Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Madacy Records
• VHS Release Date: June 2, 1998
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304425430
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,306 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Historically Inacurate And Poorly Crafted Video, March 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Alexander the Great: Ruler of the World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

While the historical narrative accompanying this video is essentially correct, the historical reenactments are laughable. The actor -- if we can even call him that -- who portrays Alexander struts around like Fabio posing for the cover of some romance novel. The extras who portray Alexander's army rush into battle like drunken frat boys and clearly were not coached in the intricacies of Phalanx warfare. Worst of all, Alexander and his cavalrymen ride horses with stirrups! Stirrups were a medieval invention that didn't show up until more than 500 years after Alexander's death.

If you want to view a good video on Alexander, this isn't the place to look.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice overview of the life of Alexander, November 3, 2002

By 

D. Roberts "Hadrian12" (Battle Creek, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alexander the Great: Ruler of the World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

To clarify what this is, it is a documentary on the life of Alexander. The cover makes it look like a feature film, which is bound to cause some confusion.

For what it is, it is a pretty good inquiry into the life of Alexander of Macedon. While it does not offer a whole lot that is new for those who are familiar with this tremendous individual, it is worthwhile for those who would like a brief outline of his life & times.

One of the nicest features of the work is that we get to see a "cameo" appearance of the great Greek historian Plutarch, who wrote of the life of Alexander's life (as well as sundry other historical personages) under the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian. There are also some nice computer animations that are super-imposed on top of ancient ruins to show what our best guess is of how Persian and Egyptian temples and other buildings actually looked like some 2,500 years ago.

The weakest facet of the documentary is, as other reviewers have pointed out, the battle sequences and presentation of the Macedonian army. These parts of the film are amateurish and very low-budget, as well as historically inaccurate. One of the biggest examples of a lack of veracity is the Macedonians carrying these skinny little 3 foot long spears. These did not exist in the Macedonian arsenal.

Alexander's father, King Phillip II of Macedonia did extensive travelling in order to discern the greatest tools of war in the world. He was very impressed with the 8 foot lances used by the Thebans and the Spartans, but sought to improve upon the idea. So, he contrived a 16-18 foot lance that was to be used in the Macedonian version of the Phalanx. This spear, not the skinny little spear shown in this documentary, was the centerpiece of the Macedonian heavy infrantry.

That said, I don't want to harp on the negatives too much. While the visual representations are not very good, the documentary side of this film is worth seeing. I would especially recommend this VHS to persons who are curious about Alexander the Great, but don't want to buy an expensive documentary.

On the other hand, for those who are more ambitous about learning about the life of Alexander as well as the historical background of Macedonia, I would recommend these works in addition to the present one: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT), MACEDONIA: THE LAND OF A GOD, Volumes I & II, ... and ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE BATTLE OF ISSUS ...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars disappointing, April 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Alexander the Great: Ruler of the World [VHS] (VHS Tape)

First of all, this is NOT a movie, this is more like an educational documentary, with a narrator through out the film.
This film should have been listed under documentary films not movies. Even so its very boring even as an educational film.