El Cid (1961)

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

Got this from my local library.

Spectacular in all ways.

Saw this as a kid but I really 'SAW' this for the first time last night.

I was very pleased and highly recommend this to be seen if you have not.

From Wikipedia:

Upon the film's release, Bosley Crowther wrote "it is hard to remember a picture—not excluding Henry V, Ivanhoe, Helen of Troy and, naturally, Ben-Hur—in which scenery and regal rites and warfare have been so magnificently assembled and photographed as they are in this dazzler...The pure graphic structure of the pictures, the imposing arrangement of the scenes, the dynamic flow of the action against strong backgrounds, all photographed with the 70-mm. color camera and projected on the Super-Technirama screen, give a grandeur and eloquence to this production that are worth seeing for themselves."[4] Crowther also pointed out that while "the spectacle is terrific[,] the human drama is stiff and dull."

I do not quite agree with his last comment.

GD Y-Y

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Quick notes: Loren and Heston did not get along in the making of the film at all and I think it somewhat shows (Heston later stated he could have been easier to deal with and regretted some of things he did). This is one of the main reasons why Heston did not do the follow up Anthony Mann film The Fall of the Roman Empire (which if you have not seen Golden Dragon is a must watch, even if Stephen Boyd is not up to Heston's acting.)

To be fair Heston is very stiff at the end . I do love the ending.

Found a capsule review I did years ago:

El Cid (1961: ***½/****): While not perfect with plot or characterization, this is one of the most beautifully directed films I have seen this year. Anthony Mann's insistence on using real locations as much as possible have always helped the authenticity of his directed scenes (and he has said in an interview that it also helps the actors appear more natural). Charlton Heston plays the lead El Cid Campeador with the typical panache and testicular fortitude that he often brought to his roles (for an atypical performance many have mentioned Will Penny which I have on a short list of movies I want to see soon) and Sophia Loren looks as lovely as she ever has (in the extras it has been stated that the two did not get along and was the reason Charlton Heston did not work in the next Mann epic The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)).

Sometimes I felt there was a emotional disconnect with the story partially because of a weak performance by John Fraser as Prince Alfonso and a so-so one by Gary Raymond as Prince Sancho. Also with the anger between Heston and Loren several of there scenes were shot separately and felt like it.

Great use of extras (using the Spanish army) and is another film in the argument of the overuse of CGI in battle scenes.

But what a great ending.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

masterofoneinchpunch,

Thanks for the footnotes, very interesting.

And YES I did see The Fall of the Roman Empire.

Loved the film.

We are on the same wavelength LOL.

GD Y-Y

[Secret Executioner]

Funny, I wrote a summary of an article discussing the film and its making (as well as the original figure of El Cid) for class last year. The article was entitled "Agenda layered upon agenda: Anthony Mann’s 1961 El Cid" and was written by a critic named Kevin J. Harty. Found it in a collection called Hollywood in the Holy Land that was published in 2009.

Here it goes, in case you guys were interested:

Kevin J. Harty opens his article by making a parallel between the opening speech by the film’s main antagonist Ben Yussef and footage of Al-Qaeda leaders seen in the media nowadays. However, being 1961, this has more to do with the Cold War than with post-9/11 America, as the author reminds us.

Harty then explains that originally, the title-character was a real-life figure known as Don Rodrigo who served both Christians and Moorish masters – Harty describes him as a “mercenary”. In the end of his life, he had become the Valencia-based King of a large portion of Spain.

That character would later become source of legends and myths, first in Spanish literature – the author eventually states El Cid is similar in his link to his country to the likes of Beowulf, King Arthur or Roland. Harty also lists various pieces dealing with the character and after mentioning various Middle Ages Spanish sources, he comes to the Pierre Corneille play. That play, he notes, sparked controversy as France was at war with Spain at the time. It’s also noted the play is more focused on the love between the main character Don Rodrigo and Chimène, whose father he killed – that play is mentioned as a source for Anthony Mann’s film.

After giving us that background, Harty proceeds to discuss the economic situation of Spain in the 1960s. Franco had been ruling since the 1930s and the country had been weakened by wars (the civil war and WW2 notably) and nobody really wanted to invest in Spain at the time. However, the country was counting on tourism to boost its economy and in order to attract tourists they decided to use star appeal – attracting the stars, who would in turn attract people from other countries.

In order to attract stars, Spain would have to become attractive for movie making. Thus, the government made it clear they would satisfy all the needs of the studios, even removing electric poles or population out of a landscape if necessary.

The studios also found a great advantage at filming in Spain: great landscapes, newly built hotels that were to host tourists later and also, a local population (including soldiers, police officers…) that could be used as very cheap extras – much cheaper than what extras would cost in America.

In the case of El Cid, the movie was also approved and recognized by Franco and his government. The film however twisted the tale of Don Rodrigo, as Harty tells us: the main character (played by Charlton Heston) would blindly follow the King (never serving Moorish lords) and refuse to become King, preferring serving than ruling, while, as we’ve seen, the original figure became a ruler.

Eventually, the religious conflict is a bit ambiguous as Heston’s Cid wants to enlist Spanish Moors against the evil Ben Yussef. But spies and traitors lurk everywhere, and in the end, with a villain seeking to destroy “Western Civilization” and the fear of what could be seen as “sleeper agents”, the film puts the context of the Cold War in Medieval Spain – Ben Yussef even mimicking a famous speech by Soviet leader Khrushchev who threatened to “bury the West” at the UN General Assembly in 1960.

Charlton Heston’s character, on the other hand, is described as another “larger than life” figure played by this actor and Harty links El Cid’s treatment of a leper to Ben-Hur’s reunion with his family in the famous peplum Ben-Hur.

I haven't seen the movie, but I guess seeing it with some of the elements discussed in mind can make it interesting.

On a sidenote (though I guess it's something widely known), it's said Heston turned down The Fall Of The Roman Empire because Loren was attached to it.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Quick notes: Loren and Heston did not get along in the making of the film at all and I think it somewhat shows (Heston later stated he could have been easier to deal with and regretted some of things he did). This is one of the main reasons why Heston did not do the follow up Anthony Mann film The Fall of the Roman Empire ...

... On a sidenote (though I guess it's something widely known), it's said Heston turned down The Fall Of The Roman Empire because Loren was attached to it.

Yes, I had mentioned that earlier. The Miriam Collection R1 editions of both films go over this in the extras (several times, though there are a lot of extras.) Anthony Mann is an interesting auteur as he crossed several genres from film noir to westerns to the epic films above. He has directed several of my favorite westerns including Winchester '73 and The Naked Spur.