Stone revisits Alexander in new version

Warner's DVD to include 45 minutes of extra footage

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 12/18/2006

DEC. 18 | Oliver Stone hopes the third time’s the charm with Warner’s Feb. 27 release Alexander Revisited: The Unrated Final Cut.

When Alexander originally hit DVD, Stone crafted a shorter director’s cut of the film, which bowed on shelves at the same time as the theatrical version in August 2005.

Alexander Revisited features an additional 45 minutes of footage that was sliced from the theatrical edition for its length and explicit content. Also, movie cash to see March 9 Warner theatrical 300 is packed into each disc box.

The new Alexander disc is priced at $24.98, with orders due Jan. 23. HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions are expected sometime in 2007.

Alexander was not a huge hit in the U.S., grossing $34 million at the box office, but Warner officials believe another edition is worthwhile. To date, the two earlier Alexander disc releases have sold 3.5 million units.

“Most director’s cuts and special editions are typically two to 10 minutes longer, and here we have [an extra] 45 minutes,” said Jeffrey Baker, Warner senior VP and general manager of theatrical catalog. “Oliver really wanted to show the viewer what these battle scenes were really like, and the extended scenes of the battles give you the realism and sheer horror of them. There are [also] salacious scenes, heterosexual and homosexual, which tell quite a different version of the story than what we saw in theaters.”

Warner hopes the rollout of Alexander Revisited will enhance the studio’s reputation as a dominant force in catalog DVD. In November, Warner released the hefty seven-film Superman: Ultimate Collector’s Edition, featuring a new version of Superman II created by Superman: The Movie director Richard Donner.