Alexander (2004)

At the end of 94 days of principal photography, the production of Alexander had echoed in more ways than one the intentions of its subject. “The whole movie kind of paralleled the story itself,” says Jon Kilik. “It has been this melting pot of cultures and people – British, Irish, American, French, Moroccan, Thai – who all brought a different voice and style to the film.”

The final moments of shooting were emblematic of the spirit with which the entire film had been undertaken. “I’ll never forget my very last image of Colin,” says Stone, “standing there on crutches, stage blood running all over his face, body and armor, with his broken ankle, that wonderful smile of his, and his mad, Irish eyes dancing. We had done it. We had made it to the end of one long, precipitous gamble – and Colin certainly looked like he was at the end of the line. It was a very special moment for both of us. And maybe it sounds portentous, but like Ptolemy at the end of the film, I feel like saying, ‘In his presence we were better than ourselves.’”

With tremendous effort and skill on the part of the film’s massive cast and behind-the-scenes visionaries, Stone was able to finally realize his dream of capturing the vivid spectacle of Alexander the Great’s extraordinary life, from his earliest days to the time of his death, a life in which he traveled across a world that he first conquered, and ultimately united.

---