El Cid

I don't know everything about the historical fact, or the legend, of El Cid, but from what I know, I can see that a lot of it did make it into this. The story seems to stick to the truth, as far as we know it, much of the way. This has a great plot that keeps you interested. The characters are well-developed, credible and consistent. The majority of the acting performances are marvelous. This has a grand feel to it, and an epic scope, and the sweeping orchestral score helps establish and maintain it. The writing is top-notch throughout. This has a solid pace, and the three hours hold few, if any, dull moments. The dialog is well-delivered and has some quite memorable lines. This has large-scale battle sequences, and they're well-done. The production values leave nothing to be desired, and everything looks and sounds exactly right. At no point does this feel like they ran out of budget somewhere, or had to use the second-best solution to an issue they faced. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Not the best of its kind, however it is definitely worth your time. I recommend this to anyone interested in this, be it for Rodrigo, Heston, or any other reason. 7/10

As a movie El Cid grows on you. At first it is the story of a relatively ordinary man whose trip to his wedding is interrupted by a battle between the Moors and the Christians of 11th century Spain. But this is no ordinary man. Or perhaps he is an ordinary man who is destined to do extraordinary things. Early on he is forced to kill his fiancé's father as a matter of family honor, thus earning the enmity of his fiancé, who nonetheless cannot stop loving him, however hard she tries. And much of the story is devoted to the doomed nature of their love, as historical events continue to overtake the plans they would rather make. And with each new episode El Cid's stature grows, from warrior to hero to legend to mythic figure. Even in exile he has a following. And if the script is not true to history, this film still does a great service to the memory of a great man who put God and country ahead of himself. Something extra must be said about the crowd scenes. There were real people out there, not multiple CGI images made to look like the hordes that are a part of all epics. Over 30,000 costumes were made for this movie and General Franco donated the Spanish army to fill them. The difference is stunning, and sobering. There is a reality to the battle scenes that simply doesn't obtain in later movies such as Gladiator or Lord of the Rings. Now that old films such as this are so readily available in various formats we are presented with the dilemma of deciding which ones should occupy our bookshelves, to return to again, to remember a detail, or to reclaim the feeling that the story may create. In terms of the greatness, the mission and the struggles of the human spirit, this one's a keeper.

EL CID takes its place among the great screen epics that never allow the eye-popping spectacle to dwarf the human characters--just as "Ben-Hur" was able to do. And who else to play the legendary and noble Spanish hero than CHARLTON HESTON. He's magnificent here, playing his central role with an almost Shakespearean grandeur, as do some of the other cast members, including HERBERT LOM, JOHN FRASER and GARY RAYMOND.

So is the epic sweep of the tale and the intimate love story that begins when he is on his way to wed SOPHIA LOREN and finds himself asked to assume the mantle of leadership against the Moors in 11th century Spain. He makes the journey from peace-broker accused of treason to the King's fighting champion and later from exiled hero to legendary martyr.

Aside from the brilliant cinematography, authentic looking locales and colorful costumes, Miklos Rozsa's score adds a great deal to the intensely dramatic intimate scenes as well as the epic battles, all the while suggesting some Spanish motifs amidst the heraldic fanfares and love theme.

CHARLTON HESTON makes an impressive figure of El Cid, especially good in the final moments as the wounded leader who knows what he must ask his wife to do so that his followers do not lose heart after his death. RAF VALLONE as Count Ordonez, GENEVIEVE PAGE as Princess Urraca, JOHN FRASER as Prince Alfonso and GARY RAYMOND as Prince Sancho are all remarkable effective in strong supporting roles. In lesser roles, HURD HATFIELD and FRANK THRING bring their own brand of authority to minor parts.

Anthony Mann and his assistant directors have done an outstanding job on all of the battle scenes and he never falters in telling the tale in strong dramatic terms. There's an intensity in the scenes between Loren and Heston after he has been forced to kill her father for humiliating his own father in front of the court. Whatever friction there was between Heston and Loren on the set, works for them here because her animosity toward him is a chilling thing to watch.

The DVD has been wonderfully mastered and all of the Miklos Rozsa score sounds better than ever with Overture, Intermission and Exit music reminding us all what a treasure he was as a film composer.

El Cid is the story of legendary Rodrigo Diaz who lifted his country with valour and integrity to drive the Moorish invaders from Spain.

I think the best thing I can say about this film is that even though it's nearly three hours long, I never once look at the clock. It's a thoroughly engaging picture that boasts all the great hallmarks of a sweeping historical epic. The colour, the costumes, the scope, and the attention to detail from director Anthony Mann are first rate, and par for the course is the suitably rousing score from Miklos Rozsa. Big square jawed bronzed beefcake Charlton Heston takes the lead role as Diaz, and firmly cements himself as the go to guy for gargantuan epics. Support comes in the form of Sophia Loren, Genevieve Page, Raf Vallone, John Fraser (excellent), and Gary Raymond (also excellent).

The story is an excellent one because Diaz was such a fine character from the annals of Spanish history, uniting the sulking Christian kings of Spain whilst simultaneously lifting the people of the streets off their knees and getting them to believe in the cause. However, it has to be said that this is far from the perfect historical epic movie, even allowing for the usual Hollywoodisation of facts, one can't quite get past the fact that El Cid comes across as a glamorised glory tale without any hindrances. Surely here in the 11th century El Cid's path would have been fraught and sodden with a great deal more death and destruction? There's a tameness where there should be serrated edges to the story and it takes away greatly from the film's end because the build up of Cid's heroism actually didn't contain a great deal of hard work - it was a stroll in the park so to speak.

Still, it's a wonderful film that ticks all the boxes for genre staples, and as churlish as I may be as regards the assumptive nature of El Cid's story being told here, I'm still the first to start cheering and thumping my chest as the credits role, and not even Sophia Loren's pout can distract me from the bravado warmth washing over me. 8/10

For me, El Cid is a wonderful movie, great story, magnificent action scenes and shot very close to where the original saga is believed to have taken place. I'll never forget the image of the dead El CID riding along the beach into eternity on his magnificent white horse. Taking all this into account,I was very surprised to read where Charlton Heston said he was very disappointed with this particular movie and believed the director was not equel to the task of directing such an epic undertaking. This was not obvious to me as I found the battle scenes very exciting and very well executed, but the late MR. Heston stated that had the directing duties been undertaken by David Lean, who was his preferred choice, the movie could have been really great, rather than just "adequate" Hestons own words. Still, it remains for many people a great film and in these days of boring CG effects, it is a great example of movies as they should be made.