" And the Cid rode through the gate and into legend "

El Cid is the story of legendary Rodrigo Diaz who lifted his country with valour and integrity to drive the Moorish invaders from Spain.

I think the best thing I can say about this film is that even though it's nearly three hours long, I never once look at the clock. It's a thoroughly engaging picture that boasts all the great hallmarks of a sweeping historical epic. The colour, the costumes, the scope, and the attention to detail from director Anthony Mann are first rate, and par for the course is the suitably rousing score from Miklo... read the rest.

Ranks with the best sword & sandal epics

In the latter half of the 11th Century when Spain consisted of Christian kingdoms and Moorish strongholds, Castilian knight Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (Charlton Heston) becomes known as ‘El Cid,’ meaning “the lord,” after generously showing mercy to a couple of Emirs, who orchestrated an attack on a Spanish city. This gets him accused of treason, but he proves his nobility, courage and skill to King Ferdinand (Ralph Truman) and his successors (Gary Raymond, John Fraser & Geneviève Page). Sophia Loren plays his romantic interest while Herbert Lom is o... read the rest.

El Cid is “the story of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar [Charlton Heston] ... a simple man who became Spain's greatest hero. He rose above religious hatreds and appealed to all Spaniards, whether Christian or Moorish [not unlike how JCVD ​​befriended Jews and Muslims in The Order, in which Heston also appears], to confront a common enemy that threatened to destroy their land of Spain.”

Rodrigo's unifying work is facilitated by the fact that Moors and Christians have a common language, although this lingua franca is not, as one would expect, Spanish but rather English — apparently the official languag... read the rest.