his birth and follows his early years, showcasing the complicated relationship with his father, Philip II (played by Fredric March), and his mother, Olympias (played by Danielle Darrieux). Alexander must survive court intrigues while receiving prime education from the famous scholar, Aristotle (played by Barry Jones). The film then follows Alexander's military conquests and his plan to unite the Greeks by launching a great conquest of the Persian Empire. With a combination of bravery, brutality, and talent, Alexander scores a series of victories, defeats the Persian king Darius III (played by Harry Andrews), conquers Egypt, and much of the Middle East before reaching the edges of the known world in India. Unfortunately, his reign over the newly founded empire is short-lived due to his sudden death in 323 BC.
Alexander the Great was one of the typical "larger than life" epics Hollywood was making in the 1950s, attempting to combat the emerging threat of television with widescreen format, bright colors, and visual spectacle. The film had a large budget, mostly spent on locations and props in Spain, where famous battles were reconstructed with thousands of extras and a large number of horses borrowed from the Spanish military.
However, despite the lavish production, the film could not be rescued from its disappointing script. The story, which should have been one of the most fascinating episodes and characters of world history, appears banal and boring. This may be due to Rossen's recent troubles during the McCarthy era persecution, when he had to avoid blacklisting by betraying his friends and renouncing Communist past. This could have affected his ability to tackle the political and broader social and historical context of the story. As a result, the film avoids theme of power corrupting and lacks the depth and nuance that could have made it a masterpiece like Rossen's own All the King's Men. Rossen even missed the opportunity to give credentials to his film through Cold War propaganda, because it was actually quite easy to make Alexander and Greek city states stand for USA and Free World, while Persian oriental despotism could have been portrayed as something akin to Soviet Union.
Alexander was one of the early major roles for Richard Burton, but it is not among his best performances, now best remembered for ridiculous blonde wig and grand Welsh actor being obviously too old for the role of teenager. Veteran Fredric March is much better in the role of his father, but his character exits the picture relatively early, and quality goes down from that moment on.
The film's pacing is also problematic, as Rossen originally intended for it to have a three and a half hour running time. However, United Artists cut an hour of running time, resulting in the most fascinating episode of Alexander's life – the actual conquest of Persia – being portrayed in a rushed and inefficient manner.
Alexander the Great is a large disappointment for sword and sandal epic enthusiasts and looks even worse in comparison to Oliver Stone's Alexander, which, while flawed, at least made its flaws more interesting.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
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