From the theatrical version, I remembered Alexander as lacking and unimpressive. The film never conveyed why Alexander was such a great leader, I never understood his philosophies. Oh, how a Director’s Cut release can make so much difference. The Blu-ray version is the Director’s Cut, which I believe is the third version of the film. To me, this is the best version because it tells more of how Alexander became the great leader, he was shaped by both parents, whom disliked each other. His mother gave him the cunning ability to judge people, while his father gave him advice on how to lead.

Video – The video quality is awesome! It elevates the experience in watching the film. For the most part, it is very clear and sharp. There are occasional blurs here and there but nothing significant. At times, there are visible grains, but the healthy kinds. The grains help give the film that aging look that many directors cannot convey. The details on the furnitures, and the costumes are simply amazing. I remembered this film on DVD, and the sets looked laughable. But for this version, the sets look amazing, I can honestly say that there were times that I felt I was really there. The colors are earthy, mostly warm while they were in the deserts, and very greenish when they were in India. The best frame of the film was when Alexander’s horse went up against an elephant. That was an amazing scene, it was in slow-motion, and everything in the background looked clear and crisp.
Video – A

Sound – The sound design is amazing. They paid great attention to the small details, like the horses’ breathing, the weather, and the clingy jewelries from the dancing women. All the speakers are fully utilized, background noises are clear and distinguishable, the dialogue is also clear and loud, it does not get drowned amongst the great background noise. A great sound design, transferred perfectly into the Blu-ray.
Audio – A

Extras – Lots of Extra supplements in this release. To name a few, there’s Oliver Stone’s commentary track just for this version of the film, also included is a Historian’s track about Alexander’s journeys. Stone was pretty honest about how he felt about the film, he doesn’t sugar-coat the failure of the film. Also included is a 4-minute documentary of Vangelis’ scoring of the film. Aside from the aforementioned above, there are more Extras in this Blu-ray.
Extras – A

Overall – This is a great Blu-ray release. For the most part, whatever went wrong with the Theatrical release was fixed in this version. The movie itself is better, but still a bit too long. The video and audio quality are superb, and the Extras are amazing. This is a must buy for movie buffs out there!
Overall – A

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