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Alexander Revisited?

scaperat

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Why are they 'revisiting' this? Reminds me of what we're doing here and what is being done at OT.com. Ridley Scott has or is going to revisit most (if not all) of his films. The infamous George Lucas altered the Original Starwars Trilogy; not quite sure if he's done with it yet. Speilberg has done it, too. It's been done to all the Alien films.

Warner Bros. site
 

InfoDroid

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I actually just bought this and watched it, and I was very pleasantly surprised...

It's a VASTLY improved film, in my opinion. I hated the theatrical version and the Director's Cut...but this third version really just makes the other two completely obsolete. Not only is it watchable now, but it's enjoyable, and much more interesting.

A sort of fan edit by the Director himself.

He took the big battle at Galgamela and moved it to the beginning, then we go back to his childhood and all that...which works MUCH better....

Also, the Anthony Hopkins scenes, which were pointless and distracting when they kept cutting back to him at various times in the film, they now serve as bookend scenes with expanded vocal narration throughout the film. A HUGE improvement.

Plus we get characters which are better fleshed out. We get a sense of the real rivalry between Alexander's wife, his lovers, his generals, and the others in his orbit.

The Angelina Jolie/Val Kilmer storyline, which was dynamite, is now cut up and interspersed between battles....which gives the audience a moment to take a breath, and heightens the impact of the scenes.

Due to the expanded material, it now clocks in at 3 and a half hours, but it's a totally different, and much more satisfying experience. It's broken up into two halves with an intermission at the center. I'd recommend you take a thirty minute break at that point, and reflect on the story...you'll be glad you did...

Forget what you know about the other two versions....THIS is the Alexander that should've been released originally. This is Oliver Stone's true, uncompromised vision. And you need to see it.
 

boon23

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now this sounds interesting and migth make spence's fandit obsolete too.
 

InfoDroid

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Never saw Spence's edit, but I'm sure he didn't have access to the additional footage, alternate takes...and all the other stuff that was included in this edit. Maybe he should make another one, using this as the base and cut out what he doesn't like.
 

Shimy

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is it still a two and a half hour gay joke. cause thats what i hated about the first version. just horrible i am ok withhaving the bisexual ideas in there but they seemed so upfront and center in the theatrical version.
 

boon23

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I think that Oliver Stone is one to never give up. I will give this a chance.
 

Remixed by Jorge

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I would like to think that it is because of work like SPENCE'S fanedit and all the other work we are doing here that things like this are happening.

Until the arrival of fanedits, when a hollywood film was done... it was done.

But along come a bunch of enterprising editors and they change the whole paradigm.

I can imagine Oliver Stone checking out fanedit.org and thinking "Well, if they can do it... why not me?"

Congratulations for being the tail that wags the dog!

Being a famous trend-follower, I can't help wonder whats next for Hollywood? where will the take the concepts of fanedits next?
 

boon23

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haha, yeah, watch the all new ten edits for Terminator 4:
The teenage mutant action mix
The toothless grandma talkshow mix
The machines in love romantic mix for teenage girls and women above 35
The goresome unrated director's private extrabloody cut for gangmembers and wannabes
The true men never smile mix for your first midlife crisis
The gay show backwanky mix
The essence of the machines, your special nerd mix
The special biker's ultimate Harley edition
The all robotic strobo light dancefloor mix
and The US army special thank you edition, where onl yarabs get killed.

...now those are cool times to finally get a choice ;-)
 

InfoDroid

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Shimy said:
is it still a two and a half hour gay joke. cause thats what i hated about the first version. just horrible i am ok withhaving the bisexual ideas in there but they seemed so upfront and center in the theatrical version.

Actually, it's a three and a half hour gay joke now.

No, I'm kidding. ;) If you were uncomfortable with the bisexuality of Alexander, then you're going to be even more uncomfortable with this edit. Jared Leto's character has an additional scene or two, as well as Alexander's servant Bagoas, the Persian Eunuch (who was all but erased from the previous versions, probably in an effort to "tone down the gay stuff".

But honestly, in my opinion, these scenes do far more good than harm because now these scenes and the whole storyline of those in close orbit of Alexander now has a purpose.

With these additions, Alexander's three lovers: Composed of his childhood friend Haphiestion, his Barbarian wife Roxana, and his eunuch servant Bagoas... Man, Woman, and Transgender...form a triangle around Alexander's inner sanctum. Much like his scheming generals, they are as much in love with him as they are in competition with one another for his attention.

So, is Alexander Gay or Straight or Bisexual? Oliver Stone, I think, said it best in the commentary when he said that Alexander was an explorer by nature. He was looking for the end of the world. It was that driving passion to experience all life had to offer which propelled him to chase his curiosity to the ends of the known world, and he conquered everything along the way.

In short, this is a much more fully fleshed out version. If you've got anywhere above a high-school tolerance level you should be able to see the scenes as more than just "gay stuff", and maybe even empathize with a person who could have a deep, passionate relationship with three different people, with each being every bit as meaningful and complex as the next.

And while not being the absolute center or focus of the story, it does provide for some interesting drama between the characters in the third act.

And it's historically accurate to boot.
 

Finn

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Wow. This is very interesting.
I've never gotten round to seeing any version of Alexander other than the original theatrical cut. Largely because I could never decide on which version to buy on DVD.
I'd always hoped there would be more stuff released, as its no secret that there was a lot of material filmed but not included on the dvds. This looks like it'll be the one for completists like me.
That said, I've now got a great desire to own all 3 versions (and Spence's edit) just to look at the comparative differences and choice made in each case.
In addition, this has to be one of the most valuable resources available to fan-editors. You've effectively got 3 variations of the same material with a whole host of differing voice overs, edits and changes.
I'm betting once this is out there will be a few more edits of Alexander made.
 

boon23

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I doubt this. Alexander hardly has any fans, so there will hardly be much fanedits, also because not many would be interested in seeing these.
Spence's Alexander is now up on RS for a month and has been downloaded 1 time.
 

InfoDroid

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And again, it's a shame that the first version released will be the only version remembered.

I've watched the Revisited Edit twice now in one week. I'm fascinated by the fact that I hated this movie and now I love it. I find it inspiring that it really is possible to make a difference by rearranging the structure of a film.

And since it's such a massive story that deals with many different time periods, it's definitely given me a lot of ideas on how to approach Star Wars: Reborn.
 

Finn

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Yeah i agree, I actually saw a lot of merit in the original release, having written a paper on the biases and mythology of Alexander at university, it was good to see that they had taken a slant similar to my own conclusions.
(biased I know ) 8)
But I realised that it needed a lot of work to make it a genuinely good film.

Sadly I have to agree with InfoDroid that the first version of a film released is usually the one people remember. I know firsthand how stubborn people can get and how much they are unwilling to believe that a film they didn't like could be made better by re-cutting it.
A few friends of mine still refuse to watch the Director's cut of kingdom of Heaven because they disliked the original so much.
However I've managed to sway several by judiciously showing them such gems as Strength and Honour and Matrix: DeZionised. Sadly I doubt any amount of persuasion would get them to watch Alexander again in ANY form.
 

InfoDroid

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I wish the Revisited version included Stone's commentary from the Director's Cut, because it provided so much insight into the choices that were made for this film. Stone's commentaries are always good.

I wonder if there's any way to transfer it.... The problem is, many of the scenes have been totally reedited via deleted material and even alternate takes (not just extended). And the commentary always has that low level audio in the background. I wonder if it would be too difficult to sync it up.

Anyone have any suggestions? Anyone tried to do something like that before?
 
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