He was many things to many people – a dashing warrior
king, filled with ambition, courage and the arrogance of youth,
leading his vastly outnumbered forces against the massive Persian
armies…a son desperately longing for the approval of his stern,
battle-scarred father, torn and conflicted by his mother’s legacy…a
relentless conqueror who never lost a battle and drove his soldiers
to the very edges of the known world…a visionary whose dreams, deeds
and destiny echo through eternity, helping to shape the world as
we know it today. He was all that and more. He was Alexander the
Great.
Oliver Stone’s Alexander is based on the
true story of one of history’s most luminous and influential leaders
(COLIN FARRELL) – a man who had conquered 90% of the known world
by the age of 25. Alexander led his virtually invincible Greek,
Macedonian, and later Eastern armies through 22,000 miles of sieges
and conquests in just eight years, and by the time of his death
at the age of 32, had forged an empire unlike any the world had
ever seen.
Set in Alexander’s pre-Christian world of social
customs and morals far different from today’s, the film explores
a time of unmatched beauty and unbelievable brutality, of soaring
ideals and staggering betrayals. The film takes a bold, honest look
at Alexander’s life and his relationships with his mother, Olympias
(ANGELINA JOLIE), his father Philip (VAL KILMER), his lifelong friend
and battle commander Hephaistion (JARED LETO), Roxane, his ambitious
and beautiful wife (ROSARIO DAWSON), and his trusted general and
confidant Ptolemy (ANTHONY HOPKINS).
His extraordinary journey begins when Alexander
launches his invasion from Macedonia, first leading his armies to
wrest Western Asia from Persian control, then driving his enormously
outnumbered troops to an impossible victory over the mighty Persian
army itself. Alexander expands his empire into the unknown lands
of modern day Central Asia before venturing across the Hindu Kush,
further than any Westerner had ever gone, continuing his conquests
into the exotic world of India. Incredibly, and possibly unique
in the annals of military history, Alexander was never defeated
in battle. He relentlessly pushes his army across the sands, mountains
and jungles of strange and mysterious lands, conquering every enemy
who dares oppose him and weathering near-mutiny by his own men.
The film chronicles Alexander’s path to becoming
a living legend, from a youth fueled by dreams of myth, glory, and
adventure, to his intense bonds with his closest companions, to
his lonely and mysterious death as ruler of a vast Empire. Alexander
is the incredible story of a life that united the known world and
proved, if nothing else, fortune favors the bold.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Intermedia Films present
a Moritz Borman production in association with IMF, an Oliver Stone
film, Alexander. Directed by OLIVER STONE, Alexander
stars COLIN FARRELL, ANGELINA JOLIE, VAL KILMER and ANTHONY HOPKINS.
The film is produced by THOMAS SCHÜHLY, JON
KILIK, IAIN SMITH and MORITZ BORMAN. The executive producers are
PAUL RASSAM and MATTHIAS DEYLE. The co-executive producers are GIANNI
NUNNARI and FERNANDO SULICHIN. Written by OLIVER STONE and CHRISTOPHER
KYLE and LAETA KALOGRIDIS. The director of photography is RODRIGO
PRIETO; JAN ROELFS serves as production designer; the film is edited
by TOM NORDBERG, YANN HERVE and ALEX MARQUEZ; costumes by JENNY
BEAVAN; VANGELIS serves as composer.
* * *