Oscar-winning Greek composer Vangelis is creating the original score for Oliver Stone's Alexander, an epic retelling of the story of the legendary Greek conqueror-hero Alexander the Great, with Colin Farrell in the title role. A Warner Bros. film with a cast that includes Oscar winners Angelina Jolie and Sir Anthony Hopkins as well as Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Alexander opens nationwide on Friday, November 5, 2004. Sony Classical will release the film's original soundtrack recording on Tuesday, October 19, 2004.
Vangelis has created a musical setting that captures both the epic scale and the human drama of this spectacular film, which is both written and directed by multiple Oscar winner Oliver Stone (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, JFK).
"I've always admired Oliver's films," Vangelis says, "and, of course, Alexander the Great is a story that's a natural part of my heritage. So, to be composing for this film, with Oliver Stone directing, makes it an especially exciting experience for me."
Alexander is based on the true story of one of history's most luminous and influential leaders (Colin Farrell) - a man who had conquered 90% of the known world by the age of 27. Alexander led his virtually invincible armies through 22,000 miles of sieges and conquests in just eight years, and by the time of his death at the age of 32 had forged an empire unlike any the world had ever seen.
The film takes an unflinchingly honest look at Alexander's life and his relationships with his mother, Olympias (Angelina Jolie), his father Philip (Val Kilmer), his lifelong friend and battle commander Hephaistion (Jared Leto), Roxane, his ambitious and beautiful Persian wife (Rosario Dawson), and his trusted general and confidant Ptolemy (played at different ages by Anthony Hopkins and Elliot Cowan). Set in Alexander's pre-Christian world of social customs and morals far different from today's, the film explores a time of unmatched beauty and unbelievable brutality, of soaring ideals and staggering betrayals.
Vangelis's music for the 1981 film Chariots of Fire is one of the most influential - and widely "quoted" - film scores of modern times, winning an Oscar for Best Original Score. Since that worldwide success, his scores for the films Blade Runner, Missing, The Bounty and 1492- Conquest of Paradise have become enduring international cult favorites, along with his many concept albums and other musical projects. Most recently, Vangelis created the 2002 FIFA World Cup Anthem, which won the International Song of the Year Award from the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
In 2001, Vangelis collaborated with Sony Classical on an epic multimedia project entitled Mythodea, built around his music, which was used by NASA to celebrate its Mars Odyssey mission. Vangelis himself performed the score live in Athens in a concert that also featured singers Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman. In addition to an audio recording of the music, a dramatic film of the concert is available on home video by Sony Classical.
