There is a report, and only God Almighty knows the truth of these sorts of things, that the biography of Alexander the Great that Oliver Stone used as the main source for his epic story of the Macedonian world conqueror, “Alexander” (2004), was the work of the distinguished Oxford University historian Professor Robin Lane Fox. The same reports further add, and who but the Great Creator of us all can tell the truth from falsehood, that Professor Fox did not get any onscreen credit for his scholarly services and all he wanted in exchange from Oliver Stone was actually to act as a cavalry general and fulfill his longtime dream of fighting, as it were, in Alexander’s army. From an Oxford don in 2004 back to a general in Alexander’s army in 333 BCE–all in a blink of an eye. Magic. The power of imagination: If you have seen Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” and like Professor Fox enjoyed the vicarious ride, you are already half way home in picking up Musharraf Ali Farooqi’s exquisite rendition of The Adventures of Amir Hamza: Lord of the Auspicious Planetary Conjunction, make yourself cozy in a comfortable corner of your sofa, or perhaps at an equally inviting chair by a sea, a lake, a river, or just under the shade of a tree in your local neighborhood park, or even while waiting for your plane in an airport, or else taking your long morning ride to work, and enjoy one of the most splendid stories ever told.
(From Hamid Dabashi’s Introduction to The Adventures of Amir Hamza)
Columbia University
Aljazeera
Middle East Eye
Springer Palgrave