El Cid details
| Formats: | U DVD, Blu-ray |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Geneviève Page, Herbert Lom, Sophia Loren, Genevieve Page, Raf Vallone, John Fraser, Hurd Hatfield, Charlton Heston, Gary Raymond |
| Directors: | Anthony Mann, Anthony Mann |
| Genres: | Action/Adventure - General, Drama - General, Romance |
| Studio: | ANCHOR BAY HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Collections: | 100 Swords and Sandals Films |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
El Cid |
U Feature | |
El Cid - Bonus Features |
U Bonus |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 2 hours 51 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 16 May 2011 |
| Main languages: | English |
Write your own review
Most helpful review
It's not as good as the usual high calibre of "epic" films.Pity : I generally really like the long epics.
By roncoach (365 reviews) from suffolk , 05 Dec 2011[Highly rated reviewer]
I normally love these epics , especially starring the 'king of the epics' ( Charlton Heston) and I prefer historical sagas compared to the biblical epics, though the latter are very good in the main. And 'El Cid' also boasts the gorgeous Sophia as co-star (but who hardly appears for much of the 3 hours) . The director is the wonderful Anthony Mann.
So how could it go wrong ? Well, in many knowledgeable viewers' opinion , it doesn't go wrong at all.....it is often regarded as a classic. But it's interesting that the overall rating is exactly what I am giving it : 3.5 stars. That is hardly a bad rating, but it hardly makes it brilliant, let alone one of the great classics.
When an epic seems too long and you want the 3 hours reduced to 2 hours, there's something wrong.And I find 'El Cid' too long. The great epics make me wish they were 4 hours instead of 3 hours....I could name quite a few but just as two very differing examples, I mention 'Zhivago' and 'Ben Hur' as such epics.
Who can say , when films are so much about opinion, what makes the 'greats' and what makes the ' didn't quite make it' categories? I don't know. But the answer probably lies somewhere among the reviewers who are better than me and who also give the film 3 or 3.5 stars.
Given its length , I'm not sure I can recommend this to viewers who have not seen the film. It is a 'must' for film afficianados, but for a Saturday night in front of the telly film........I have a feeling the majority would not thank me for a recommendation.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (40) Yes |
- No (33)
All reviews
(16)Very long and very boring
By JafarIqbal (54 reviews) from London , 13 Dec 2012‘El Cid’ tells the story of Rodrigo Diaz (Charlton Heston), known as El Cid by his followers, a Spanish hero who helped unite the entire country by spearheading an effort to drive out the invading Moors. Branded a traitor by his Christian kingdom, and exiled from wife Jimena (Sophia Loren), El Cid still becomes a legendary figure. ‘El Cid’ is, for all intents and purposes, an epic. Sweeping landscapes, majestic scores, massive battle scenes and extravagance galore, all those same ingredients are there. But, for a film that clocks in at over three hours, it’s a complete waste of time. Of the epics I’ve seen in my time, this ranks near the bottom. Despite the ingredients being there, the recipe was all wrong. It’s because it goes on far too long. Yes, it’s the story of the man’s life, but it just drags and drags. The El Cid story is a fascinating one, and it’s remarkable what he achieved, but it could have been chronicled in two hours. It’s as if the film was an epic for the sake of making an epic, not because the film needed that grandeur. It’s not helped by the fact that Charlton Heston is cringingly bad. In a performance soaked in ham, he just doesn’t do well. Watching Heston play Rodrigo was like watching an am-dram actor recite Hamlet: needlessly over-the-top. He’s very good in Planet Of The Apes, so I was really disappointed in this. There is good. The music is amazing, so rousing and majestic. Sophia Loren looks fantastic and acts quite well. There is a supporting cast of actors I don’t know, but who do a decent job. But everything hinges on Mr. Heston and he doesn’t pull his weight. There are some very good epics out there, which are just as long but are engrossing and entertaining. I fell asleep for about twenty minutes during the movie and wasn’t bothered about rewinding the movie. And I pretty much spent the last half hour of the film talking with my housemate. Is ‘El Cid’ one hour too long? Absolutely. Is ‘El Cid’ three hours too long? Arguably, yes.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (1)
It's not as good as the usual high calibre of "epic" films.Pity : I generally really like the long epics.
