Aroused by a fanatical Moorish warlord, emir-king attack a Castilian village, where they are captured by Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar
Vigorously brave and compassionate, the noble Rodrigo hates bloodshed and vows to see his country at peace, frees the prisoners on their solemn pledge never again to attack Castile
For this act of courage and mercy, one of the Emirs, Moutamin, calls Rodrigo "El Cid," and pledges eternal friendship to the Cid of Vivar And so, in freeing the Moors, Rodrigo, accidentally, stumbled onto a battle, not to his luscious bride, but to a battle that will change his whole life
In the court of King Ferdinand, Rodrigo's act of clemency is misinterpreted, and he's accused of treason by his rival Don Ordonez for refusing to turn over to him the captures Moors
Unfortunately, Rodrigo's aged father, Don Diego, is slapped by the Champion of the king, Count Gormaz, father of his beloved Chimene Rodrigo begs Gormaz an apology; it is refused A duel begins and the champion is badly wounded Before he dies, however, he asks Chimene to avenge his death
Chimene's wish is fulfilled when King Ramiro of Aragon challenges King Ferdinand for the possession of the city of Calahorra by the outcome of a single combat El Cid convinces the king to permit him to fight Don Martin Thus, according to the custom of trial by combat, God would judge Rodrigo's guilt or innocence
"El Cid" is an intense film, lavish and spectacular, bigger than any in terms of cast and impressive as any in visual terms Miklós Rózsa gave a new dimension to the emotion that Anthony Mann was trying to express
Mann gives us a human story with a love story balanced with the most strongly image of a hero the world has ever seen He presented a man of honor who thinks always of his wife, his country, and his king first Even in death, his thoughts are for others and not himself
El Cid insults kings and noblemen in the name of justice and integrity and does what he knows to be right He battles the king's living sword in respect of his father He accepts the challenge of a champion of a king to prove himself innocent of treason and other things He shows a prince how any man can kill and only a king can give life He fights 13 knights, at the same time, to free a prisoner Yet he is in addition to all of this an extremely principled leader He accepts exile for life from the country he loves, and yet he is the only man in Spain who 'could humble a king and would give a leper to drink from his own pouch '
The joust sequence called "The fight for Calahorra," is perhaps the most rousing, exciting, one-to-one combat ever filmed The battle scenes at Valencia are taken on an epic scale But the value of Anthony Mann's movie is the characterization in which Charlton Heston played El Cid's life For this reason alone, the film is of greater value than most any other motion picture experience
Vigorously brave and compassionate, the noble Rodrigo hates bloodshed and vows to see his country at peace, frees the prisoners on their solemn pledge never again to attack Castile
For this act of courage and mercy, one of the Emirs, Moutamin, calls Rodrigo "El Cid," and pledges eternal friendship to the Cid of Vivar And so, in freeing the Moors, Rodrigo, accidentally, stumbled onto a battle, not to his luscious bride, but to a battle that will change his whole life
In the court of King Ferdinand, Rodrigo's act of clemency is misinterpreted, and he's accused of treason by his rival Don Ordonez for refusing to turn over to him the captures Moors
Unfortunately, Rodrigo's aged father, Don Diego, is slapped by the Champion of the king, Count Gormaz, father of his beloved Chimene Rodrigo begs Gormaz an apology; it is refused A duel begins and the champion is badly wounded Before he dies, however, he asks Chimene to avenge his death
Chimene's wish is fulfilled when King Ramiro of Aragon challenges King Ferdinand for the possession of the city of Calahorra by the outcome of a single combat El Cid convinces the king to permit him to fight Don Martin Thus, according to the custom of trial by combat, God would judge Rodrigo's guilt or innocence
"El Cid" is an intense film, lavish and spectacular, bigger than any in terms of cast and impressive as any in visual terms Miklós Rózsa gave a new dimension to the emotion that Anthony Mann was trying to express
Mann gives us a human story with a love story balanced with the most strongly image of a hero the world has ever seen He presented a man of honor who thinks always of his wife, his country, and his king first Even in death, his thoughts are for others and not himself
El Cid insults kings and noblemen in the name of justice and integrity and does what he knows to be right He battles the king's living sword in respect of his father He accepts the challenge of a champion of a king to prove himself innocent of treason and other things He shows a prince how any man can kill and only a king can give life He fights 13 knights, at the same time, to free a prisoner Yet he is in addition to all of this an extremely principled leader He accepts exile for life from the country he loves, and yet he is the only man in Spain who 'could humble a king and would give a leper to drink from his own pouch '
The joust sequence called "The fight for Calahorra," is perhaps the most rousing, exciting, one-to-one combat ever filmed The battle scenes at Valencia are taken on an epic scale But the value of Anthony Mann's movie is the characterization in which Charlton Heston played El Cid's life For this reason alone, the film is of greater value than most any other motion picture experience