(Ebook) Responses to Oliver Stone's "Alexander": Film, History, and Cultural Studies (Wisconsin Studies in Classics) by Paul Cartledge, Fiona Rose Greenland, Oliver Stone ISBN 9780299232849, 0299232840

(Ebook) Responses to Oliver Stone's "Alexander": Film, History, and Cultural Studies (Wisconsin Studies in Classics) by Paul Cartledge, Fiona Rose Greenland, Oliver Stone ISBN 9780299232849, 0299232840

Charismatic Alexander of Macedon (356–323) was one of the most successful military commanders in history, conquering Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia, central Asia & lands beyond as far as Pakistan & India. He's been, over the course of two millennia since his death at the age of 32, the central figure in histories, legends, songs, novels, biographies & films. In 2004 director Oliver Stone’s epic Alexander generated a renewed interest in Alexander the Great & his companions, surroundings & accomplishments, but the critical response to the film offers a fascinating lesson in the contentious dialog between historiography & entertainment.
This volume brings together an intriguing mix of leading scholars in Macedonian & Greek history, Persian culture, film studies, classical literature & archeology—including some who were advisors for the film—& includes an afterword by Oliver Stone discussing the challenges he faced in putting Alexander’s life on the screen. The contributors scrutinize Stone’s project from its inception & design to its production & reception, considering such questions as: Can a film about Alexander & similar figures from history be both entertaining & historically sound? How do the goals of screenwriters & directors differ from those of historians? How do Alexander’s personal relationships—with his mother Olympias, his wife Roxane, his lover Hephaistion & others—affect modern perceptions of Alexander? Several of the contributors also explore reasons behind the film’s tepid response at the box office & subsequent controversies.