Golden

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2008)

Just bought the Director's cut & this is what I've been waiting for, for 4 years. Brilliant. Historical, dramatic. Will watch it over & over, as I have "Dr. Zhivago" and "Gangs of NY." Strong battle scenes, deep character studies. When Phillip shows Alexander the cave paintings, it is a dark study of P's bleak outlook & why he drowns himself in drink/treats his wife like trash. Lovely young Alexander's eyes convey his desire to move upward & he does, up the ladder & into bright sunlight. Apollo guides him. Re: comments about accents (Irish/Vlad) does anyone know what a Macedonian sounded like? Or a woman from the "hill tribes?" No, so why not Irish/Romanian? When I was growing up ALL the actors in Epic Movies (like Cecil B. DeMill's films) spoke British English & that's fine for back then. Stone had to make a decision & it works to have various accents (one General speaks w/a Scots accent, Ptolemy has a more refined accent--worked for me! Re: comments on man/man love in Ancient Greece. Women weren't generally considered equal to men, so only another man could satisfy one intellectually, physically, romantically. Women were for breeding although the unusual few were considered prophetesses or touched by the goddesses. Alexander's mother often covered his hair with gold dust, according to Plutarch so I thought this was one reason why Stone had A's hair golden. My husband lived amongst Afghani tribes & thinks the woman A married was from that area. My husband also lived in Persia/Iran & said the most beautiful women on earth are Persian. Stone obviously drew from the book "Persian Boy" amongst many other stories/myths/histories. I've loved Alexander since I was in the 4th grade & I am now 55. Colin Farrell was the absolute right choice to star as The Great. His acting will only improve as he works more and thank the Good Lord, he is a tireless worker. If only more of his films came to the Longmont Colorado area! Bravo/Brava to Stone, Farrell, Jolie, Vangelis & everyone involved in the making of this Great Classic.