Alexander's dramatic soundtrack

Advantages: beautiful music to a great film, very touching, cheap
Disadvantages: carelessly made booklet, weird extra track

...Today I will tell you all about the soundtrack to the epic movie Alexander by Vangelis What is it? This is the soundtrack to the movie "Alexander" by Oliver Stone. The movie came out in 2004 and recieved mixed review - some loved it, some hated it. But most reviewers agreed on the soundtrack, composed by Vangelis, being a work of art. Who is Vangelis? Vangelis is a greek composer and a pioneer regarding electrical music. He has started to compose electric music that sounds like a whole epic orchestra, putting a lot of feeling into it. He was born in 1943 and surprisingly also composed the music to "Bladerunner". What's "Alexander"? "Alexander" is a movie about Alexander The Great. About 350 before Christ, he was the son of the Macedonian king Philip. After his father died, he became the king of Macedonia, later...

morticiaaddams 29.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of Alexander (Original Soundtrack) - Vangelis

Castle Museum in Kent

Advantages: Eclectic Museum set in pleasant grounds
Disadvantages: Not as good as nearby Hever Castle.

... Visitor Information Chiddingstone Castle is 5 miles from Edenbridge in Kent, between the two more famous historic attractions of the area, Hever Castle and Penshurst Place. Travelling by car, without a sat nav, we found it best to follow the signs to nearby Hever Castle on the major roads. As we got nearer, on the B2027, we followed the Chiddingstone signs. If you have a sat nav, you will need the postcode TN8 7AD. They are open Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from Easter until the last Sunday of September. Information about additional open days can be found in the What?s On Section of their website, which includes Halloween and Christmas events. Prices are £6 adults, £4 children aged 5-13, under 5s are free. There are also family and season tickets. History Exhibition rooms in the current...

DavidCoulthard 24.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Chiddingstone Castle, Kent

Some fields in Kent

Advantages: Commonplace
Disadvantages: Rare

...that. It would also be a safer place - safer for the diversity of nature, and safer from our reliance on monoculture, on chemicals and on high energy inputs for our food production. We as a species are taking a gamble that all these things will be sustainable, even in the face of the changing climate that our numbers and activities engender, and it is a gamble that may well be lost. One of the values of places like Marden Meadow is that they remind us we should think about such things. What's more, there's no charge for entry, which makes it especially good value for money. If you feel you ought to be giving something back for your enjoyment of the place, you can always make a donation to Kent Wildlife Trust, which owns it. * Who's in charge * Kent Wildlife Trust is an independent charity dedicated to nature conservation in...

torr 25.05.2008 (27.05.2008) · Read review
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Review of Marden Meadow, Kent Wildlife Trust

ALEXANDER: Director's Cut

Advantages: A must see for all lovers of long historical epics.
Disadvantages: Could have shown more detail in the battle scenes.

...This is an impressive looking production with sumptuous costumes and sets and a rousing score from Vangelis. The Director's Cut includes extra footage, as is to be expected. Oliver Stone chose a largely European cast for the film, with Colin Farrell as Alexander and Anthony Hopkins as Ptolemy. In this film there are several Irish actors, including Farrell, so the main accent is of course Irish, which makes a change from the (by now) traditional British accents in film epics. It would be refreshing if a director had his historical cast adopt an accent authentic to the time and place i.e. in this case Macedonian or Greek. Val Kilmer, who plays Philip, Alexander's father, does change his, but to an Irish one like Farrell. Angelina Jolie, who plays Alexander's manipulative mother, is the only one who attempts a Mediterranean delivery...

Thormod 07.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Alexander (Director's Cut) (DVD)

A - Z of Kent

Advantages: Totally comprehensive guide to Kent
Disadvantages: Although navigation is easy, the volume of information is enormous and to fully explore the whole site could take days

...www.kent.gov.uk is the official Kent County Council website. Not the sort of site you’d pick to browse if you’re looking for thrill a minute fun and excitement, but if you have an interest in Kent for any reason, be it from the point of view as a current or perspective resident, business person, or visitor, it is well worth a look..... “Welcome to Kent, the Gateway between the UK and Europe, and to Kent County Council's website. This is a new site and content will be regularly added and updated. We hope it gives you lots of information about Kent, Kent County Council and its services.” The home page is visually plain and simple, displaying the short greeting message (above), in basic black arial font on a crisp white background. The main category headings of the site are displayed, in bold red font...

wiggglypufff 11.05.2001 · Read review
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Review of kent.gov.uk

Was he really that great? - Alexander

Advantages: Good story, Loads of factual information
Disadvantages: Nearly 3 hours long!

