Movie · 1961 · Action, Drama, History, Romance, War · 3h 7m · NR · English
Curator score: 8.3/10 (17.3K ratings)
The GREATEST ROMANCE and ADVENTURE in a THOUSAND YEARS!
Overview
Epic film of the legendary Spanish hero, Rodrigo Diaz ("El Cid" to his followers), who, without compromising his strict sense of honour, still succeeds in taking the initiative and driving the Moors from Spain.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.3/10
IMDb: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 79
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Anthony Mann
Production
Samuel Bronston Productions, Dear Film, Aspa Films
Cast
Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Geneviève Page, John Fraser, Gary Raymond, Hurd Hatfield, Massimo Serato, Frank Thring, Michael Hordern, Andrew Cruickshank, Douglas Wilmer, Tullio Carminati, Ralph Truman, Christopher Rhodes, Carlo Giustini, Gérard Tichy, Fausto Tozzi, Barbara Everest, Katina Noble
Curator Review
Verdict
A grand, old-school historical epic that pairs massive spectacle with a surprisingly disciplined sense of honor, duty, and myth. It’s long and sometimes stiff, but the scale, staging, and visual command make it a rewarding watch for epic-film fans.
Best for
fans of classic Hollywood epics
viewers who like large-scale battle scenes and pageantry
people interested in chivalric or medieval legends
fans of Anthony Mann’s visual style
viewers who don’t mind a solemn, old-fashioned tone
Skip if
you want fast pacing or a lean runtime
you dislike reverent hero portrayals
you prefer historically skeptical or psychologically messy biopics
you’re not in the mood for widescreen spectacle and melodrama
Overview
El Cid is one of those big studio epics that still feels physically enormous: castles, armies, banners, armor, and a score built to shake the rafters. Anthony Mann brings a hard-edged visual intelligence to the material, so even when the script leans into mythmaking, the film has real weight and momentum.
Worth noting
What keeps it interesting is the tension between pageantry and severity. The movie is openly devoted to honor, loyalty, and legend, and that can make Rodrigo feel more symbolic than human. But the production design, battle choreography, and sheer confidence of the filmmaking give the story a grandeur that’s hard to resist.
Bottom line
It’s not the most nuanced historical drama, and its length will test anyone who isn’t already sold on the genre. Still, if you like widescreen epics that treat history as both spectacle and moral fable, this is a major one.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Daniel88 (4★) · 151 likes
"One of the greatest epic films ever made" - Martin Scorsese
I could not agree more with Mr. Scorsese. El Cid has everything going for it - impressive sets, lavish costumes, stirring music, and thousands of extras - except a strong script. The film repeats the same misstep made by Spartacus the year before by portraying, in this instance, El Cid as a saintly, almost flawless military figure, whereas Rodrigo Díaz was in reality closer to an anti-hero. Rather than… more
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (4★) · 149 likes
Action!: MANN MEN - Anthony Takes It All!
After a failed attempt a few years ago, Anthony Mann finally delivers a historical epic that he not only manages to see through to the end but also proves he has the ability to make a film that is, at least from my perspective, among the most visually stunning examples of its genre I've ever seen. The production design is enormous and completely engrossing. The film's extraordinary realism and sense of scale… more
mattheweg (4★) · 103 likes
Look, movies with exit music usually aren't my thing. But this is really quite good, mainly because it's fucking gorgeous. Could it have been an hour shorter and had 80000 fewer extras? Sure but fuck you.
harrylime66 (5★) · 74 likes
A broken bottle, a childhood nightmare and a question: my memories of “El Cid” is a thread that connects these three elements. But let us start from the beginning, let us narrow the field of research and let us organise the ideas. “El Cid” is the memory of the life, bravery and legend of the famous hero of the “Reconquista” who protected Valencia, fought against the Moors and unified the Catholic and Muslim forces of the resistance. The film is… more A broken bottle, a childhood nightmare and a question: my memories of “El Cid” is a thread that connects these three elements. But let us start from the beginning, let us narrow the field of research and let us organise the ideas. “El Cid” is the memory of the life, bravery and legend of the famous hero of the “Reconquista” who protected Valencia, fought against the Moors and unified the Catholic and Muslim forces of the resistance. The film is… more
comrade_yui (5★) · 59 likes
all obliterated in the cyclical vortex of politics and war, everything except one knight's honor, which increasingly removes him out of the circumstances of history and into the realms of pure myth.
el cid's highly elaborate working-out of a chivalric worldview more than a little resembles eric rohmer's perceval, but by the 1960s mann could not be more foreign to the theatrical gaiety of the emerging new wave -- whereas so many other directors found their styles becoming more fluid… more
2000 · Action, Drama, Adventure · 2h 35m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (3.8M ratings) · Where to watch: Hulu, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Kanopy, AMC, Philo
For audiences who want the modern descendant of the old epic tradition: revenge, spectacle, and mythic hero framing.