El Cid (1961)

For some reason 'El Cid' is not as well known among the 'Epic' genre of film like Ben-Hur or Lawrence of Arabia, but this does not deter it from its quality. It is one of the greatest of its kind, an epic story about a man who becomes a hero and later legend.It is a simply sensational motion picture that manages to create every shot in such an artistic way that every single frame becomes fascinating. Indoor scenes have beautiful scenery and are lit incredibly well. Outdoor scenes ( It was mostly actually filmed in Spain where it took place ) are visually just incredible due to the angles Anthony Mann gives us. There are frequent scenes with loads of extra's on horses during these outdoor scenes and these are always a joy to look at due to their natural movements and the beautiful Spanish landscapes with great angles in the background. Battle scenes are so massive in scale, but filmed with such skill that it immerses you into the film. The overview during battles is simply incredible as we can always see what our main characters are doing, and combined with a couple of excellent one on one fights early on in the film, it is a masterpiece of choreography too.Miklos Rozsa's score is a simply brilliant orchestral piece which always seems like a perfect fit for a film of this kind. ( Also composed the incredible score for Ben-Hur ) Charlton Heston & Sophia Loren who play man and wife reportedly did not get along well during filming, yet their performance does not seem to suffer from this, and is enhanced a significant amount by Miklos Rozsa's amazing emotional score. Heston seems born to play these kind of roles in movie epics, and his performance and screen presence are once again an incredible sight to behold. Loren could have shown more emotion in a couple of scenes, yet due to their seemingly quite natural relationship in the film and her facial acting being pretty good this is just a slight defect. I do wish they visibly aged or changed Loren's look due to some circumstances that happen in the film though, it was a bit too out of character for her to look like porcelain all the way through. It is a film filled with beautiful scenes, and not a mediocre one among them. Whether it be beautiful outdoor scenery with epic landscape shots and massive moving extra's on the screen or beautiful indoor scenes with beautiful cinematography it is a film that manages to perform on a high level on a consistent basis throughout the film. Without spoiling anything, the final scene is just cinematic perfection where all points and everything that has happened before seemingly come together. It uses tragic events or reunions between established characters and Rozsa's score to create emotion, and a motion picture full of emotion it has become.With beautiful natural cinematography, excellent acting, a both triumphant and emotionally powerful score by Miklos Rozsa, beautifully staged battle scenes with great editing to create a good overview of the situation our characters are in, and a great central message about how one turns into a legend by leading his people to victory, El Cid is an incredible experience and should be considered as one of the greatest 'Epic' films ever made.

1950 to 1970 was without doubt the best time to epic films, had The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus for example, and between them had El Cid, that even if you lower the 4 movies that I quoted, it is a good movie, the cast is good, especially the great Charlton Heston who in my opinion is the actor of the epic, he simply did Moses in the Ten Commandments, Judah Ben- Hur in Ben-Hur, and Rodrigo de Bivar in El Cid, and in this movie he makes a good performance, since Charlton Heston's just a good actor, the direction of Anthony Mann is good (I've always been interested in how it would be Spartacus if it had not been removed), the picture is beautiful the film beautiful moments, such as the scene El Cid the leper pro water in the desert, the action scenes are competent, and the script is also competent, even movie making historical errors (more Braveheart is full of errors, more it is nevertheless to be my favorite movie), El Cid is a good movie, not enough to be the best epic of all, more is a recommended film for the epic lovers. Note 7.6

epic. it is the first word. than - heroic. or fascinating. or great. or amazing. only words about a film who remains seductive decade by decade. in fact, it is a well -made work. same ingredients of many other historical movies from the same period. same recipes. and Heston and Loren in a love story who escapes from clichés few times. and that could be the essence of its success. because it is a wise adaptation of one of most impressive Spanish stories. and the care for details, the use of nuances in brilliant manner are the virtues who defines it. a film who could be a beautiful one. but it has the science to be more. a seductive trip in the heart of myth using memorable scenes.

more than a classic , it is a beautiful film.that is its secret and basic virtue. a film about fundamental values more than image of a hero. and it is a precise lesson about making of a epic movie. not only for good performance, atmosphere, dialogs or fight scenes but for its special poetry who makes it different by another blockbusters of period. the theme is delicate - a national symbol and the Hollywood recipes is too clear. but in this case, a splendid puzzle appears. and the work of entire team, especially of Charlton Heston, makes each part to be almost perfect. it is not Ben Hur or Cleopatra. the ingredients seems be the same but it is only impression of first sigh. it is itself, after decades, after trends and evolution of artistic taste. so, a beautiful movie. love story, heroic scenes, delicate nuances. and something more. a secret ingredient. or, only, the shadow of a knight.