...Alexander Running Time: 175 Minutes Released: 7 January 2005 Directed By: Oliver Stone Certificate: 15 Cast: Alexander - Colin Farrel Hephaistion - Jared Leto Ptolemy - Elliot Cowan Philotas - Joseph Morgan Antigonus - Ian Beattie Cassander - Jonathan Rhys Meyers Leonnatus - Garrett Lombard Crateros - Rory McCann Roxane - Rosario Dawson Old Ptolemy - Anthony Hopkins Scribe - David Bedella Child Alexander - Jessie Kamm Olympias - Angelina Jolie Philip - Val Kilmer Nurse - Fiona O'Shaughnessy Young Alexander - Connor Paolo Young Hephaistion - Patrick Carroll Wrestling Trainer - Brian Blessed Young Nearchus - Peter Williamson Young Cassander - Morgan Christopher Ferris Young Ptolemy - Robert Earley Young Perdiccas - Aleczander Gordon Aristotle - Christopher Plummer Cleitus - Gary...

Gangsta-ash 05.02.2008 (12.03.2008) · Read review
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Review of Alexander (Special Edition) (DVD)

A King Isn't Born, Alexander; He's Made.

Advantages: Some nice locations and looks quite spectacular
Disadvantages: The Script, The performances, the direction, the length, pretty much everything

...There was something about Alexander that cried out to me to avoid it. When it arrived in the cinema I thought I don't really want to see it but it might be quite good. Then I started thinking that maybe after Phone Booth Colin Farrell would be picking better roles for himself. I suppose by now I should realise when to listen to that initial voice that tells me it'll be terrible. Time and time again though I ignore it and end up sitting through some pretty terrible films and this certainly ranks up there amongst them. In Oliver Stone's biopic of the great Macedonian king Alexander (Colin Farrell), he attempts to educate the audience of a great ruler. During his rule he conquered 90% of the known world from his Macedonian base. He achieved the majority of this by the age of 25 and this film concentrates mainly on his campaigns in Persia...

Andy.mack 14.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Alexander (Director's Cut) (DVD)

Alexander the Great Waste of Time

Advantages: Interaction between Alexander and Haphaestion (all 3 minutes of it)
Disadvantages: Overacting, inappropriate music, horrible accents, too many flashbacks, too long of film, ... the list can keep going on and on.

...the whole movie spouting rubbish in what's been described perfectly by other reviewers as a 'fruitshop Romanian accent') speak with an Irish accent! What gives with that? I mean we all know Colin Farrell is an Irish boy, but even he can do another accent, so why did the producers decide that all Macedonians would be speaking with a lilt, to be sure to be sure??!! Then there's the dialogue - we have not one but two narrators to the film, first of all Anthony Hopkins as the older version of Ptolemy mythologises Alexander and spouts all sorts of guff about how 'great' he was, but this is let down by what we actually see of the man - there are no great inspirational moments or even moving moments from this character other than those with his boyfriend Haphaestion (these scenes are actually some of the best moments of the film, which is...

Rahielli 14.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of Alexander (2004)

Chartwell House, Kent - Home of Churchill

Advantages: Fascinating house, lovely gardens, easy to find
Disadvantages: A bit pricy for a family

...Chartwell House in Kent is most famous for being the home of Winston Churchill and as such acts as a museum and shrine to his life and works. However, it is set in an extremely beautiful location with wonderful gardens and gorgeous views that are a pleasure in their own right and a good guide as to why Churchill himself loved the place so much and why he spent the majority of his life there. The entire site has been owned and run by the National Trust for a number of years and in terms of facilities and general quality is pretty much what you'd expect. On with the details. ############################### # Getting There ############################### Chartwell House is open all year except Dec 25th and is near Westerham, Kent. The National trust website gives useful notes on getting there by road, rail, bike, bus...

ilaskey 21.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of Chartwell House, Kent

The great Alexander, brought down to real life

Advantages: Some good ideas and sets
Disadvantages: The plot was plodding and somewhat unrealistic at times

..., and the battle near the Ganges). The music, done by Vangelis (think 'Chariots of Fire'), was superb. As entertainment, the film was a good evening's outing, and I didn't find myself squirming in my seat as much as I thought I might at the prospect of a three-hour film. The computer-generated scenes in Babylon, and the on-location settings of Morocco and Thailand were glorious cinematography. The character of Alexander in history is one of mythology, one that was so powerful that it inspired the Roman leaders from Julius Caesar forward to global conquest (an irony of history is that the Roman Empire, which supposedly covered the 'known world', didn't cover half of Alexander's empire). Colin Farrell's performance here was not one that is inspiring; his speeches to the troops lack the kind of power that an Olivier or Brannagh might have in...

frkurt 12.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Alexander (2004)