The death of Cleitus
Perhaps the most remarkable shot in the film is the scene where Alexander throws a spear at his friend Cleitus in a fit of rage and kills him. Normally when spears or arrows hit a man in a film, we don't see them being launched. Here we see Burton throwing the spear and it entering the back of the actor. Obviously, he's wearing padding under his toga but that's a spear and it's another actor throwing it. It would seem the potential for harm was pretty great. However, I notice that Burton is pointedly on one side of the screen and the actor playing Cleitus was on the other side. I wonder if some trick photography was involved?
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