El Cid 1961 123movies

Watch: El Cid 1961 123movies, Full Movie Online – Epic movie of the legendary Spanish hero, Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar (Charlton Heston) (“El Cid” to his followers), who, without compromising his strict sense of honor, still succeeds in taking the initiative and driving the Moors from Spain..
Plot: 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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Ratings:

	7.2/10 Votes: 14,595
	92% | RottenTomatoes
	79/100 | MetaCritic
	N/A Votes: 219 Popularity: 13.82 | TMDB

Reviews:

_**Ranks with the best sword & sandal epics**_

In the latter half of the 11th Century when Spain consisted of Christian kingdoms and Moorish strongholds, Castilian knight Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (Charlton Heston) becomes known as ‘El Cid,’ meaning “the lord,” after generously showing mercy to a couple of Emirs, who orchestrated an attack on a Spanish city. This gets him accused of treason, but he proves his nobility, courage and skill to King Ferdinand (Ralph Truman) and his successors (Gary Raymond, John Fraser & Geneviève Page). Sophia Loren plays his romantic interest while Herbert Lom is on hand as a Berber general hell-bent on Islamic world domination. Raf Vallone appears as Rodrigo’s cunning rival for Jimena’s affections

“El Cid” (1961) is curiously obscure compared to other classic sword & sandal epics, like “The Ten Commandments” (1956), “Ben-Hur” (1959) and “Spartacus” (1960), but it’s just as great and on par with the more modern “Troy” (2004), not to mention superior to the overrated “Braveheart” (1995) and “Gladiator” (2000). Even if you disagree with me on those last two films, “El Cid” stands well with any of these epics.

I knew enough about Rodrigo’s real-life story to know that the political intrigue gets convoluted and wondered if the movie could keep everything understandable and compelling for the course of three hours; and it does (unlike 2005’s “Kingdom of Heaven”). Just before the drama overstays its welcome a quality action scene manifests, Like Rodrigo’s thrilling duel with Jimena’s father. I also appreciated the subtext of dealing with flawed people in leadership positions and overcoming resentment to have effective working relationships.

For those who object to Heston being cast as a Spaniard, the Castilian aristocracy of the 11th Century was generally Visigothic in ethnic background, aka German. Despite the regular influx of people of color ever since, there are plenty of Blond Spaniards to this day, even redheads. (Remember, Spain is decidedly Europe and not Mexico).

The film runs 3 hour, 2 minutes, and was shot in Spain with studio stuff done in Rome.

GRADE: A

” And the Cid rode through the gate and into legend ”

El Cid is the story of legendary Rodrigo Diaz who lifted his country with valour and integrity to drive the Moorish invaders from Spain.

I think the best thing I can say about this film is that even though it’s nearly three hours long, I never once look at the clock. It’s a thoroughly engaging picture that boasts all the great hallmarks of a sweeping historical epic. The colour, the costumes, the scope, and the attention to detail from director Anthony Mann are first rate, and par for the course is the suitably rousing score from Miklos Rozsa. Big square jawed bronzed beefcake Charlton Heston takes the lead role as Diaz, and firmly cements himself as the go to guy for gargantuan epics. Support comes in the form of Sophia Loren, Genevieve Page, Raf Vallone, John Fraser (excellent), and Gary Raymond (also excellent).

The story is an excellent one because Diaz was such a fine character from the annals of Spanish history, uniting the sulking Christian kings of Spain whilst simultaneously lifting the people of the streets off their knees and getting them to believe in the cause. However, it has to be said that this is far from the perfect historical epic movie, even allowing for the usual Hollywoodisation of facts, one can’t quite get past the fact that El Cid comes across as a glamorised glory tale without any hindrances. Surely here in the 11th century El Cid’s path would have been fraught and sodden with a great deal more death and destruction? There’s a tameness where there should be serrated edges to the story and it takes away greatly from the film’s end because the build up of Cid’s heroism actually didn’t contain a great deal of hard work – it was a stroll in the park so to speak.

Still, it’s a wonderful film that ticks all the boxes for genre staples, and as churlish as I may be as regards the assumptive nature of El Cid’s story being told here, I’m still the first to start cheering and thumping my chest as the credits role, and not even Sophia Loren’s pout can distract me from the bravado warmth washing over me. 8/10

One of the classic epic films of all time
In 1961 Anthony Mann’s epic tale of the Spanish hero “El Cid” burst across the wide screens of theatres. This was the kind of film that 70mm was made for. Charlton Heston is Rodrigo de Bivar, and Sophia Loren is his legendary love, Chimene. Their course of love will not be a smooth one. When he kills her father as a matter of honor, she vows vengeance and sets in motion the series of events which will forever change their lives. The Christian Spaniards are ruled by local kingdoms each vying for rule of the nation. When one king challenges El Cid’s monarch, Heston volunteers to fight to the death to determine the fate of the city of Calahorra, and at the same time vindicate himself of the treason he was accused of by Loren’s father. This fight for Calahorra is one of the most memorable action sequences ever committed to film. It opens with Miklos Rozsa’s heraldic fanfare as the two knights take their places on the jousting field. The two kings watch from either side. The ensuing duel is brutal with a predictable, but decisive outcome. The lovers are eventually married, but only to be separated again as El Cid is called to protect Spain from the marauding Moors swarming across the Mediterranean from Africa. The Spanish Moors join with the Cid to take the city of Valencia where the enemy will attack. It is here that one of the great battle scenes takes place, actually filmed in the shadow of the walled city of Peniscola on the coast of Spain. The two armies charge eachother in a cacaphony of horses, shouts and Rozsa’s rousing musical score. The sky is darkened by the thousands of flying arrows streaking across to the enemy. This is the kind of movie that they just don’t make anymore. What a pity! The final sequence shows the eerie onslaught of the Spanish army lead by the fallen El Cid strapped to his steed and causing the Moors to flee in terror at his seeming resurrection. Rozsa’s organ music swells as El Cid rides into the sunset along the deserted beach and into immortality. In the mid 90’s after many years of not being available, “El Cid” was shown again in its 70mm splendor. It was then released on video. The superb Criterion laserdisc version contains the full Technirama letterboxed image and a restored mult-channel soundtrack in Dolby Digital. An excellent supplementary section has interviews with Charlton Heston and others. Heston says that “El Cid” would have been an even more enduring classic if William Wyler (“Ben-Hur”) had directed it. However, Anthony Mann has nothing to be ashamed of. Aside from some wooden acting and some scenery chewing here and there, the richness of the story and the elaborate production design, paired with the fine performance of Heston and Miklos Rozsa’s impassioned score, surely place “El Cid” in the Hall of Fame of great film epics.

Other Information:

Original Language en
Runtime 3 hr 2 min (182 min)
Budget 6250000
Revenue 0
Status Released
Rated Approved
Genre Biography, Drama, History
Director Anthony Mann
Writer Fredric M. Frank, Philip Yordan, Ben Barzman
Actors Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone
Country Italy, United States
Awards Nominated for 3 Oscars. 7 wins & 13 nominations total
Production Company N/A
Website N/A

Technical Information:

Sound Mix Mono (some 35 mm prints), 4-Track Stereo (35 mm prints), 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)
Aspect Ratio 2.25 : 1 (negative ratio), 2.35 : 1 (35 mm prints)
Camera Technirama Cameras
Laboratory Technicolor, Hollywood (CA), USA (color)
Film Length N/A
Negative Format 35 mm (horizontal) (Eastman 50T 5251)
Cinematographic Process Technirama (anamorphic)
Printed Film Format 70 mm (Super Technirama), 35 mm, 8 mm (anamorphic)