El Cid (1961)

92% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
74% of users liked it
(5,039 ratings)

When French playwright Pierre Corneille wrote El Cid, a fanciful version of the life of 11th-century Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, aka "El Cid", an attempt was made to honor the "classic unities" and to compress the whole story into a single day! Be assured that the 1961 film version of El Cid… More When French playwright Pierre Corneille wrote El Cid, a fanciful version of the life of 11th-century Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, aka "El Cid", an attempt was made to honor the "classic unities" and to compress the whole story into a single day! Be assured that the 1961 film version of El Cid is more faithful to the actual chronology. Charlton Heston adds one more character to his gallery of historical portrayals as El Cid, the disgraced Spanish knight who rids his country of its Moorish conquerors. The triumphs of El Cid's military life are not matched by his private affairs; he is betrayed by his bride Chimene (Sophia Loren) and is made a political pawn by the avaricious Spanish landowners. El Cid has a climax unique in the annals of movie epics: the final assault against the landgrabbers is led by a dead hero. El Cid established the short but generally profitable reign of producer Samuel Bronston as the King of the Epics; his imprint on the film is much stronger than that of director Anthony Mann. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 3 hr. 4 min.
Directed By: Anthony Mann
Written By: Fredric M. Frank, Philip Yordan
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Romance, Classics

In Theaters: Dec 14, 1961 Wide
On DVD: Jan 29, 2008
Studio: Miramax

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren at their prime, Anthony Mann's grand historical epic is still much admired by viewers and directors.
Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media
Handsome chivalry epic with enduring themes.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
Charleton Heston is the perfect mythic conflicted hero.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
An epic on the cusp of two eras. Dated, but well crafted. The "Miriam Collection" fills the box.
Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
(D)irector Anthony Mann uses his stunning locations and choreographs his armies and crowds magnificently... corralling it into the frame like an old master...
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
A deluxe DVD package to match the grandeur of Mann's admirable epic.
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine
To say that El Cid is the most intelligent of the elephantine epics of the early '60s is to damn it with faint praise.
Bill Gibron, PopMatters
Anchored by yet another stellar Charleton Heston performance and propelled by director Anthony Mann's sense of scale, El Cid is the kind of good old fashioned filmmaking that truly satisfies the deepest inner cravings of an aesthetic starved movie
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Not many filmmakers could make the transition to epic filmmaking with all their signature touches intact; Anthony Mann more or less succeeds.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
entertaining epic

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Matheus C

Produção baseada na lendária história do herói espanhol, El Cid faz parte do mesmo tecido dos grandes épicos hollywoodianos populares nas décadas de 50 e 60: filme de costumes, cenas de batalhas épicas, tela larga (neste caso em Technirama), trilha retumbante de Miklós Rósza e, é… More
Produção baseada na lendária história do herói espanhol, El Cid faz parte do mesmo tecido dos grandes épicos hollywoodianos populares nas décadas de 50 e 60: filme de costumes, cenas de batalhas épicas, tela larga (neste caso em Technirama), trilha retumbante de Miklós Rósza e, é claro, Charlton Heston no papel principal. Ao mesmo tempo, o fato de ter sido filmado em locações reais na Europa e não em estúdios cria uma ruptura com grande parte do que havia sido produzido até então. El Cid dá continuidade à aproximação mais contemporânea às películas épicas iniciada com Ben-Hur de William Wyler e, especialmente, Spartacus de Stanley Kubrick. O uso de castelos verdadeiros e os detalhes minuciosos dados aos figurinos e cenários conferem um ar de autenticidade que se distanciam do colorido lona de circo e sensibilidade kitsch das obras de Cecil B. DeMille. A parte intimista do filme também não deixa a desejar, com Charlton Heston em uma de suas interpretações "larger than life" de maior sucesso - o que é algo positivo, já que sua grande presença significa que o protagonista nunca se perde em meio ao escopo gigante da produção. Sophia Loren fica com o papel mais ingrato, sendo vitima da típica caracterização feminina da época. O romance do casal Rodrigo (o El Cid) e Gimenez (Loren) ajuda a dar maior peso dramático à narrativa (e era notável que os atores se odiavam durante as filmagens), mas o filme ganha vida mesmo durante as cenas de batalha. Orquestradas e enquadradas com maestria por Anthony Mann, as impressionantes tracking shots em meio a milhares de figurantes cavalgando à beira-mar nos levam a refletir o motivo de El Cid não ser tão lembrado quanto deveria.
AJ V

Yes this movie is insanely long, but it's also insanely fantastic too! I loved Loren and Heston together in this movie. The story is epic, and I'm surprised they haven't made more movies of it. I love this movie, and I highly recommend it.
Mister C

Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture, this Samuel Bronston production was one of the most spectacular mega-produced epics ever made that was astounding in budget,astounding in cast,and magnificient in scope and sheer brilliance(filmed on location in the regions of Spain and… More
Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture, this Samuel Bronston production was one of the most spectacular mega-produced epics ever made that was astounding in budget,astounding in cast,and magnificient in scope and sheer brilliance(filmed on location in the regions of Spain and North Africa). Anthony Mann directs this astounding classic tale of the 11th Century hero(Charlton Heston) who fought to unite Spain against the Moors. Known as history's "compassionate warrior" the film follows El Cid's remarkable journey from peace-broker accused of treason to the King's fighting champion,and later from exiled hero to legendary martyr. Unequaled in scope,grandeur and adventure this spectacular epic saga brings Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, John Fraser, Genevieve Page, Gary Raymond and Herbert Lom with a compelling driven masterpiece of a film score from legendary composer Miklos Rozsa. See it in the full Super Panavision 70 format!
Jeremy S

Very Epical (if that is an adjective) you can't get more epic than the crusades. Way too slow and long though.
Constanza B

Glorious, great epic, classic in terms of script and spectacle, and extraordinary representation of the famous epic poem, stately and thrilling, with everything crisp and simple on the widescreen. Sobriety and restraint are perhaps the keynotes of the film's success, with the… More
Glorious, great epic, classic in terms of script and spectacle, and extraordinary representation of the famous epic poem, stately and thrilling, with everything crisp and simple on the widescreen. Sobriety and restraint are perhaps the keynotes of the film's success, with the result that a potentially risible finale in which Cid's corpse is borne into the realm of legend, strapped to his horse as it leads his men to battle, becomes genuinely stirring. Great acting from Charlton Heston, aptly heroic in the titular 11th-century patriot lead, and Sophia Loren. Miklos Rosza's superb score perfectly complements the images.
hawk l

Classic, grand, glorious epic. Solid performance from Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren brings beauty and depth as the Cid's wife with Herbert Lom splendidly sinister as the invading Ben Yussef.
Barry L

Sophia Loren is a goddess...and the film was great to......