National Geographic DVD

[jan]

I want to recommend National Geographic's dvd on Alexander. It features Robin Lane Fox, John O'Brien, and Paul Cartledge. Also has footage from the movie Sikander, 1941. It is pure Camelot!
More on Karnaketernal or Alexander-Macedon.

[Halil]

Hello JanWhile it's good that you enjoyed this video, anyone thinking of buying it should be warned that it is not the quality video that you would expect to come from National Geographic. This was obviously a very low budget production brought out to cash in on any interest in Alexander that might be generated by the movie. The historical commentary was poor and in places, downright wrong. I was particularly disappointed in the lack of actual location footage and by the amount of time that was devoted to showing varying shots of the Alexander mosaic or medieval and later paintings of scenes from the Alexander romance.RegardsHalil

[jan]

Hi Halil, I was disappointed in the fact that they excluded Persepolis also. I noticed some errors also, but essentially, I liked the photography, and some of the depiction of Alexander's battles, especially the Battle of Tyre and the Battle of Issus. They also included Susa and the Weddings. The best part to me is the footage of Sikander. The task of filming that movie just amazed me. I thought Partha Bose's comments intriguing, and especially enjoying seeing what John O'Brien, author of The Invisible Enemy, looks like. And Andrew Chugg impressed me in his presentation also. So for me, it is worth it to see all these notables together in one film.

[jan]

Hi Halil, I was disappointed in the fact that they excluded Persepolis also. I noticed some errors also, but essentially, I liked the photography, and some of the depiction of Alexander's battles, especially the Battle of Tyre and the Battle of Issus. They also included Susa and the Weddings. The best part to me is the footage of Sikander. The task of filming that movie just amazed me. The script is here, I believe, on this website, isn't it? I thought Partha Bose's comments intriguing, and especially enjoying seeing what John O'Brien, author of The Invisible Enemy, looks like. And Andrew Chugg impressed me in his presentation also. So for me, it is worth it to see all these notables together in one film.

[Halil]

Hello JanYou make it sound as though Persepolis was the only place that wasn't shown (laughing). I can't remember this video including *any* worthwhile footage of *any* place that Alexander had been. This for me was the biggest disappointment as National Geographic has got to have access to an enormous amount of archived material which they could have included. For me, no amount of footage of fictional representations of Alexander (ie the Indian movie, the mosaic, the paintings) could make up the lack of real "on location" film. When you add to that the poor commentary, it's a sorry mess. There are better videos out there with better information.CheersHalil