El Cid (Allied Artists 1961)

Well, it's about time for ECM to post another Charlton Heston movie don'tcha think? (the last was Ben-Hur.)

So, why exactly did El Cid make Edge's Conservative Movie of the Week? Well, here's the plot.

Heston takes on a Muslim horde threatening freedom.

Oh!

Well then.

Hmmm.

'Nuff said.

Need more? Below is an intersting comment a user at IMDb made about the film!

"Although generally regarded as "good but not great", I consider "El Cid" to be the best film ever made.

The film always flies past for me, no matter how many times I've seen it and is virtually perfect. Each character is memorable and well-acted (with the possible exception of Sophia Loren's Chimene) - stand outs are Heston, Genevieve Page as Uraca, John Fraser as Alphonso, Gary Raymond as Sancho and Raf Vallone as Ordonez, but the all the supporting roles are performed with conviction.

Amongst the many other plus points are the exciting action scenes, in particular the combat for Caloharra, which, although the viewer is never in any doubt that Rodrigo will be victorious, is superbly performed and totally convincing. Also, Miklos Rosza's impressive score ranks amongst his very best.

"El Cid" has never been given the praise it deserves, often being over-shadowed by (the admittedly excellent) "Ben Hur". Perhaps this is down to personal taste as most critics and viewers would disagree, but I think "El Cid" is just marginally superior."

Here is the trailer to El Cid!



Still not sold on El Cid? Here's some clips!