Alexander the Great

Alexanders conquests from Greece through the Persian Empire

After being tutored by Aristotle (Barry Jones), Alexander (Richard Burton) takes over the Macedonian throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 after his father is assassinated (Fredric March). Over the next 13 years he, amazingly, conquers the Persian Empire and heads into India before finally turning back. Claire Bloom plays Alexanders mother while Peter Cushing appears as General Memnon, who defects to Persia. Teresa del Río is on hand as Alexanders wife acquired in Bactria.

Alexander the Great (1956) debuted 48 years before Oliver Stones 2004 rendition. Its better than what I expected for such an old, obscure film, but not great like, say, Ben-Hur (1959) mainly because the b...

This is essentially a story all of it's own. Though history forms the basis of the subject, Richard Burton's depiction strays quite wilfully from any of the more established legends that are Alexander of Macedonia - or it just chooses to create a completely new one. Frederic March is good as his borderline megalomanic father Philip. with whom Alexander has a love/hate relationship as is Danielle Darrieux - his glamorous, and equally enigmatic mother Olympias who is constantly filling her son's head with tales of his divine origins. The tale leads us on a colourful adventure through his life without much subtlety, artistry or style - indeed Burton is pretty wooden throughout. To be fair, he has little by way of good dialogue to work with and...