Darius Kadivar
October 27, 2004
iranian.com
"There is nothing impossible
to him who will try." - Alexander
the Great (356BC-323BC)
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Nearly
50 years after Robert Rossen's Epic "Alexander
the Great" starring Richard Burton in the title role,
Hollywood is once again taking interest in the Macedonian conqueror.
A man of action who after defeating the mighty Persian Empire
stretched his conquests to the extreme limits of the known world
only to return to Babylon and die at the age of 33 in mysterious
circumstances without ever naming his successor. A role model
to many great conquerors such as Julius Caesar or Napoleon, strangely
enough Hollywood has ignored the life of Alexander, less by lack
of interest but most probably discouraged by the scale of any
project that could encompass the complexities of such a larger
than life character. Yet aspects of Alexander's life have mostly
inspired television series in the 1950's with such various and
often-unusual casts in the title role ranging from Sean Connery
to William Shatner.
For historians also Alexander remains an enigmatic
character. Was he a visionary or a madman? A liberator or a tyrant?
What driving force led him to the extreme limits of human endurance
only to leave an Empire without a throne? Even his sexuality
has been a subject of debate amongst experts who have tried to
shed a Freudian light on his love life.
Also In trying to unite East and West, Alexander
adopted the customs and traditions of the vanquished. Was it
not he who encouraged matrimony between the Greeks and Persians
by taking as spouse the Bactrian princess Roxanne ? By punishing
those who betrayed his foe King Darius III and by governing the
conquered Persian Empire according to the same laws as his royal
predecessor, French historian Pierre Briant ( Author of "Darius
dans l'ombre d'Alexandre" aka "Darius
in the shadow of Alexander") suggests that Alexander in many
ways was the "Last Achaemenide".
So who else but an equally ambitious director
could have took an interest in Alexander? Several Hollywood directors
from Martin Scorcese to Mel Gibson have cherished the dream of
bringing to the screen the life of the historical role model.
Gibson hoped to direct and act in a 10 hour long mini series
for HBO on the Macedonian hero but finally decided to focus on
the controversial "The Passion of the Christ".
The competition that followed was to oppose Oliver
Stone ( JFK, Nixon, Wallstreet) and Baz Luhrmann (Moulin
Rouge) each bidding respectively on young talent Colin Farrel
(Phone Game, S.W.A.T) and confirmed Star Leonardo Di Caprio
in the title role. In the meantime an obscure Egyptian, Greek
and British co-production directed by Lebanese director
Jalal Mehri announced the soon to be released film "Young
Alexander" with Sam Heugan which focuses on the boyhood
of Alexander to his assumption as Regent of Greece after proving
his worth to his father, the demanding King Phillip.
The two serious projects of Stone and Luhrmann
have been the subject of a great deal of gossip and talk in Hollywood
circles, which mounted, particularly with the Iraq War crisis.
Luhrmann had scouted locations in Jordan, and
producer Dino De Laurentiis signed a deal with Morocco's King
Mohammed VI to build three soundstages there in exchange for
the king putting more than 4,000 soldiers and 8,000 horses at
Luhrmann's disposal. But after a series of suicide bombings in
Casablanca in May 2003, Luhrmann opted to shoot Down Under as
a safeguard against terrorism. Shooting which was set to start
at the beginning of February 2003 has since been delayed and
production has moved to Australia the native country of Luhrmann.
So it now appears that Oliver Stone is the victor
in the race. Principal photography on "Alexander" began
Sept. 22, 2003 and wrapped Feb. 13 2004, lensing 36 days in Morocco,
18 days in Thailand and the rest of the time on a London soundstage.
In all, production was completed on a brisk 93-day schedule that
stands as a tribute to Stone's persistence of vision. Now in
post-production in Paris Stone's $150 million historical epic "Alexander" is
due for a Nov. 5 U.S. release through Warner Bros. Pictures.
That said, the shoot was not without complications.
The crew had to put up with a sandstorm in Morocco, but that
didn't stop shooting. Then, when in Thailand, there was a (film)
stock problem: The stock coming into Thailand got X-rayed, and
no one basically knew which of the reels were damaged. As for
Stone he just kept shooting.
The production also was thrown for a loop when
Farrell broke his foot while off-duty in Thailand -- reportedly
by falling down a flight of stairs -- and had to be flown to
a Bangkok hospital. Farrell insisted on returning to the set
in a removable cast and shooting an action scene on horseback
-- railing against an elephant -- while wearing the cast.
Further complicating the logistics, Stone opted
in many cases to hire real extras for his cast-of-thousands battle
scenes, instead of using computer generated imagery to transform
a small or even moderate crowd of actors into the hordes of unstoppable
mauraders that appear onscreen.
Another controversy appeared in August when Stone
released the promo trailer for his film in which a picture of
the Zoroastrian Farvahar is shown covered with the name of Alexander.
This triggered the wrath of the Parsis community in India and
has since raised concerns amongst the Zoroastrian Community of
California (ZAC). Spearheading the protest is none other than
music maestro Zubin Mehta, a Parsi himself. See
article from the Times of India
Stone's production saga began 15 years ago when
he conceived of making a film about Alexander the Great. Around
1990, Stone commissioned a writer to pen a novel about the enigmatic
early master of the universe; many ideas were put to paper, but
the book never saw the light of publication.
