TheNabOwnzz 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.

grantss Evidence that quantity does not mean quality. 180 minutes long, probably just so that it could earn the "epic" tag, this movie drags on an on, thanks to unnecessary side plots and details. Clearly not true to history - if El Cid and some of the other characters really acted in the way they did, and made the decisions they did, history would have been quite different. El Cid's adherence to certain (misplaced and misguided) honours and loyalties are laid on so thick, and stymie so many good ideas, that you start supporting his enemies.Plot-holes and random pointless twists abound.The acting is incredibly wooden, especially by Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. The supporting cast aren't much better though.On the up side, the battle scenes are well done, cinematography is great and costumes look very authentic.

MartinHafer "El Cid" is not a bad film at all. The movie clearly is a huge spectacle and compared to most historical films it is rather accurate. But, on the flip side, it also is amazingly dull when the film shifts to the romance between El Cid (Charlton Heston) and Jimena (Sophia Loren)--such that I really cannot wholeheartedly recommend it.El Cid was a title given to Rodrigo de Bivar by the Moorish Muslims. This is because as the movie shows at the beginning, he was a merciful man in war and was very open towards Muslims. However, what the film does not show is that he was so open-minded that he ALSO was employed by the Moors and Christians interchangeably. When the film shows the battles he's in, they are impressive and the costumes are lovely. The film also has LOTS of intrigues--such as the murder of Rodrigo's master and his subsequent expulsion. All this is quite nicely done and it looks great.Apparently, Heston and Loren didn't like each other in real life. This could easily be. But the biggest problem is the terrible dialog. Too often, it comes off as stuffy and dull--and not believable in the least. And, at well over three hours, this is a serious problem. In other words, is it worth watching the fighting and intrigues when you often are forced to slog through one of the least romantic romances in film history. Good but not great overall.

Jeff (actionrating.com) Charlton Heston's most underrated movie. This is not only a great medieval movie, but a great war movie as well. The story takes place during the tumultuous Reconquista (Reconquest) era in Spain. A civil war has broken out between the Christians and the Moores, and who better to save the day than another epic hero played by Charlton Heston. This time he plays the legendary warrior El Cid, and yes, this is a 3+ hour movie. My only complaint is its length, because the story is superb and action-packed battles abound. There's also a really good one-on-one medieval combat scene that is awesomely choreographed. More people need to see this epic action movie, which is a pretty even mix of "Ben Hur" and "Kingdom of Heaven." It's a shame it has gone under the radar for so long. 3.5 out of 5 action rating