Thinking About Renting Alexander (the Movie)?

I liked the battle between the elephant and Alexander on Bucephalus. Too bad that even the apologists of Alexander in antiquity never thought of this incident. Oliver Stone, like many Hollywood directors made one good film , 'Platoon' and has joined the ranks of Woody Allen and Robert Altman that now make films that nobody sees.

Pat: exactly. We had forgotten that it was a Stone film until the credits rolled, and then we looked at each other and said: "of course!" So the question is -- who keeps giving him money to make films?? And why.

It wasn't that bad. I enjoyed it.

I think we can comfortably say that you thought it was the "worst movie ever", because it accurately portrayed Alexander as bi.

Gladiator was the worst movie ever.

Gladiator?!?! You're kidding.

Let's give you your argument that it was "accurate." Even if Alexander were bi, he wouldn't have been weak and snivelling. And that doesn't touch on all the other melodramatic histrionics in the movie.

Not to mention Angelina Jolie!

How Oliver Stone managed to completely emasculate Colin Farrell and make Angelina unattractive beats me.

It's hardly a proven fact that Alexander was bi. Granted, given the time and the place when bisexuality was accepted as well as it was it is a possible inference.

Interestingly, I just read Stephen Pressfield's "The Virtues of War," and Pressfield didn't portray Alexander as "bi" although he did portray his father as such. Just thought that was worth mentioning because Pressfield does his historical homework.

Gladiator easily. The whole plot was utterly stupid.

As if an Emporer would actually choose to fight a Gladiator. Give me a break!

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

Alexander was probably not bi. He was gay.
1) "Both Philip and Olympias [Alexander's parents] were scared that their adolescent son was showing signs of becoming a gynnis, a 'femme' invert, and actually imported a high-class courtesan [hooker] to straighten out his sexual drive."

2) "Two thousand years ago the Cynic philosophers wrote this about the man who conquered the known world without losing a single battle: 'Alexander was defeated once in his life, and that was by Hephaestion's thighs.' "

3) "Here's how Curtius describes the Persian boy Bagoas, who was 'given' to Alexander after he conquered Persia: '[He was] an exceptionally good-looking eunuch in the very flower of his youth. Darius [the Persian king Alexander vanquished] had had a sexual relationship with him and presently Alexander did, too.' "

4) He was a cross-dresser - "He loved to dress as Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt"

5) He was a drama queen - "For example, when Hephaestion died, it took several men to pull Alexander off his body. Alexander then went into a near catatonic state, unable to eat, drink or sleep for three days. While most scholars see this as an example of romantic love, some academics see it as purely platonic. They also see Hephaestion's funeral, said to have been one of the most spectacular in recorded history (costing something on the order of $100 million in today's currency) as Alexander's dramatic way of celebrating the passing of their 'friendship.' "

Downtown Lad: Many of the loopy stories about Commudus come from historians that were allied with the Antonines, one of the senatorial families opposed to Imperial rule. Yet even these writers described his bravery, in Gaul and then later when fighting in the arenas against gladiators. Commudus, as Emperor, adopted the praenomen of Hercules, he appeared and was represented as wearing lion skins and carrying a club.
So yes he did enter into these combats, whether or not he could have beaten Russell Crowe is still open for debate.