El Cid

SYNOPSIS

The epic was in danger of losing its audience when this lavish account of the career of Spanish patriot Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar was first released. While not perhaps on a par with The Ten Commandments or Ben-Hur, it gave Charlton Heston the chance to carry the weight of a nation on his shoulders again, as he takes on the occupying Moors. Director Anthony Mann avoids a mere history lesson, effectively handling the court intrigue and the feud between Heston and estranged wife Sophia Loren. But it's the astonishing action sequences produced by Yakima Canutt's second-unit crew that give the picture its Super Technirama impact. With outstanding supporting performances from Herbert Lom and Genevieve Page, a literate script and a superlative Oscar-nominated score by Miklos Rozsa, this is 1960s Hollywood at its spectacular best.