Admirable film.

A different way of telling a story

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

epic. it is the first word. than - heroic. or fascinating. or great. or amazing. only words about a film who remains seductive decade by decade. in fact, it is a well -made work. same ingredients of many other historical movies from the same period. same recipes. and Heston and Loren in a love story who escapes from clichés few times. and that could be the essence of its success. because it is a wise adaptation of one of most impressive Spanish stories. and the care for details, the use of nuances in brilliant manner are the virtues who defines it. a film who could be a beautiful one. but it has the science to be more. a seductive trip in the heart of myth using memorable scenes.

Evidence that quantity does not mean quality. 180 minutes long, probably just so that it could earn the "epic" tag, this movie drags on an on, thanks to unnecessary side plots and details. Clearly not true to history - if El Cid and some of the other characters really acted in the way they did, and made the decisions they did, history would have been quite different. El Cid's adherence to certain (misplaced and misguided) honours and loyalties are laid on so thick, and stymie so many good ideas, that you start supporting his enemies.Plot-holes and random pointless twists abound.The acting is incredibly wooden, especially by Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. The supporting cast aren't much better though.On the up side, the battle scenes are well done, cinematography is great and costumes look very authentic.

'El Cid' tells the story of Rodrigo Diaz (Charlton Heston), known as El Cid by his followers, a Spanish hero who helped unite the entire country by spearheading an effort to drive out the invading Moors. Branded a traitor by his Christian kingdom, and exiled from wife Jimena (Sophia Loren), El Cid still becomes a legendary figure.'El Cid' is, for all intents and purposes, an epic. Sweeping landscapes, majestic scores, massive battle scenes and extravagance galore, all those same ingredients are there. But, for a film that clocks in at over three hours, it's a complete waste of time. Of the epics I've seen in my time, this ranks near the bottom. Despite the ingredients being there, the recipe was all wrong.It's because it goes on far too long. Yes, it's the story of the man's life, but it just drags and drags. The El Cid story is a fascinating one, and it's remarkable what he achieved, but it could have been chronicled in two hours. It's as if the film was an epic for the sake of making an epic, not because the film needed that grandeur. It's not helped by the fact that Charlton Heston is cringingly bad. In a performance soaked in ham, he just doesn't do well. Watching Heston play Rodrigo was like watching an am-dram actor recite Hamlet: needlessly over-the-top. He's very good in Planet Of The Apes, so I was really disappointed in this.There is good. The music is amazing, so rousing and majestic. Sophia Loren looks fantastic and acts quite well. There is a supporting cast of actors I don't know, but who do a decent job. But everything hinges on Mr. Heston and he doesn't pull his weight.There are some very good epics out there, which are just as long but are engrossing and entertaining. I fell asleep for about twenty minutes during the movie and wasn't bothered about rewinding the movie. And I pretty much spent the last half hour of the film talking with my housemate. Is 'El Cid' one hour too long? Absolutely. Is 'El Cid' three hours too long? Arguably, yes.

El Cid is definitely one of my favourite films. Visually it is spectacular with superb cinematography: dramatic Spanish landscapes, turbulent battle scenes, towering castles and colourful costumes. Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren are perfectly cast as the heroic warrior Rodrigo (who saves Spain from Moorish occupation) and his passionate strong minded wife Chimene whose love survives a multitude of obstacles. If you are looking for light relief or comedy, you won't find it here. What you will find is a stirring story of courage, self sacrifice and patriotism that can't fail to move you- an old fashioned Hollywood epic on a grand scale and all the better for it.