Customer Reviews

Alexander the Great

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.'

For what it is -- an hour-long 1960s TV pilot -- this ain't bad at all! Productions values are okay, and the outdoor locations, though recognizably the American West, are nonetheless spectacular. John Cassavetes and Joseph Cotton turn in fine performances, and Shatner (who never looked better shirtless) shows why he became a worldwide star; he's a more charismatic Alexander than either Richard Burton or Colin Farrell. (Adam West's role is too small to register.) The story is fictional, not historical, but typical of the kinds of yarns that have been woven about Alexander in many lands for many centuries, a mini-melodrama of treachery and wartime intrigue. If only they had gone ahead and made a TV series...but then Shatner would not have made Star Trek, and West would not have played Batman! The bonus featurette, "Hollywood's Epic Films," is essentially a 40-mintue compilation of vintage trailers. All in all, this dvd is well worth the modest price.

Of its kind very watchable but a bit dated in presentation. However, I was glad to see it and found the direction and production of this movie attractive.

If, like me, you're in the middle of your All-Things-Shatner fixation, you'll probably get a (mild) kick out of this. It's watchable; interesting strictly from the standpoint of watching The Shatman do something different - but whatever network passed on this pilot back in the day was probably wise to do so.

The Shatman is Al the Great, the favorite of the gods, fighting for peace and freedom by, er, invading Persia in this 52-minute TV pilot from 1964 that ABC were so impressed with that they sat on it until 1968... As if that isn't enough of a casting leap, there's Adam West as his special friend Cleander, a very worse-for-wear Joseph Cotten as the surrogate father figure, John Cassavettes as a treacherous Greek general after Al's job, Simon Oakland as Cassavettes' sidekick and Cliff Osmond as a Persian general in command of an army four times the size of Al's - which, in real terms, means about 25 if you don't count the stock footage. Filmed in the kind of Californian foothills locations you'd later find Captain Kirk slugging it out with Abraham Lincoln and a lizard man and directed by Phil Karlson (The Phenix City Story, Kansas City Confidential), it all plays rather like a poor episode of The Time Tunnel with the sci-fi elements removed. It's easy to imagine Oliver Stone watching it to cheer himself up whenever he thinks about how his version(s) reception...

Timeless' DVD release is less than great - after the main titles it takes you straight to a menu rather than the rest of the show, while the running time is padded out with a cut and paste 'documentary' made up of trailer footage from other epics. Transfer quality is acceptable but nothing more.

The battle footage used in the ALEXANDER THE GREAT TV pilot was lifted from the 1960 Steve Reeves epic GIANT OF MARATHON, which was about the Greeks battling invading Persians. The ALEXANDER pilot is campy fun, and certainly the casting director had an eye for talent (Shatner would soon be conquering the universe as Captain Kirk, and Adam West would soon be the caped crusader). The cast, including old pros Joseph Cotten, Simon Oakland, and the indie-minded John Cassavetes, fastidiously overact the material. The filmed-in-Greece battle scenes don't quite match the Utah-lensed combat inserts. Shatner is pretty good as the conqueror, but Ziva Rodann's strange role of Alexander's main squeeze/Princess/Exotic Dancer makes no sense at all. Fun for sword and sandal fans, it was nice to see the show again after a forty year lapse. The DVD quality is very acceptable, considering the scarcity of the program itself. It's no better or worse than the average Alpha DVD, but even that level of quality is more than I expected.

William Shatner, as every young actor does...has to start somewhere. ANd although his youth is no excuse - his performace has the Greek icon 'Alexander' is strong.

It's just everything else is week. His fellow cast is light on the seriousness of the part and the production value is a little scary.

Although if your a fan od Shatner, you might want this for the pure excercise of seeing the begingings of Shanter's often satarized 'acting style'. You will see his dramatic appraoch to anger and greed.

Overall the film is slow and weak, but I believe the only reason it was made available was because William Shatner is in it! 3-26-09.

First, it is totally amazing to me that this pilot was not released as a TV special around 1968 (when Shanter, Adam West, & Cassavetes) were all big names. If produced then instead of 1963 ,the production would of cost much, much more with this cast. It seems if it was released then, it would of had a guaranteed built-in TV audience and a successful broadcast.

As a TV sitcom it is an interesting production, I was expecting something alot cheaper looking instead it was quite respectable in costumes,sets and even a magnificent battle scene with Memnon at the end with hundreds if not thousands of extras. It is written as a TV sitcom, and I do not think a story of this magnitude lends itself to trite TV serial plots but the subject would of made an excellent TV movie multi-part serial ( a format that did not exist at the time.) I think all who find the subject of Alexander fascinating , will find this for the price to be an interesting production . Alexander's mistress/wife is a real bombshell with an hour glass figure.

I could actually see the theme being developed in the pilot: Alexander the visionary, trying to ensure the security of his homeland by fighting to change the disregard for human life of its enemies. A lot of episodes could have been hung from that.

It worked out for the best in the end, though. Shatner didn't have as good a fit on-screen with West as he would have with Nimoy. It's interesting if you follow Shat's career... I've concluded that he does best with strong direction (seems to have gotten it here) and strong counterparts to play off.

Which leads me to an interesting observation: Alexander behaved differently with his wife in this than Kirk did with the love interests on Trek.

Also Shatner's a horse lover and he gets to ride a lot in this. He's clearly enjoying that.

Since it's inexpensive, this DVD is worth picking up if you're familiar with Shatner and want to see another performance. You would enjoy it.

The sound is mushy and the picture quality a bit soft, but hey, it's better than having this pilot lost forever.

I had read [...] that the TV-pilot starring William Shatner (before his Star Trek fame) was actually "the best Alexander out there." So, this evening my husband and I gave it a try. The cheesy music at the beginning should have been a warning. The actors didn't say their lines; they shouted them; the scenes consisted mostly of men on horseback galloping here and there; Alexander's love-interest looked ridiculously out of place with her bee-hive hairdo, false eyelashes, and thick eyeliner. In fact, everything about the movie oozed the artificiality of the 60's. My husband gave up on it after about twenty minutes, but I stuck it out for the full hour and a half. The only thing I can say in its favor is that its demise as a potential series allowed Shatner to go on to star in Star Trek. If his "Alexander" had been a success, we might never have known Capt. Kirk!