El Cid (1961)

The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.

Director:

Anthony Mann

Writers:

Fredric M. Frank (story), Philip Yordan (screenplay),

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	El Cid Rodrigo de Bivar
Sophia Loren	...	Jimena
Raf Vallone	...	Count Ordóñez
Geneviève Page	...	Princess Urraca (as Genevieve Page)
John Fraser	...	Prince Alfonso
Gary Raymond	...	Prince Sancho
Hurd Hatfield	...	Arias
Massimo Serato	...	Fanez
Frank Thring	...	Al Kadir
Michael Hordern	...	Don Diego
Andrew Cruickshank	...	Count Gormaz
Douglas Wilmer	...	Moutamin
Tullio Carminati	...	Priest
Ralph Truman	...	King Ferdinand
Christopher Rhodes	...	Don Martín

Storyline

Epic film of the legendary Spanish hero, Rodrigo Diaz ("El Cid" to his followers), who, without compromising his strict sense of honour, still succeeds in taking the initiative and driving the Moors from Spain.

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Plot Keywords:

spain | moor | siege | battle | epic | 

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Taglines:

The GREATEST ROMANCE and ADVENTURE in a THOUSAND YEARS!

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

14 December 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cyd

Filming Locations:

Titanus Appia Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$6,250,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$26,620,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Bronston Productions, Dear Film Produzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

182 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (some 35 mm prints) 4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charlton Heston was the first and only choice of the producers.

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Goofs

After talking with Rodrigo on their wedding night, Jimena has a stern look on her face. With the next cut, slightly closer, she is visibly upset with tears already streaming down her face.

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Quotes

Ben Yussuf: The Prophet has commanded us to rule the world. Where in all your land of Spain is the glory of Allah? When men speak of you they speak of poets, musicmakers, doctors, scientists. Where are your warriors? You dare to call youselves sons of the Prophet? You have become women! Burn your books! Make warriors of your poets! Let you doctors invent new poisons for our arrows. Let you scientists invent new war machines! And then, kill! Burn! Infidels live on your frontiers. Encourage them to kill each...

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Connections

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

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Soundtracks

"The Falcon and the Dove"
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Music by Miklós Rózsa
Performed by Chorus

User Reviews

"The Greatest Film Ever Made"

Although generally regarded as "good but not great", I consider "El Cid" to be the best film ever made.

The film always flies past for me, no matter how many times I've seen it and is virtually perfect. Each character is memorable and well-acted (with the possible exception of Sophia Loren's Chimene) - stand outs are Heston, Genevieve Page as Uraca, John Fraser as Alphonso, Gary Raymond as Sancho and Raf Vallone as Ordonez, but the all the supporting roles are performed with conviction.

Amongst the many other plus points are the exciting action scenes, in particular the combat for Caloharra, which, although the viewer is never in any doubt that Rodrigo will be victorious, is superbly performed and totally convincing. Also, Miklos Rosza's impressive score ranks amongst his very best.

"El Cid" has never been given the praise it deserves, often being over-shadowed by (the admittedly excellent) "Ben Hur". Perhaps this is down to personal taste as most critics and viewers would disagree, but I think "El Cid" is just marginally superior.