Product Description

Anthony Mann masterfully directs this classic tale of the 11th-century hero (Heston) who fought to unite Spain. 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.System Requirements:Run Time: 188 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/CLASSICS UPC: 796019803960 Manufacturer No: 80396

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #237 in DVD
• Brand: WELLSPRING/GENIUS
• Released on: 2008-01-29
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 188 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Technically ambitious but artistically underwhelming, this 1961 epic by Anthony Mann (Man of the West) stars Charlton Heston as an 11th-century hero who drives the Moors from Spain. The film has been described as "glum," and that is indeed apt for a story that focuses so much on its central character's losses in the face of his simultaneous, mythic approbation. Then again, Mann has always been interested in the hidden weaknesses in prevailing myths, so that's not unusual. What is unusual in El Cid is the degree to which technology takes over his filmmaking, as it does here with so many grandiose and bravura moments with a roving camera that don't add up to anything beyond spectacle. As an achievement of Hollywood's technical advancements in the postwar years, and also as part of the filmographies of Mann and Heston, the film is well worth a look. But it is not the artistic equal of other epics of its day, such as Lawrence of Arabia. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Epic grandeur and intimate love story...
EL CID takes its place among the great screen epics that never allow the eye-popping spectacle to dwarf the human characters--just as "Ben-Hur" was able to do. And who else to play the legendary and noble Spanish hero than CHARLTON HESTON. He's magnificent here, playing his central role with an almost Shakespearean grandeur, as do some of the other cast members, including HERBERT LOM, JOHN FRASER and GARY RAYMOND.

So is the epic sweep of the tale and the intimate love story that begins when he is on his way to wed SOPHIA LOREN and finds himself asked to assume the mantle of leadership against the Moors in 11th century Spain. He makes the journey from peace-broker accused of treason to the King's fighting champion and later from exiled hero to legendary martyr.

Aside from the brilliant cinematography, authentic looking locales and colorful costumes, Miklos Rozsa's score adds a great deal to the intensely dramatic intimate scenes as well as the epic battles, all the while suggesting some Spanish motifs amidst the heraldic fanfares and love theme.

CHARLTON HESTON makes an impressive figure of El Cid, especially good in the final moments as the wounded leader who knows what he must ask his wife to do so that his followers do not lose heart after his death. RAF VALLONE as Count Ordonez, GENEVIEVE PAGE as Princess Urraca, JOHN FRASER as Prince Alfonso and GARY RAYMOND as Prince Sancho are all remarkable effective in strong supporting roles. In lesser roles, HURD HATFIELD and FRANK THRING bring their own brand of authority to minor parts.

Anthony Mann and his assistant directors have done an outstanding job on all of the battle scenes and he never falters in telling the tale in strong dramatic terms. There's an intensity in the scenes between Loren and Heston after he has been forced to kill her father for humiliating his own father in front of the court. Whatever friction there was between Heston and Loren on the set, works for them here because her animosity toward him is a chilling thing to watch.

The DVD has been wonderfully mastered and all of the Miklos Rozsa score sounds better than ever with Overture, Intermission and Exit music reminding us all what a treasure he was as a film composer.

POOR LEADS DIMINISH THE POWER OF EL CID
Samuel Bronstein's El Cid is the epic to end all epics Released in 1959, it tells the story of the famous 11th-century hero who fought to unite Spain. Clocking in at just over three hours, it is sumptuous beyond description the cities and plains of Spain---with lush costumes and an even lusher Miklos Rozsa score, it becomes almost too much of a good thing. With Anthony Mann directing, the audience is given not only the enormous spectacle of history parading across the screen, but also Mann's incredible ability to capture the intimate and personal drama of every day life. The drawback, and the only thing that makes this less than a perfect movie, is the two stars. Charleton Heston and Sophia Loren may be lovely to look at, but 180 minutes of alternately bad (read: wooden) acting gets a little tiresome. More than any other film genre, epics require special handling, as filming larger-than-life creations frequently bleaches all life out of the character. This is very much the case here, where the two leads are simply not equipped to deal with the scope or the reality of the characters. The supporting cast, including Herbert Lom, Raf Vallone and Hurd Hatfield, is quite wonderful---or at least serviceable. This new "Limited Collector's Edition" ---clearly grammatically challenged, or how many "Limited" collector's do you know?---comes chockfull of commentaries, still galleries, filmographies, trailers and "bonuses" reproductions of original souvenir programs, comic books and window cards. The only thing missing? A good leading man and woman.

One of Heston's Great Epics
In the wake of Charlton Heston's death, I decided to have a marathon viewing of his films. I rewatched many of my favorites and sought out some of those I had never seen.

"El Cid" was one I had not watched before, probably because it only recently became available on DVD. As he often did, Heston plays a real-life character, an 11th-century Spanish hero who sought to unite his country. It is one of those epic historical films Heston specialized in, and it does a good job of conveying that time and place. Although set 1,000 years ago, the themes of the story still resonate today.

One of the things I like about these films is that they were made pre-CGI, so they were generally shot on location and much of the spectacle was actually staged for the cameras (No computer-generated armies here).

The Cid was a complex character and, unlike some of his other roles, Heston plays him in an understated way. The Cid was valiant and loyal, a selfless warrior loved by the people. He preached tolerance and tried to show that all Muslims were not evil. But he was humble and deferential to a fault, putting his sense of duty to country and king before everything, even his family.

There are some grand action scenes: a spectacular jousting duel and several large scale battles. The musical score is sweeping and beautiful. Yes, there is some melodramatic acting in places, but overall the performances are good.

The central love story did not work for me, however. The Cid's relationship with Chemene, played by Sophia Loren, is up and down throughout the film: first she loves him, then she hates him, then she loves him. They do not spend enough time together to make a convincing case that this was a great love affair.

If you like behind-the-scenes features, there are several interesting documentaries on the second disc: one deals with the making of the film, then there are bios of the producer, the director, the composer, and an odd little piece on some guy who works in film preservation.

All in all I would recommend "El Cid" to anyone who likes Charlton Heston and big historical films. As they say, they don't make `em like this anymore.