'Alexander Revisited' - High-Def Digest review

[jed]

Kenneth's review of 'Alexander Revisited.' Though opinions on the film itself differ, he says this Blu-ray presentation, is almost sure to wow, thanks to a demo-worthy video transfer, a convincing audio mix, and more than ten worth hours of candid supplemental material (most of which is exclusive to this high definition release).

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/alexanderrevisited.html

[Kenshiro]

That great the video transfer is excellent. As far as the film itself, I'm glad to hear about

increased violence and gore,

Not glad about

a more honest examination of the homosexual overtones simply hinted at in the other two cuts of the film.

I think most people's biggest problem with Alexander is that even in the original cuts the gayness was not just hinted at, but blatant. It was like Brokeback conqueror or something. I understand that's how the ancient Greeks used to get down, but they didn't have to dwell on it. Could've been a great movie otherwise.

[ajamils]

Seems like no one proof read the review because there are many typos and spelling mistakes throughout the review.

[mburkel]

Originally Posted by Kenshiro

I think most people's biggest problem with Alexander is that even in the original cuts the gayness was not just hinted at, but blatant. It was like Brokeback conqueror or something. I understand that's how the ancient Greeks used to get down, but they didn't have to dwell on it. Could've been a great movie otherwise.

Yes the Greeks (and the Romans as well) didn't have a problem with homosexuality. In fact the Spartan warriars were exclusively homosexual (regardless of what 300 shows), with the exception of when they went to vist their wives at night to father children. If watching a film that attempts to be historically correct bothers you because of its gay content, that's called homophobia, plain and simple. Get over it...

I for one, very much appreciate what Oliver Stone did with this final cut of the film.

[irascian]

I agree with the above poster. Homophobia has no place here!

For my part, I was pleasantly surprised by this new cut of Alexander (admittedly viewed on HD-DVD in preference to Blu-Ray because I only have a UK region Blu-Ray disc player and generally prefer region-free HD-DVD). On DVD Alexander was one of the few DVDs I gave up on half an hour in. I found the pacing a mess, the acting wooden and the whole thing an embarrassment.

This new cut is a far different film, and truly epic in nature. I nearly didn't buy this but am glad I gave in and got it. What a shame that this isn't the cut that made it into theatres - the critics might have been a lot kinder.

Got to agree that the picture quality and sound (I'm assuming HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are pretty much the same on this title) are excellent.

[shanester]

I really liked this film and listening to Stone's great commentary made me understand and appreciate the film more.

I don't understand why so many critics trashed it. Not that I give a sh*t what they ever think anyways

[Ace_of_Sevens]

Why is this movie split across two single-layer discs? I realize it's three and a half hours long, but I thought the point of 50 GB capacity was that long movies still fit on a single disc. Is this a matter of dumbing it down for the HD DVD release?

[sunstar715]

i believe it is because it is a hddvd port

[Josh Z]

There are plenty of long movies available on single HD DVDs, including the Troy Director's Cut, which is nearly as long and contains a TrueHD track and more bonus features.

Alexander was split into 2 parts at the specific request of Oliver Stone, who wanted an intermission to replicate his favorite historical epics. This is mentioned in his video introduction on the disc.

[sfoster4]

God I hated this movie. I walked out half way through. The acting was horrible and pedestrian. This movie really sucks.