or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
Sorry!
More Buying Choices
43 used & new from $5.92

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

or

Get a $2.25 Amazon.com Gift Card
 
   
The True Story of Alexander the Great (History Channel)
 
See larger image
 

The True Story of Alexander the Great (History Channel) (2004)

Starring: Peter Woodward Rating: NR (Not Rated) Format: DVD
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

List Price: $19.95
Price: $12.49 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $7.46 (37%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Thursday, November 12? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
33 new from $5.92 10 used from $7.49
Save up to 50% in Our Triple TV and History Sale
Save up to 50% on dozens of TV and documentary DVDs in our Triple TV and History Sale.

Frequently Bought Together

The True Story of Alexander the Great (History Channel) + Decisive Battles of the Ancient World (History Channel) + Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae
Total List Price: $64.85
Price For All Three: $40.47

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: The True Story of Alexander the Great (History Channel) DVD ~ Peter Woodward

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Decisive Battles of the Ancient World (History Channel) DVD ~ Artist Not Provided

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae DVD ~ Jeffery A. Baker

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Special Offers and Product Promotions


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The True Story of Alexander the Great (History Channel)
66% buy the item featured on this page:
The True Story of Alexander the Great (History Channel) 3.6 out of 5 stars (14)
$12.49
Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire
10% buy
Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire 4.1 out of 5 stars (7)
$35.99
Decisive Battles of the Ancient World (History Channel)
9% buy
Decisive Battles of the Ancient World (History Channel) 3.8 out of 5 stars (13)
$18.99
Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae
8% buy
Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae 4.2 out of 5 stars (46)
$8.99

Product Details

  • Actors: Peter Woodward
  • Format: Color, Letterboxed, NTSC
  • Language: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rating: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: A&E Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: January 25, 2005
  • Run Time: 150 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0006L7UFG
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,308 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #23 in  Movies & TV > Documentary > History > World History & Culture
    #79 in  Movies & TV > Television > History Channel
    #87 in  Movies & TV > Documentary > Politics

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Tutored by Aristotle, helpless witness to his father's assassination, and a brilliant, pioneering tactician, Alexander the Great had conquered the known world--and sealed his legacy as one of history's most remarkable rulers--by the age of 25. In the year 334 B.C., 20-year-old King Alexander of Macedonia decided to bring the farthest reaches of the world under one domain. Over the next 12 years, he led a grand army across more than 20,000 miles and eventually brought all of Asia under his control, only to perish from battle wounds at the age of 32. Incorporating dramatic onsite reenactments with high-end computer graphics and the expertise of renowned scholars, THE TRUE STORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT is special presentation from THE HISTORY CHANNEL®, examining the life and career of this military genius, impassioned lover, and fearless leader. Hosted by Peter Woodward (Conquest), this definitive program is available on DVD for the first time. DVD Features: The Making of The True Story of Alexander The Great Featurette; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire

Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire

DVD ~ n/a
4.1 out of 5 stars (7)  $35.99
Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae

Last Stand of the 300: The Legendary Battle at Thermopylae

DVD ~ Jeffery A. Baker
4.2 out of 5 stars (46)  $8.99
Barbarians (History Channel)

Barbarians (History Channel)

DVD ~ Clancy Brown
3.5 out of 5 stars (18)  $12.99
Barbarians 2 (History Channel)

Barbarians 2 (History Channel)

DVD ~ Artist Not Provided
4.1 out of 5 stars (10)  $26.99
The History Channel Presents The Crusades - Crescent & The Cross

The History Channel Presents The Crusades - Crescent & The Cross

DVD ~ Artist Not Provided
3.6 out of 5 stars (32)  $14.99
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
49 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining but not groundbreaking, February 1, 2005
By Mobius "definitive" (Folsom, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This is a worthy documentary but it is rather short. It tries to strike a balance by showing Alexander's life from youth until he eventually assumed the reigns of power and conquered the known world. There is no one outstanding or trully memorable sequence in this documentary nor is there colorful or dramatic commentary. There are some CGI scenes (that are used over and over) that do paint a fine picture of the Macedonian army's formations. Some of the battles are explored with superficial detail and provide a shallow analysis of the strategies used.

For anyone who really likes this documentary, I would highly recommend "In the Footsteps of Alexander" by Michael Wood. In that DVD, Alexander's footsteps are re-traced from the time he left his home (never to see it again) until his death. It has many memorable scenes and fine commentary by Wood. Neither documentary provides an exhaustive portrait of the man but they do help you get there with further research.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Heavily biased, February 26, 2007
By Andariel Halo "Disillusioned Smark" (Phenomynouss@hotmail.com is my real e-mail) - See all my reviews
Standing alone as a documentary, without any pre-knowledge of Alexander the Great, one would view this as highly informative and well structured.

However, if you know even the basics of what Alexander did, you'll find yourself a bit concerned with the way events are told.

If you're an expert, you'll feel bitter at how this "documentary" is very biased.


It tells a very informative account of Alexander's exploits, with the typical documentary style of a narrator along with the side-angle shot of historians and experts talking about subjects, along with some re-enactments of some events and the commercial breaks, even re-enactments of Plutarch, Arrian, Curtius Rufus, and such telling us directly what they wrote about Alexander.

