Robert Rossen's 1956 epic Alexander the Great was a massive, expensive, and polarizing production
In short: Filmed in Spain with thousands of extras and custom costumes, this 1956 historical drama aimed for cinematic grandeur. Despite its scale and ambition, the film faced mixed critical reception, with some praising its visual spectacle while others found the storytelling unfocused and the pacing sluggish for its two-and-a-half-hour runtime.
Directed, written, and produced by Robert Rossen, the 1956 film Alexander the Great was an ambitious undertaking that required three years of research. Shot over 110 days in Spain, the production utilized Technicolor and CinemaScope to capture its sprawling battle sequences. The scale was immense: the crew manufactured 11,000 costumes and employed 5,000 extras, while the Spanish military provided 1,000 cavalry horses. The total production cost reached $4 million, a significant investment for the era.
The film stars Richard Burton as the Macedonian king, portraying his life from his youth under Aristotle's tutelage to his conquests in Asia. Despite the opulence of the sets and the technical achievement of the battle scenes, the film struggled to find a consistent narrative rhythm. Critics at the time were divided; some lauded the spectacle and Burton's impassioned performance, while others, such as those at The New Yorker, felt the drama was insufficient to sustain the lengthy runtime. Historical inaccuracies also drew notice, including the use of Roman-inspired armor and the depiction of Roxane as the daughter of Darius.
Commercially, the film fell short of its $20 million goal, earning $2.5 million by the end of 1956. It ranked as the 32nd most successful movie at the box office that year. While it briefly topped the charts in April 1956, it was quickly overtaken. Today, the film holds an 8% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, often remembered as a well-intentioned but unwieldy epic that suffered from what some critics dubbed elephantiasis.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Alexander the Great (1956 film)
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