National Geographic - Beyond the Movie - Alexander

Starring:Beyond the Movie-Alexander
Studio: Nat'l Geographic Vid
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Bruce Hodson
History mixed with unfoundable acqusations
very good
Understanding Alexander
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY !!!!!!!!

National Geographic - Beyond the Movie - Alexander
Starring: Beyond the Movie-Alexander
Manufacturer: Nat'l Geographic Vid
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

The True Story of Alexander the Great (History Channel)
National Geographic - Beyond the Movie - Troy
Alexander the Great - Myth and Reality
Alexander Revisited - The Final Cut (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
The Real Alexander the Great: The True Story of the Man Who Ruled the World

ASIN: B0002V7U2I
Release Date: 2004-11-02

Customer Reviews:

Bruce Hodson.......2006-11-10

Excellent programme, smartly produced holding one's attention throughout. Another first for National Geographic. Quickly despatched.

History mixed with unfoundable acqusations.......2006-02-19

The "documentary" begins and implies that both Alexander the Great and his father Philip of Macedonia, were gay-ish...
A gay or bi-sexual person (as the documentary more or less characterises Alexander and Philip) could not and cannot conquer the world. A person who cannot recognize reality from myth or fiction, can not lead troops and win battles one after another, like Alexander did. A psychopath or crazy person could not unite all Greek states (who first discovered democracy)and go on freeing the rest of the known world from the Persian ruler.
Those who try to stick adjectives like crazy, gay, or anything else but a natural leader and strategy genious, should consider the above. The rest of us should try to exercise some critical thinking to what is served to us and not take as granted everything we watch on the television.

very good.......2005-07-25

I am no specialist in anything about antiquity. I am also not a military history buff. I often pick up random documentaries about historical topics, to supplement my lack of background in western civ.

I study comparative literature, so historical references, especially those of the classics, constantly come up all the time.

I would fully recommend this documentary to the wide audience it is meant for.

It is too basic for you if you are one of those guys whose mind is like a file-cabinet of historical data, both useful and otherwise.

However, it is great for the non-expert who doesn't have the luxury of time and concentration to dedicate to Alexander the Great. This documentary is more than informative.

Understanding Alexander.......2005-06-26

First I'd like to reply to the previous reviewer: The quote simply means that Alexander was complex--from what we know of him, he encompassed all these things, but a *lot* of what we know about him is built-up myth, hence "and perhaps none." It's an obvious statement, but it's a good segue for people who don't know about Alexander.

Secondly, yes, this film reeks of "cheesy" historical documentary, but it's entertaining and informative. The intent was to give people a "true" (from what we know) history behind the Hollywood-driven movie (which flopped anyway--I'll be interested to see Baz Luhrman's movie if he's still going to do it), and it did that. It explores psychological motives, military strategy, and even major characters influenced by Alexander as late as George Patton. There's also a decent short on the influence of the Iliad on Alexander. That one's not quite as interesting, in that it's basically an overview of the Iliad. It's also clear that they were targeting the movie-going audience by referring to "Troy" rather than Homer's Iliad.

All in all, I enjoyed this video. Alexander comes through in all his complexity here, and this is only a tiny scratch in the scholarship on him.

Those interested in Robin Lane Fox's work might want to take a look, as he is interviewed in this video. Other scholars interviewed are: Paul Cartledge, John Maxwell O'Brien, Joseph Scholten, Colonel Lance Betros, David Byers Millers, Partha Bose, and Andrew Chugg.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY !!!!!!!!.......2004-11-08

What utter nonsense ! Dreadful drech; one example : at the start an American ( so-called scholar) declaims " He was a wise man and a murderer ; a genius and a psychopath . He was all these things and perhaps none of them ." What the hell is THAT supposed to mean ???!!!!!!!!!It's all down hill from there.

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