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El Cid movie storyline. 17th century Spain is divided into Christian kingdoms and Moorish strongholds. The young Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar (Charlton Heston), dubbed “El Cid” by his followers, vows to see his country at peace, free from the invaders. Vigorously brave and resourceful, the noble knight hates bloodshed and faces treason charges at court for the clemency shown to some emirs. His accuser, Gormaz (Andrew Cruickshank), father of his fiancée, Jimena (Sophia Loren), dies in the resulting duel.
Jimena’s avowed vengeance plot fails and Rodrigo is given her hand. The marriage is not consummated and she enters a convent. On Ferdinand’s (Ralph Truman’s) death, his kingdom is divided amongst his three children. Sancho (Gary Raymond) challenges the decision and imprisons Alfonso (John Fraser), who is released by El Cid. The African warlord, Ben Yussuf (Herbert Lom), takes advantage of the quarrel by having Sancho assassinated. Alfonso now claims that throne, too, and exiles El Cid.
Jimena realizes the nobility of her husband and joins him, but returns to the convent with their two children, when he goes into battle against Ben Yussuf. The years pass, El Cid becomes a revered warrior, but refuses to aid Alfonso, preferring his own strategy. He lays siege to Valencia, catapulting food into its starving garrison. When the Valencians kill their evil ruler, Al Kadir (Frank Thring), they offer the crown to El Cid. He sends it to Alfonso, who rushes, hysterically gratified, to his side. But El Cid has been hit by a stray arrow. Attended by Jimena, he hides the wound from his men and prepares a final bid to drive the Moors from Spain.
El Cid is a 1961 epic historical drama film directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Samuel Bronston. The film is loosely based on the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called “El Cid” (from the Arabic as-sidi, meaning “The Lord”), who, in the 11th century, fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain. The film stars Charlton Heston in the title role and Sophia Loren as Doña Ximena. The screenplay is credited to Fredric M. Frank, Philip Yordan, and Ben Barzman with uncredited contributions by Bernard Gordon.
El Cid premiered on December 6, 1961 at the Metropole Theatre in London, and was released on December 14 in the United States. The film received largely positive reviews praising the performances of Heston and Loren, the cinematography, and the musical score. It went on to gross $26.6 million during its initial theatrical run. It was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, and Best Original Song.
About the Production
Principal photography began November 14, 1960 at Sevilla Studios in Madrid, Spain. Filming was reported to spend at least four months of exterior shooting in Spain which would be followed by a final month of interior shooting at the Cinecittà Studios in Rome.
Loren’s scenes were shot first as her availability was initially for twelve weeks. Shooting lasted for eight hours a day as the production employed French hours. By January 1961, her part was considerably expanded in response to the early dailies. Simultaneously, second-unit filming for the battle sequences were directed by Yakima Canutt. As filming had progressed, by December 1960, location shooting for action sequences were shot along the Guadarrama Pass. Specifically for the film’s second half, Heston suggested growing a gray-flecked beard and wearing a facial scar to showcase Don Rodrigo’s battle scarring within the ten-year gap.
With the film’s first half nearly complete, shooting for the battle of Valencia was filmed on location in Peñíscola as the actual city had become modernized. For three months, hundreds of production design personnel constructed city walls to block off modern buildings. 1,700 trained infantrymen were leased from the Spanish Army as well as 500 mounted riders from Madrid’s Municipal Honor Guard.
15 war machines and siege towers were constructed from historical artwork, and 35 boats were decorated with battlements to serve as the Moorish fleet. Tensions between Mann and Canutt rose as Mann sought to shoot the sequence himself. With the sequence nearly finished, Canutt spent three days filming pick-up shots which would be edited within the longer, master shots that Mann had earlier shot. In his autobiography, Heston expressed his dissatisfaction with Mann’s insistence on shooting the battle scenes himself, feeling Canutt was more competent and efficient.
In April 1961, the last sequence to be shot for the film—the duel for Calahorra—was filmed near the Belmonte Castle. The scene was directed by Canutt. Prior to filming, Heston and British actor Christopher Rhodes trained for a month in the use in weaponry under stunt coordinator Enzo Musumeci Greco. The fight took five days to shoot, totaling 31 hours of combat before editing. 70,000 feet of film was shot for the sequence, which was ultimately edited down to 1,080 feet remaining in the film.
El Cid (1961)
Directed by: Anthony Mann
Starring: Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Raf Vallone, Geneviève Page, John Fraser, Gary Raymond, Herbert Lom, Douglas Wilmer, Michael Hordern, Massimo Serato, Christopher Rhodes
Screenplay by: Philip Yordan, Fredric M. Frank, Ben Barzman
Production Design by: Veniero Colasanti, John Moore
Cinematography by: Robert Krasker
Film Editing by: Robert Lawrence
Costume Design by: Veniero Colasanti, John Moore
Set Decoration by: Veniero Colasanti, John Moore
Music by: Miklós Rózsa
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Allied Artists (USA), Rank Organization (UK), Dear Film (Italy)
Release Date: December 14, 1961
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