Alexander the Great (1956) ( Alejandro Magno )

Alexander the Great (1956) (Blu-Ray) (*)

$20.99

Original Title: Alejandro Magno
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
French ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C )

Running Time:
141 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Collectors Edition
Documentary
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Remastered

Movie filmed in 1956 and produced in:
Spain ( Spain, Portugal )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Robert Rossen

Written By:
Robert Rossen

Actors:
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
Peter Cushing ..... General Memnon
Michael Hordern ..... Demosthenes
Marisa de Leza ..... Eurydice
Gustavo Rojo ..... Cleitus
Rubén Rojo ..... Philotas
Peter Wyngarde ..... Pausanias
Helmut Dantine ..... Nectenabus

Synopsis:

Richard Burton stars in Alexander the Great, a middling entry in the 1950s CinemaScope epic cycle. The film boasts excellent production values and a fine cast--including Frederic March, Claire Bloom, Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing, Michael Hordern--but rarely comes to life other than as a big fat ancient Greek wedding of the talents of Burton and Bloom. They strike real dramatic sparks together, so much so they would be reunited in Look Back in Anger (1958) and The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965). Otherwise the blame must be laid at the feet of writer-director-producer Robert Rossen, who never before or after helmed anything remotely on this scale; his best work would follow with the intimate The Hustler (1961). Rossen simply shows little sensibility for the epic, staging lavish but brief and rather pedestrian battles, and somehow drawing from the usually mesmerizing Burton a performance lacking the charisma essential to a great military commander.

Robert Rossen's Alexander the Great (1956) is one of the more ambitious films of the 1950s, a labor of love for Rossen, who wrote, directed, and produced it. But something went askew between thought and expression, with Rossen turning out a picture of often stunning beauty that was, in many ways, a very dense and verbose history lesson played as historical melodrama. At the very least, the dialogue-heavy interludes afford you the opportunity to gaze upon a very young Richard Burton in the title role, and to wonder why Rossen couldn't have reduced the running time or maintained a more tightly paced narrative.

An epic film that follows the life of Alexander the Great, the macedonian king that united all ancient greek tribes and led them against the vast Persian Empire. Alexander conquered most of the then known world and created a greek empire that spanned all the way from the Balkans to India.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 24 May, 2022.