The film's visuals are occasionally stunning, and, while the screenplay by Philip Yordan, Ben Barzman and Fredric M. Frank, from a story by Frank, is solid, one does wonder how differently a true film master like Michelangelo Antonioni would have handles such a film. We never get inside any of the characters because they act upon such a large stage that what they say and do almost does not matter, as it is dwarfed by the seeming weight of history. In a sense, the film is like a Frederic Edwin Church painting, wherein natural forces marginalize the efforts of man. The music score by Miklós Rózsa, was much lauded, but in retrospect, it does not hold up against the visuals of cinematographer Robert Krasker. Interestingly, perhaps the most important technical aspect that succeeds in this film is the editing by Robert Lawrence. Repeatedly, the scenes end before typical Hollywood reveals that hammer a point home, especially in epic films like this. There are dozens of examples, but note the scene where Cid kills Chimene's father. First, we never see the final deed, as both men are behind the staircase when Cid strikes his deathblow. Second, after getting Chimene to agree to avenge his death, we see her turn, to see Cid in darkness under the stairs, but then we get the fade. We never see the typical confrontation between the lovers That is delayed for a few minutes. What this shows is that Mann was handed an elephant, and did his best to leave some sort of imprint of himself on it.
The film won some awards at the Golden Globes, and Oscars- mostly technical stuff, but it was a smash hit. The film is shown in a 2.20:1 aspect ratio and clocks in at almost three and a quarter hours in length, and comes in 1 three disk DVD package, as part of The Miriam Collection of films. Unfortunately, the film is split at its intermission, and spread across two DVDs. In this day and age, this is a major boner. Even worse is that the audio commentary is also split. The commentary, by Bill Bronston (son of producer Sauel Bronston) and Neal M. Rosendorf, a film historian, is OK, mentioning some of the unfortunate stereotyping that was portrayed, but it's nothing special. Perhaps the most insightful thing mentioned is how the film used Islamic expansion as a metaphor for the Cold War, whereas now it can be read literally, and how Sam Bronston was clueless as to the deeper themes in the film. Disk 1 features radio interviews with Heston and Loren, while Disk 2 has the featurettes. There's a making of featurette, a film on the career of Bronston as a producer, one on Anthony Mann'sd career as a director, one on the music of Miklós Rózsa, a film on film preservation, and a gallery of theatrical trailers. The worst extra feature, though, comes on Disk 3. There is nothing but a lengthy interview with a none too bright evangelist named John Bevere, who spends his whole interview as an apologist for Christianity, as well as spewing bizarre 1950s era ultra-nationalistic tripe, and generally misinterpreting the film. It's an embarrassing feature, and one wonders what connection to the people involved in the DVD this man has, and why he would be featured so prominently in the packaging.
Overall, El Cid is a terrific popcorn movie to watch, but a film of depth and great art it's not. Akira Kurosawa would have really lifted a project like this into the heavens. These days, all of the thousands of extras would simply be added in via CG, so it is quite impressive to see a film that truly was epic in scope. I also prefer the old method of putting all the credits at the start of the film, and, of course, there's Charlton Heston. Simply put, Heston is the quintessential American Alpha Male Movie Star. John Wayne, Sylvester Stallone, Marlon Brando, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson. No one really compares, except for, perhaps, Gary Cooper. While this film does not test his acting chops the way Major Dundee did, nor is it as iconic as his roles in Planet Of The Apes nor The Ten Commandments, it may be the role Heston was most suited to play, for it seems that he is never straining, and always in his comfort zone. Regardless, watch El Cid if you want an idea of what the filmgoing experience was, at its best, during the middle of last century.
The film won some awards at the Golden Globes, and Oscars- mostly technical stuff, but it was a smash hit. The film is shown in a 2.20:1 aspect ratio and clocks in at almost three and a quarter hours in length, and comes in 1 three disk DVD package, as part of The Miriam Collection of films. Unfortunately, the film is split at its intermission, and spread across two DVDs. In this day and age, this is a major boner. Even worse is that the audio commentary is also split. The commentary, by Bill Bronston (son of producer Sauel Bronston) and Neal M. Rosendorf, a film historian, is OK, mentioning some of the unfortunate stereotyping that was portrayed, but it's nothing special. Perhaps the most insightful thing mentioned is how the film used Islamic expansion as a metaphor for the Cold War, whereas now it can be read literally, and how Sam Bronston was clueless as to the deeper themes in the film. Disk 1 features radio interviews with Heston and Loren, while Disk 2 has the featurettes. There's a making of featurette, a film on the career of Bronston as a producer, one on Anthony Mann'sd career as a director, one on the music of Miklós Rózsa, a film on film preservation, and a gallery of theatrical trailers. The worst extra feature, though, comes on Disk 3. There is nothing but a lengthy interview with a none too bright evangelist named John Bevere, who spends his whole interview as an apologist for Christianity, as well as spewing bizarre 1950s era ultra-nationalistic tripe, and generally misinterpreting the film. It's an embarrassing feature, and one wonders what connection to the people involved in the DVD this man has, and why he would be featured so prominently in the packaging.
Overall, El Cid is a terrific popcorn movie to watch, but a film of depth and great art it's not. Akira Kurosawa would have really lifted a project like this into the heavens. These days, all of the thousands of extras would simply be added in via CG, so it is quite impressive to see a film that truly was epic in scope. I also prefer the old method of putting all the credits at the start of the film, and, of course, there's Charlton Heston. Simply put, Heston is the quintessential American Alpha Male Movie Star. John Wayne, Sylvester Stallone, Marlon Brando, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson. No one really compares, except for, perhaps, Gary Cooper. While this film does not test his acting chops the way Major Dundee did, nor is it as iconic as his roles in Planet Of The Apes nor The Ten Commandments, it may be the role Heston was most suited to play, for it seems that he is never straining, and always in his comfort zone. Regardless, watch El Cid if you want an idea of what the filmgoing experience was, at its best, during the middle of last century.