However, the documentary leaves no room open for ambiguity, as the historians give their one-sided opinions on Alexander's character and the documentary goes along with that without showing other views.

For one, the documentary (this includes many of the experts' testimony) takes the ancients' words and twists their ambiguity for their own interpretation. Alexander is portrayed as a power-hungry, greedy, drunken little boy who isn't happy doing anything but conquering people. When he kills Philotas, he is obliged to kill Parmenion, but the documentary simply leaves it at "he also had his father Parmenion killed" without further explanation, leaving non-experts feeling as if Alexander brutally had Parmenion killed just because he was Philotas's father.


The events which paint Alexander in a favorable light (such as treating Darius's body with great respect) are given a very empty, neutral tone, while most all other events paint Alexander like a brutal, tyrannic, drunken dictator, burning Persepolis because he was drunk and wanted to please the Greeks, attacking cities like Mali and crossing the Gedrosian desert because he wanted to squeeze some last conquests out of his army, essentially screwing them when he promised them they'd come home. The very least that can be said against this bias is that it doesn't directly claim that Alexander had his father Philip killed.


The purpose of a documentary is to provide an unbiased, accurate, highly detailed and informational account, and occasionally make it entertaining. This documentary fails in its first task, to be unbiased. It's almost as if the writers had no opinion on the subject, interviewed three or four historians who gave their relatively negative opinions, and made that the general theme of the entire piece.

Not the best documentary. If you watch this, keep in mind what Alexander accomplished, not just militarily, but in uniting barbarous tribes under civilization, spread technology and culture, did not erase Persian culture, but embraced it and even tried to mix it with Greek. He was a heavy drinker, yes, he made mistakes, yes, but if we judge everyone by a select few actions, we see Stonewall Jackson as a wicked, intolerant, hateful man, Hannibal as a genius mad with anger and hate for Rome, on a bucherous quest to murder Romans, and Caesar as a cold-blooded murderer and dictator. Ambiguity in his actions is what makes Alexander the Great, son of Zeus-Ammon, truly human, and this documentary fails to capture this.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing Documentary About Alexander, April 9, 2007
By Virtuoso Fan (Murrieta, CA USA) - See all my reviews
Being a true Alexander buff that I am, I was very disappointed with this DVD. It's apparent from its production values that the History Channel didn't want to allocate the resources (expenses) that a production about the life of history's greatest conqueror deserves.

The battle scenes and the enactment of the drama are very amateurish. It's almost like you'd rather see Peter Woodward sitting behind a desk talking about Alexander. I didn't even really consider the bias elements that another reviewer noted as I sat uninterested through the program. It would have been okay if I was catching it on TV, but I soon felt that it was a waste of money and not deserving of being in my collection of all things Alexander.

You'll get a LOT more out of reading a few good books about Alexander and watching the Oliver Stone movie (the third 'Final Cut' version). It's better than worthless as it attempts to teach the viewer at least something about Alexander - hence two stars - but it'd be best to catch this on the History Channel sometime rather than spending the money on such a poorly conceived program.
Comment Comment (1) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great companion DVD for studying Alexander the Great
My kids both have enjoyed learning about Alexander the Great and they were thrilled to watch this DVD. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Katie C. Nelson

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the FULL True Story
I, like others, am a bit disappointed. I knew little about Alexander the Great, other than that he had conquered and created a vast empire. Read more
Published 12 months ago by *

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT Closed Captioned nor Subtitled
Contrary to what is listed here at Amazon, the True Story of Alexander the Great is neither closed captioned nor subtitled. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Eileen Kortright

5.0 out of 5 stars The True Story of Alexander the Great (History Channel)
Wonderfully produced and executed presentation of the life and conquests of Alexander. The History Channel has created a terrific means by which to teach history; it is very... Read more
Published 22 months ago by P. Denchy

5.0 out of 5 stars A great DVD about Alexander
I found this DVD to be a fantastic and engageing documentary on arguably the greatest conqueror in history. Some of the other reviewers commented that it was too short??? Read more
Published on August 20, 2007 by Rhett D. Sorensen

4.0 out of 5 stars very interesting for ancient history buffs
This was a very interesting documentary. And without commercials is even better.
Published on May 28, 2007 by Christopher W. Damico

5.0 out of 5 stars The True Story of Alexander the Great
"The True Story of Alexander the Great" rewards the viewer with a comprehensive look at the life of the greatest conqueror who ever lived. Read more
Published on November 13, 2006 by M. Klein

5.0 out of 5 stars Iskandar
I loved this DVD because it covers some graphics that in Mr. Wood's DVD were not included. The vast kindom and life of Alexander is very hard to cover in only one DVD. Read more
Published on October 28, 2005 by Nadia Azumi

5.0 out of 5 stars FASCINATING ACCOUNT OF THE WARRIOR KING!
"The True Story of Alexander the Great" gives the viewer a fascinating look at the life of the greatest warrior who ever lived. Read more
Published on August 20, 2005 by Steven Hancock

2.0 out of 5 stars Actually Mistitled
Gee, a documentary that solves a question that has been studied for 2300 years. If you go by the title, and what the host says, then the History Channel has done a great service... Read more
Published on May 23, 2005 by rjones2818

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Movies & TV by subject:












i.e., each DVD must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.