Battle of Gaugamela clip from "Alexander"

[Paal_101]

This is for anyone who has not seen the excellent combat sequences from the film "Alexander". Whatever your opinions of the film (and I have many) this scene is perhaps the the greatest cinematic battle ever filmed. It is without doubt the most historically accurate in terms of equipment, weapons, and tactics. Macedonian infantry officers are seen ranging in front of the phalanx fighting Persian troops in the open rather than sticking to the safety of the formation, mostly for dramatic effect.

In addition Oliver Stone was forced to combine several events from the earlier battles of Granicus and Issus. The scene were Alexander is nearly killed is taken from the Battle of Granicus, where his opponent's arm was severed before the final blow could be struck. This incident did take place on horseback, but Stone admits this in the directors commentary, saying he wanted to show the Hetairoi's ability to fight on foot when necessary (historical fact). Additionally the wound to Alexander's leg was suffered at Issus. One last minor flaw is the attempted killing of Darius by Alexander. Sources say that Alexander came within sight of Darius, but it is unlikely that he was able to make an attempt to engage the Persian king. Again this is for cinematic effect but it is forgivable.

Considering the amazingly accurate costumes, weapons, tactics like the sloped Macedonian batle line, and events such as the chariot attack and the panic of Parmenion at the puncture of his ranks by the Sacessinian and Hyrcanian cavalry, I believe Mr. Stone can be allowed this one unlikely although not improbable event.

Gaugamela 1 - The prelude to the battle. Mostly a lot of talk, but it shows the true depth and structure of the Macedonian phalanx.

Gaugamela 2 - The battle itself. Shown is an example (perhaps slightly fanciful) of the massive archery barrages the Persians were famous for. In addition the famous Gaugamela chariot charge and the fearsome forest of Macedonian sarissae are admirably portrayed in convincing fashion. No fancy choreography in most of the fighting, very practical and ergonomic for the most part. Perhaps not totally realistic but far from stylized. Also note the total absence of stirrups and the many signature pieces of Macedonian and Persian equipment shown.

Enjoy and relish this rare example of the closest thing to a real ancient battle yet shown on screen.

Now for a shameless plug

For some background info on the history, troops, and weapons shown be sure to check out some of the articles in the History section of the main 0 AD page written by our various history buffs:

Persian Army - Discussion of its organization and structure.

Macedonian Army - see above

Tactics and Elite Units - discusses some of the tactics shown in the clips as well as some of the troops seen, such as the Hetairoi, Pezhetairoi, and in an indirect way the Immortals.

Arms of the Shah-an-Shah - Persian weapons, many of which are shown in the clip.

Soldiers of Bronze - Hellenistic and by extension Macedonian equipment, again seen in the film.

Weapons - discusses, among others, many of the weapons used by both sides in the clip

[Mythos_Ruler]

The best parts of that battle were at the end of the speech where he says, "Zeus be with us!" and the Macedonians go wild and the music swells up. Wow. The next best is when Alexander and the Hetairoi take "the left turn" and totally catch Bessus off guard.

It's so cool to see the Hypaspistai ("silver shields") charging into the hole in the Persian line with Alexander. Also pretty neat is the portrayal of psiloi and peltastai. All-in-all a great battle scene - one of the best put on film.

I do notice these videos are cut differently than my "Director's Cut" DVD of the battle. Looks like the scenes are taken from the "Theatrical Cut" release. My Director's Cut battle has a few different shots and is slightly tighter in the editing.

[Enarwaen]

yes - this is definitely the currently best depiction of ancient warfare on screen.

i've purchased the book 'Alexander the Great' by Robin Fox Lane and i'll give it a read on my vacation starting next week

[FirePowa8]

That was by far the best part of the movie - in fact, after that scene I just got completely sick of the fake Irish accents, underlying homosexuality and Eastern erotic dancers that I longed for the entire film to have been one big battle.

Definitely the most accurate depiction of Macedonian warfare I've seen in a film, in fact, it's much more accurate than a lot of documentaries I've seen about Alexander, too - which says a lot.

[friedd0g]

I agree that it is an absolutely amazing piece of work in terms of capturing the feeling of the battle and in reprezenting macedonian weapons and perhaps formation and tactics but in terms of the historical accuracy of the events of the battle the film is lacking. I could go into detail but I think the main point would be that stone has mashed the battle of Issus and Guagamela together to create one battle and has gone for creating a visually appealing and interesting battle instead of an historically accurate battle scene.

[Paal_101]

I know what you mean about the mashing of the events of Gaugamela and Issus. Most of these relate to the actions of Alexander and his cohorts, but for the layman it gives them an idea of the goings-on. The simple basics of Gaugamela, the initial chariot charge, the attack lead by Alexander and the Hetairoi, and the fleeing of Darius, are well shown. However, for buffs like us it gets a little hazy.

One part that is not shown well at all is the Persian penetration of the Macedonian line, which is only hinted at during its occurance in garbled and half-mumbled shouts by Parmenion, rather than being visually shown. Vice versa the Macedonian splitting of the heavily bent Persian line is not well indicated. The Bactrian and Massagetae are shown to have been completely tricked out of the battle, but in reality they continued on to nearly envelope the right flank of the Macedonian army. It was thanks to the efforts of Greek mercenary and allied infantry that this was contained, thereby also ensuring the weakpoint in the Persian line exploited by the Macedonians.

Obviously annoying but considering what we got its not bad at all. It is more a matter of Oliver Stone being able to show only so much rather than not wanting to show it or do his own thing *cough* Ridley Scott *cough*. For instance Stone does not show any kardakes in this battle. Rather he uses traditional Persian and tribal troops using far less Greco-influenced equipment, something to be expected at Gaugamela where the kardakes were not present. Although Ridley Scott is my favorite director, he would have simply said "They had troops with different looks besides these? They we'ren't at Gaugamela? Who says? Ancient sources? What do they know? Kardakes are in!" I admire Stone for going with history in the general scheme of the battle.

[Justinian]

it's a shame basically the rest of the movie was well ill let this smilies describe it.

this is probably the best massed battle ive ever seen (the 300 excluded)

[Mythos_Ruler]

Just received my copy of "Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut" DVD in the mail. I'll let you guys know how it is this weekend when I find time to watch it.

[Apomonomenos]

I tried to see the video but it was removed

[Mythos_Ruler]

Here's a pretty darn good video right here: