Alexander

This weekend, I borrowed my brother's copy of Oliver Stone's Alexander: The Director's Cut. Frankly, I thought this foray into the sword-and-sandal genre wasn't half bad.
Now, a disclaimer, if you don't know already, the subject of this film, Alexander the Great, was another great gay warrior. There's even a good visual pun on the infamous historical witicism: "Aleaxnder was never defeated, except by the thighs of Hephestion." I'm sure you folks are beginning to wonder about me. But keep in mind, this is my brother's collection. I think he bought this to complete his Angelina Jolie videos.

If you're beginning to think all ancient warriors were all "men's men," well, keep your loinclothes on, in 2006 we'll see film versions of Beowulf and Tristan and Isolde, about warriors worthy of the name "swordsmen." (i.e. they dig chicks.)

Anyway, back to the point: this movie did an excellent job of making the military history portion accessible. Stone found a narrative technique to give the audience an aerial view of the battle lines -- important to understanding an era in which opposing armies truly did form up into cohesive formations -- and a dust-level view of the carnage to see how the individual fighting men of the day met each other.

If your mental image of the Ancient world is dominated by stark white marble columns, Stone also disabuses this notion quickly by demonstrating the riot of color and rich architectural heritage of the Persian Empire, and its influence over the invading Greeks. Along the way, Stone features cameo shots of several of the Seven Wonders of the World, as well as other notable Ancient landmarks: The Lighthouse at Pharos, the Library of Alexandria, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, etc. Heck, I think I even glimpsed a shot of the so-called Tower of Babel. Stone succeeded in the first rule of epic film-making: give the audience something they simply will not see anywhere else.

One interesting theme that runs as an undercut to this film is the idea of the clash of Western and Eastern Civilizations. When Ridley Scott released his Crusades movie, Kingdom of Heaven, last year, the critics made much about the Christian vs. Arab themes. Little was said about the culture clash in this movie. But the theme is unmistakable and the point is also undeniable: even without the two major monotheistic religions on stage, Eastern and Western Civilizations have always been rivals and competitors. Unfortunately, Stone doesn't really follow this notion through. He misses one of the great, even lasting, achievements of Alexander's short reign: he managed to successfully meld the two cultures together. Whe the Roman Legions marched into Asia a few centuries later, they found a remarkably high culture sharing much in common with the Roman Civilization. Had Alexander left a strong dynasty to follow him, Rome might have found a powerful, unified enemy rather than disorganized principalities. The center of Western Civilization might have shifted into Asia Minor and the whole of History may have been very different
There's a question historian like to argue in bars: is history the story of sweeping forces, or great individuals? Alexander is a case study for this question. There is no question that he was a "Great Man" with a unique vision and the skill and ability to impose it on others. However he was also the product of centuries of accumulated Greek wisdom and ambition. On the other hand, his own homosexual proclivities denied him an heir, so this one highly personal foible set in motion a dramatic downturn in his achievements. However, it also set the stage for the later Roman expansion, and a return to the split between East and West.

This was not a great film, but it was thought provoking on many levels.

Plus, the fighting was cool. Really cool.