Anthony Mann's El Cid is one of the great historical cinematic epics. It stands alongside such classics as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, and Lawrence of Arabia as shining examples of the peak of old school Hollywood entertainment and showmanship. This romanticized story of Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, also known as "El Cid," recounts how he befriended hostile Moors through acts of mercy, shamed a corrupt king, and contributed to the ultimate unification of Spain. There are tremendous battles filled with thousands of costumed extras, a earth-shattering score by Miklós Rózsa, and magnificent 70mm cinematography. Charlton Heston commands the screen as El Cid, delivering one of his greatest performances as a man eternally torn between loyalty to his king and his personal convictions. Some of the human drama falls flat, particularly in the scenes surrounding El Cid's wife Doña Jimena where she comes off as wooden and mechanical. But for the most part, the human drama echoes the magnificence and scale of the tremendous battles. And what battles! Shot before the time when massive armies could be encoded onto the screen with computers, El Cid featured to-scale battles that shimmer on the screen. Despite the obvious romanticization of the events and characters portrayed, El Cid is a delight to watch and a wonder to behold.
8/10
I am amazed at myself, because I LOVE a good epic,but El Cid is pretty low on my list. It does have good things, no doubt, but when I think of it, all I can see is horses galloping up the beach, down the beach, back up the beach...LOL! The music is, of course, beautiful, especially at the end. That thunderous organ when the dead Cid rides out on his horse is just thrilling, and frankly, the best part of the movie to me.
ReplyDeleteNice mini-bio of the film,Nate!
Why thank you, Becky!
ReplyDeleteIf you'll notice, I only gave it an 8/10. I liked it, but I didn't think that it was the BEST epic out there. I've seen better ones, to be sure...but I've also seen worse.
And plus...this film gets points for Charlton Heston being awesome.
This one was a real childhood favourite for me.
ReplyDeleteThe scale is just something you don't see in cinema these days, and that's probably the main reason I like it.
However I've always thought of Charlton Heston as a great actor, one of the best of his generation, and could never understand people's dislike for him.
A lot of people have criticized Charlton Heston for his conservative politics, particularly his views on gun ownership. He phrased the term "you can take this gun when you can pry it out of my cold, dead hands." I always thought that people not liking him for that was really petty, though. He was a great man both on and off screen.
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