By roncoach (365 reviews) from suffolk , 05 Dec 2011[Highly rated reviewer]
I normally love these epics , especially starring the 'king of the epics' ( Charlton Heston) and I prefer historical sagas compared to the biblical epics, though the latter are very good in the main. And 'El Cid' also boasts the gorgeous Sophia as co-star (but who hardly appears for much of the 3 hours) . The director is the wonderful Anthony Mann.
So how could it go wrong ? Well, in many knowledgeable viewers' opinion , it doesn't go wrong at all.....it is often regarded as a classic. But it's interesting that the overall rating is exactly what I am giving it : 3.5 stars. That is hardly a bad rating, but it hardly makes it brilliant, let alone one of the great classics.
When an epic seems too long and you want the 3 hours reduced to 2 hours, there's something wrong.And I find 'El Cid' too long. The great epics make me wish they were 4 hours instead of 3 hours....I could name quite a few but just as two very differing examples, I mention 'Zhivago' and 'Ben Hur' as such epics.
Who can say , when films are so much about opinion, what makes the 'greats' and what makes the ' didn't quite make it' categories? I don't know. But the answer probably lies somewhere among the reviewers who are better than me and who also give the film 3 or 3.5 stars.
Given its length , I'm not sure I can recommend this to viewers who have not seen the film. It is a 'must' for film afficianados, but for a Saturday night in front of the telly film........I have a feeling the majority would not thank me for a recommendation.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (40) Yes |
- No (33)
An epic if ever there was!
By a customer from edinburgh , 03 Apr 2011If ever a film deserved the epithet 'epic', then that film is 'El Cid'. Anthony Mann's sprawling depiction of the struggle of an 11th century knight to rid Spain of the Moors ticks every box, and as a bonus, offers probably the finest score ever written for a film. Get the pizzas in, open the beer, and lose yourself in its romance and spectacle. Terrific!- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
- No (1)
Three hours and thousands of extras!
By a customer from Manchester , 18 Jan 2010Good sterling stuff; battles, intrigue, cast of thousands (literally), smouldering Sophia Loren, macho royalist Charlton Heston and both good and bad Muslims. Plenty for the vintage star spotter too - Andrew Cruikshank (crotchety, long before he became TV's Dr Cameron), and Michael Hordern bringing dignity to a historical role (as he was later not to do in Up Pompei). It's a good watch, providing you stick with the plot twists for nearly three hours, altho it could do with a joke or two to lighten the atmos.
Films like this take me straight back to the Plaza in Bangor North Wales,on a Saturday afternoon; tumultuous noise from the audience, crisps that were crisper, ice creams that were creamier and adolescent love all around in the darkness of the matinee.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (3)
Sid sorts out the Spanish Senors!
By Charles Brickley from Andover, Hampshire England , 06 Oct 2009This is a long film at 9 minutes short of 3 Hours, but then that was the fashion for the great EPIC MOVIES of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
'Spartacus' (1960) was 184 minutes and 'The Fall of the Roman Empire' (1964) was 188 minutes, so this film about the legendary and humble Spanish Knight who strove to unite the Christian and Moorish factions fighting to control Spain, in the Middle Ages is par for the course on its timing.
Directed by Anthony Mann, who usually worked with my favourite American actor, James Stewart, on such classics as 'Winchester 73' and 'The Naked Spur' the story was in a safe pair of hands, although Mann was not of the same calibre of Director as David Lean or William Wyler when it came to the EPIC.
Whilst some reviewers are complaining about the tempo of this USA/ UK/ Italian collaboration or the quality of the plot, they seem to have missed the beautiful scenery, the action scenes and the quality of the acting. Personally I believe that the story is told in a believable and charming manner.
Apart from seeing it in original Super Technirama in London, I have watched ‘El Cid’ several times on TV and now after a break of 10 years on DVD. There is always something new to catch the eye, especially during the action sequences where the attention to detail is very good indeed.
I may add it to my collection, but certainly seeing this old friend again was well worth the cost of the rental.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (2) Yes |
- No (1)