Moving on to other projects Stone admits that
the story continued to tug at him. Look closely at his 1991 film "The
Doors," and one can see lead actor Val Kilmer, as rock god
Jim Morrison, morphing into Alexander. In an interview with Hollywood
Reporter Stone says "I have always been fascinated by the
character, but he has always been very resistant to dramatization".
Stone attempted to revive the project in 1996,
joining forces with independent film kingpins Andy Vajna and
Mario Kassar; again, though, it floundered. Not until 2000, when
Ridley Scott's best picture Oscar winner "Gladiator" proved
that sword-and-sandal epics again were viable as blockbusters,
did industry interest in the Alexander character reach a tipping
point.
As for the script of "Alexander" Christopher Kyle
(2002's "K-19: The Widowmaker") turned in several screenplay
drafts during the next year after being hired by Intermedia,
but Stone eventually would take scripting chores upon himself,
writing and rewriting throughout 2002.
In a recent interview to French magazine "Le
Figaro" Stone explains further his vision of Alexander's
Life Conquests and Legend:
"I could not show all the battles, I had to
make choices. Before the battle against King Poros' Elephants
in India, the Battle of Gaugameles opposing Darius the Shah
of Persia and Alexander appeared to me as essential and fascinating.
With 40 000 Greeks, Alexander had to face a horde of 25 000
Persians. Many ancient historians such as Arrien described
the battle as well as direct witnesses who participated such
as one of Alexander's Generals Ptolemy. They all participated
in creating a legend. Alexander loved Myths; he had a copy
of the Iliad's on him and believed that he was walking in the
footsteps of Achilles. On meeting Roxanne he probably thought
he met an Amazon Queen. We do not know but I think he fell
in love. He wanted to stick to the myth. However we can suppose
that the Greek soldiers were shocked. How could their leader
marry a Bactriane, when he could have married the daughter
of Darius, or even a Macedonian? The relationship between Roxanne
and Alexander is fundamental in understanding the personality
of the conqueror. In addition I saw in Alexander not only a
conqueror, but a man surrounded by strong personalities such
as his Father Phillip, his mother Olympias, Roxanne and Hephaestion.
The latter loved Alexander for what he was, that is a love
according to Aristotle's definition: a strong bond of friendship.
All the humanity of Alexander is revealed through this particular
relationship. The great adventure of Alexander's life was set
on the battlefields as well as inside his soul. Alexander was
also a ruthless paranoiac. However one has to understand that
before Alexander all Macedonian Kings including his own father
were assassinated. When he decides to suppress his opponents
within the ranks of his own army, it is because he was shocked
to be disapproved. There were at least two conspiracies against
Alexander, which I included in the film. I could not illustrate
all the events. You know I had to reduce a film of 10 hours
to 3 hours. I had to concentrate a maximum of things in a small
box. It was a cruel dilemma."
Stones film includes an international cast with
in the title roles: Colin Farrel {Alexander), Angelina Jolie
(Olympias), Val Kilmer (Philip), Sir Anthony Hopkins (Old Ptolemy),
Jared Leto (Hephaestion), Rosario Dawson (Roxanne) and Israeli
actor Raz Degan (Darius Codoman III Shah of Persia).
It should be noted that Oliver Stone tried vainly
to cast an Iranian actor David
K.Zandi in the role of Darius, however Zandi turned
down the role preferring to cast in Baz Luhrmanns film. However
by some ironic coincidence German-Turkish actor Erol
Sander who portrayed the Former Shah of Iran Mohamed Reza
Pahlavi in the European mini TV series "Soraya", is cast in the
film as Indian Prince Pharnakes.
"Alexander" is the most expensive
film made to date by the Academy Award-winning director, all
that remains to be seen is if Stone's "Alexander" has
equity among the world's moviegoers.
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Authors Notes:
- The Palace of Darius was entirely
reconstructed in Pinewood Studios in London. It is not yet certain
if Stone refers to Persepolis, Babylon or Susa, yet the sets
look magnificent although there is a mixture of Babylonian and
Persian architecture. Also the American director has not hinted
whether or not the burning of Persepolis by Alexander will be
mentioned in the film.
- Listen to the Musical
Score of Alexander is composed by Greek Oscar Winning Composer
Vangelis
- Oliver Stones comments on the computer game
inspired by the film: Stones picture has also interested Ubisoft,
one of the world's largest video game publishers, in cooperation
with Intermedia Films who will release a real-time strategy video
game based on the upcoming motion picture. The game will be available
for the PC day-and-date with the US theatrical release in November
2004, and with the European release to follow. Interviewed by
PCS (Pop Culture Shock) news Stone said "Alexander is probably
the greatest single military strategist of all time. One variation
of the game even has (Persian King) Darius emerging the victor
over Alexander. Players will have serious possibilities for winning
and losing empires. I'm looking forward to playing".
- Recommended reading:
An excellent compact and illustrated history on
Alexander by French historian Pierre Briant:
Alexander
the Great, by Pierre
Briant
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