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Alexander the Great (1955)

Director: Robert Rossen

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1 review

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A sprawling, misbegotten epic that undercuts its serious intent by constantly declaiming it, and fails to strike a balance between spectacle and speechifying. Burton's Alexander, with his hatred and fear of father figures, comes in for some heavy-handed cod-Freud analysis as he sweeps across Europe and Asia in search of glory.

Author: PT 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


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  • Neville said...
    Posted on Jan 05 2009 14:48 Alexander the Great is a curio, a thoughtful, on the whole well scripted and convincing movie that nevetheless fails to live up to the spectacle delivered by its near peers (Ben Hur and Spartacus). The battle scenes, whilst reportedly accurate, are somewhat muted and depite the leisurely pace, one never feels Alexander's motivation is clearly explored. Burton is always watchable, but strangely miscast as the genius conqueor and demi-god Alexander. The film actually belongs to Frederic March as the wily, mercurial Philip of Macedonia, from whose spell this Alexander never fully escapes.
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