Alexander (2004 film)

Alexander
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Oliver Stone
Produced by	Thomas Schühly Jon Kilik Iain Smith Moritz Borman
Written by	Oliver Stone Christopher Kyle Laeta Kalogridis
Starring	Colin Farrell Angelina Jolie Val Kilmer Jared Leto Rosario Dawson Anthony Hopkins
Music by	Vangelis
Cinematography	Rodrigo Prieto
Edited by	Thomas J. Nordberg Yann Hervé Alex Marquez
Production companies	Intermedia Films Ixtlan Productions France 3 Cinéma Pacific Film Egmond Film & Television IMF Internationale Medien und Film GmbH & Co. 3 Produktions KG
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures Constantin Film (Germany) Pathé (France)
Release date	16 November 2004 (2004-11-16) (Hollywood premiere) 24 November 2004 (2004-11-24) (United States) 23 December 2004 (2004-12-23) (Germany/Netherlands) 5 January 2005 (2005-01-05) (France) 14 January 2005 (2005-01-14) (Italy)
Running time	175 minutes
Country	Germany France Italy Netherlands United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$155 million
Box office	$167.3 million

Alexander is a 2004 epic historical drama film based on the life of Alexander the Great. It was directed by Oliver Stone, with Colin Farrell in the title role. The film was an original screenplay based in part on the book Alexander the Great, written in the 1970s by the University of Oxford historian Robin Lane Fox. After release, while it performed well in Europe, the American critical reaction was negative. It grossed over $167 million worldwide against a $155 million budget.

Four versions of the film exist, the initial theatrical cut and three home video director's cuts: the "Director's Cut" in 2005, the "Final Cut" in 2007 and the "Ultimate Cut" in 2013. The two earlier DVD versions of Alexander ("director's cut" version and the theatrical version) sold over 3.5 million copies in the United States. Oliver Stone's third version, Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut (2007) has sold to one million copies and became one of the highest-selling catalog items from Warner Bros.

The film is based on the life of Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, who conquered Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia, and North West India. Shown are some of the key moments of Alexander's youth, his invasion of the mighty Persian Empire and his death. It also outlines his early life, including his difficult relationship with his father Philip II of Macedonia, his strained feeling towards his mother Olympias, the unification of the Greek city-states and the two Kingdoms (Macedonia and Epirus) under the Hellenic League, and the conquest of the Persian Empire in 331 BC. It also details his plans to reform his empire and the attempts he made to reach the end of the then known world.