Luke
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CibbuanoEl Cid
November 27th 2006 06:34
El Cid (1961)
'El Cid' is one of those grand epics of the 60s. Sweeping panaromic visuals, rippling chests, thrusting swords, castles, courtly intrigues and hordes of bloodthirsty warriors. This film is from right in the thick of the genre, back when it was at it's strongest and most popular, and it still stands up today as one of the less-dated and more entertaining stories of historical heroism.
The always dependable Charlton Heston plays the Castillian (and Spanish) medieval hero El Cid, who united the Spanish muslims and christians together in order to defend spain from a Moorish invasion spearheaded by Ben Yussef (played with despicable glee by Herbert Lom). The film charts El Cid's rise to surpreme defender of the land, and offers spades of swashbuckling, romance and challenging subplots. Not only does El Cid seek to be a good husband and father whilst rousing the country to defend it's borders against the islamic hordes, he must also tow the line with Spain's jealous royalty and fight off the treachery that can bring one down from behind.
El Cid is the kind of hero that Hollywood, scared of jaded audiences and seen-it-all critics, is often too afraid to show these days. He's forward-thinking, culturally un-biased (in fact, it is his lack of prejudice that made him such a hero in Spanish folklore) and kind to the marginalised (at one point he is recognised by a leper simply because he gives the leper a drink, something no one else would do). Heston has the presence and gravity to pull it off, and the final moments of the epic battle that closes the film would seem comical had almost anyone else been in the role - though as it stands, with Heston in the sadle, it is a highly memorable closing scene.
A great cast of well-drawn characters, a great jousting sequence, fine production values, a sense of political correctness seldom seen in other films of the era - 'El Cid' has it all, and it's probably thanks to these factors that the film doesn't seem anywhere near as dated as it probably should. I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this film, it's definitely one of the highlights of the genre and should be regarded as a truely classic epic.
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
A truly great sword and sandal epic.
Shame the aussie DVD release is so slapped together in teh wrong aspect ratio with poor sound.