In 2004, Hollywood history repeated itself as Troy, the ambitious sword-and-sandal epic about the 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.
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 his 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 a 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 colours, 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 in 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 his 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 the 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 the USA and Free World while Persian oriental despotism could have been portrayed as something akin to the Soviet Union.
Alexander was one of Richard Burton's early major roles, but it is not among his best performances; he is now best remembered for a ridiculous blonde wig and for being obviously too old for the role of a teenager. Veteran Fredric March is much better in the role of his father; however, his character exits the picture relatively early, and quality declines 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 from this running time, resulting in one of the most fascinating episodes of Alexander's life—the actual conquest of Persia—being portrayed in a rushed and inefficient manner.
Alexander the Great is a significant 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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