OTHER TECH

On February 27, Warner Home Video released a second DVD-only cut of Oliver Stone's Alexander. Dubbed Alexander Revisited: The Final Cut, this three-and-a-half-hour version includes 38 minutes of new footage and an intermission. Stone recently talked about the importance of DVD to Alexander, and to all of his films. - Michael Gaughn

Would you have had the opportunity to do these recut versions of Alexander before DVD? No - not even close. But in the past I think I would have had more time to edit it. Because of the nature of the business, Alexander was slated into a particular season - the fall of 2004. Warner Brothers did have a very big lineup, and they have to schedule these things way in advance. Not that the dates don't change sometimes, but it would have been a little embarrassing if we had pulled the movie because we didn't have enough time to edit it. Everyone would have then said it was a disaster, a clunker - in the business anyway. Cynics would have said that - let's say that. But the truth is sometimes a film takes longer to edit, just as it can take longer to write. It's just difficult.

You also made World Trade Center on a fairly tight schedule, right? Very tight.

Alexander Photo Gallery

Is there anything you'd want to revisit with that movie, or are you happy with what you have? No, I'm very happy with World Trade Center. Actually, I knew the circumstances up front. But the less you shoot, the less you have to cut, so I shot considerably less footage. That meant it was able to be cut quickly. It was a difficult film to make, believe me. It was not simple.