What are the historical inaccuracies in the movie "alexander" by oliver stone?

Question

factual inaccuracies
for example wrong weapons , uniforms, dress, setting

Answer 1

"Even prior to its release, there was controversy about the film's depiction of ancient Greek sexual mores. A group of 25 Greek lawyers initially threatened to file a lawsuit against both Stone and the Warner Bros. film studio for what they claimed was an inaccurate portrayal of history. Yannis Varnakos stated that "We are not saying that we are against bisexuals or homosexuals, but we are saying that the production company should make it clear to the audience that this film is pure fiction and not a true depiction of the life of Alexander". After an advanced screening of the film, the lawyers announced that they would not pursue such a course of action."

"The criticism prompted Stone to make significant changes to the film for its DVD release. Stone removed eight minutes, cutting back his portrayal of homosexuality and adding new shots, like at the opening scene of Alexander dying."

"With its attention to historical detail, "Alexander" also attracted critical scrutiny from historians. However, it often had a quite opposite tendency than that has been voiced by general film critiques. Most academic criticism was concerned with the insufficient adherence to historical details."

"Other major controversies came from Iranian (Persian) historians, who were upset by the film's renderings of Persians and Macedonians alike. Kaveh Farrokh, an expert of Persian history, says the portrayals of Persians and Macedonians in the film are inaccurate. As an example, in the movie, Alexander the Great and his troops supposedly defeated the Persian army in a single battle, where Farrokh points out that historical facts show that Alexander had to fight several fierce battles against a large Persian Army, before he was even able to defeat Darius III, creating heavy doubts in regards to the movies accuracy. Farrokh also stated that the "Macedonian forces are typically shown very organized, disciplined, and so on, and what's very disturbing is when the so-called Persians are shown confronting the Macedonians, their armies are totally disorganized. What is not known is that the Persians actually had uniforms. They marched in discipline, and music was actually used such as trumpets and so on, to allow them to march in disciplined rank". Farrokh also criticized the portrayal of Alexander with blonde hair and blue eyes, pointing out that the real Alexander had dark hair and dark eyes."

"In addition to what some critics perceived as the movie's "down-playing of the Persians", King Darius is shown fleeing the Gaugamela battle and abandoning his troops when approached by Alexander, where historians have pointed out from contemporary Babylonian accounts that Darius was trying to rally his army but was abandoned by his troops."

"Alexander : Controversy" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_%28film%29#Controversy

See also a comprehensive review by a researcher of Macedonian history : "Oliver Stone's Alexander", Jeanne Reames, Dept. of History, University of Nebraska at Omaha : http://myweb.unomaha.edu/~mreames/Beyond_Renault/review2.html

And the interview with Robin Lane Fox, historical advisor to the Oliver Stone, in "Archaeology magazine" : "Riding with Alexander, An eminent scholar takes to horseback in the new film", : http://www.archaeology.org/online/interviews/fox.html