Fiona wrote:Sure you're not thinking of the Richard Burton one, amyntoros? There were some cracking lines in that, especially the Athens scene after Chaeronea. But I'm struggling to think of any good lines in the William Shatner one.
No, I wasn't thinking of the Richard Burton one.
I have a confession to make here - I've never watched it beyond the point where Roxane's family is introduced because I was bored to tears, good lines notwithstanding! Can't quite figure out how anyone can actually make Alexander boring, but that's how I felt. The only thing that really sticks with me about the parts I watched is the "dead swan" on top of Richard Burton's head! As for good lines in the Shatner pilot, well, there's the following:
Alexander: I admit I tempted the gods but they're good to their own.
Antigonus: What are you now? A god or a man?
Alexander: Whatever suits my purpose. If one Greek lives because a Persian trembles at the sight of a god it suits my purpose.
Antigonus: And your own men? What they are to believe?
Alexander: (Muffled) I sweat like a Macedonian and bleed like a Greek. They'll follow my command.
That's rather good and historically relevant dialogue IMO, and not what you'd expect to find in this camp little production. The scriptwriter must have known the Alexander histories well or he would never had introduced such a subject (and his own opinion of it).
Semiramis wrote:The mere thought of Shatner as Alexander is almost enough to put me off my lunch...
EDIT: OK, take that back. Clicked on the actual link you provided Amyntoros. It looks pretty all right.
For a moment I wondered why an Amazon link might make you reconsider, then I saw
Jeanne Reames' review at the bottom of the page.
Whether you rate this high or low depends on what you want out of it ... which is why the 3 stars. History? Bah. Not even close. But as a 1960s sword-and-sandals flick? It's a scream. I regularly show it in the class I teach on Alexander when we reach the final lecture, which is about the appropriation of Alexander in latter centuries as symbol and fiction. It's very interesting not for what it tells us about Alexander, but what it tells about American society in the early 1960s. In the West, Alexander is, arguably, the most famous (non-religious) historical figure prior to the 20th Century. He's been used, reused and used again for all sorts of things.
So if you want camp and commentary on US society, that's what you'll find here. History, not so much.
But I will say that Shatner probably played one of the best on-screen Alexanders for both charisma and projection of self-certainty. I really like him better than Richard Burton's earlier portrayal and MUCH better than Colin Farrell's later portrayal. And later, of course, Captain Kirk was really just 'Alexander in Space.'
Have to say that I DO love camp (even admit to being fond of
Buckaroo Banzai!) so that's one of the reasons I agree with her on this. Gideon Nisbet also sees depth in Shatner's performance. Here are his comments about the end of the pilot:
Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture Page 105
The two men tussle energetically but almost clumsily; we have seen both of them fight much better. Alexander stabs Karonos/Hephaistion, sliding his blade in deep; there is time for another long, soul-searching exchange of glances before the traitor falls, rolling down the hillside, the skirt of his tunic bunched up around his waist. After the battle, the camera pans slowly across a silent battlefield strewn with corpses. Left momentarily alone, a mounted Alexander looks back over his shoulder in melancholy regret at Karonos' death. Then, with studied cynicism, and making sure we get his best side, he re-arranges his features into the mask of the Man of Destiny. Even without an audience (or with only us as an audience), the arch-narcissist cannot help putting on an act. A skilled manipulator, he knows exactly how to play upon the fears and doubts of his generals, including their doubts as to his sanity - doubts which we, the audience at home, have by now come to share and upon which Alexander himself is careful to offer no comment. Is there a real personality behind the obsessively maintained façade, beneath the trademark, carefully touseled mop of blond curls – or is he nothing but surface? If this Alexander is a psychopath – and Shatner's disquieting performance conveys that possibility very ably - then he is a fascinatingly self-aware one. As the credits roll, the cautious survivors, cowed by their leader's exemplary violence, follow him on horseback into the East; their swords held pointlessly, phallically erect in slavish imitation of their unbalanced generalissimo.
And after all the above is said, I'm compelled to add that the DVD is just so much
fun to watch. Sometimes I think it's good to take a break from all the seriousness.
Best regards,
