Popular reviews

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  Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★★

  Action!: MANN MEN - Anthony Takes It All!

  After a failed attempt a few years ago, Anthony Mann finally delivers a historical epic that he not only manages to see through to the end but also proves he has the ability to make a film that is, at least from my perspective, among the most visually stunning examples of its genre I've ever seen. The production design is enormous and completely engrossing. The film's extraordinary realism and sense of scale come from the meticulously detailed sets, the extensive use of on-location filming, and the large number of extras. All of this is brilliantly captured on film, with Mann at times adding sweeping long takes and zoom shots that add to…

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  Review by Daniel88 ★★★★

  "One of the greatest epic films ever made" - Martin Scorsese

  I couldn't agree more with mr. Scorsese. El Cid has everything - cast, sets, costumes, music and thousands of extras - except a good script. The movie makes the same mistake as Spartacus the year before, by making El Cid a saint-like military figure (while in fact Rodrigo Diaz was more of a anti-hero). Instead of focusing the movie on a key moment of his life and of Spanish history, the script highlights several moments of the Cid's life spanning over many years. Therefore the movie lacks focus.

  I believe the best biographical pictures featuring military personas to be Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Patton (1970). Aside from the…

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  Review by mattheweg ★★★★

  Look, movies with exit music usually aren't my thing. But this is really quite good, mainly because it's fucking gorgeous. Could it have been an hour shorter and had 80000 fewer extras? Sure but fuck you.

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  Review by Andy Summers 🤠 ★★★★ 9

  Film #2 of the Embarrassing Never-Seen List

  Picking those films that made it onto my list was a mixture of LB badgering, a touch of shame, the chance to finally tick off classics/epics, and also delving deeper into the filmographies of some of my favourite directors and actors. So that brings me around to El Cid, which is a classic/epic, at 182mins (tick), was directed by one of my favourite directors, Anthony Mann (tick), and has Chuck Heston (tick) in the leading role. So a historical epic set in the 11th century is right up my street, with honour and duty the name of the game here, and big Chuck leading the NRA in defence of their right to bear…

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  Review by king Joe ★★

  El Mid

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  Review by 19oldboy91 ★★★★

  Winterzeit ist Klassikerzeit die Zehnte (10)

  
  Ein Klassiker wie ich ihn liebe:

  
  -Pompöse Kulissen wie sie wohl nie wieder zu sehen sind
  -Nicht weniger eindrucksvolle Kostüme
  -Große Massenszenen
  -Kaum weniger kleine Materialschlachten
  -Fanfaren Stöße on mass
  -Heroische Figuren
  -Charlton Heston
  -Zum dahinschmelzende Frauen
  -Sich dem Mann in die Arme werfende Frauen
  -Intrigenspinnende Frauen
  -Und gerettet werden wollende Frauen

  
  Kurze Randbemerkung:

  Ein echt starkes, weil wendungsreiches Drehbuch wie sie selten so zu sehen sind in einem Sandalenfilm.

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  Review by Silvia Garcia ★★★½

  "For Spain"...my dude Spain hadn't been invented yet

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  Review by Fenton ★★★★½ 3

  I hate Charlton Heston, luckily my great grandad hits him with a Mace many times in this film and if that’s not legacy I don’t know what is.

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  Review by AndrewC ★★★½

  Hard not to appreciate a movie like El Cid which is far from perfect, but is the dictionary definition of a cinematic epic in how mind-bogglingly big and expansive it is. This historical biopic has to have some of the largest crowds of extras, gigantic battle sequences, and elaborate sets that I've ever seen in a film and the handle that Anthony Mann has on this gargantuan production over a three-hour runtime is nothing if not impressive. Sure, it tells a fairly straightforward story, yet it does so skillfully and with an emphasis on action with a lot of battles, both big and small, packed in there. The final battle in particular is pretty stunning and the scope is just unparalleled, which is really what makes El Cid a true historical epic of the sort not made today.

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  Review by Sophie Farrell ★★★½

  One of the last films from the great era of Hollywood epics, El Cid is a film that I have been interested in checking out for quite some time. I have a real fondness for the late 1950s / early 1960s period of Hollywood epics as these films, including the likes of Ben Hur and Spartacus, were often shown on TV when I was younger. El Cid, however, is one of the few of these epics that had evaded me. Imagine my delight then when I came across El Cid on BBC iplayer. I'm not too familiar with this period of history and only knew the basics about the story of El Cid, but I wanted to see what the…

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  Review by JSlattery ★★★★½ 4

  An 11th century Spanish Knight leads a combined army of Christains and Muslims in a series of epic battles against Moorish Invaders. The epitome of the type of film they just don't make anymore,and when they do attempt it..for example 'Kingdom of Heaven'..its with the aid of CGI and green screens, and pretty boy Orlando Bloom is definitely no substitute for the carved-from-granite Chuck Heston! As with other epics from this era,such as 'Waterloo' and 'Fall of the Roman Empire',the sheer scale and paegentry on display is a sight to behold,as a huge Moor army seems to stretch the entire length of the beach as it prepares to lay siege to the walled city of Valencia. Charlton Heston..who else?..plays the…

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  Review by Colin the dude ★★★★

  Brimming with incredible anamorphic photography. Always bet on Anthony "The Man" Mann. Let go from directing Spartacus by Kirk Douglas, Mann goes from one epic to another with El Cid, Chuck Heston's followup to Ben-Hur. Talk about doubling down on epics. The production design is off the chains great and the costume design is orgasmic. You don't see a lot of huge Medieval-set films so when given the chance to soak up the era, I embrace it with open arms. The story is a little bit hokey (it's Heston after all) but I'll take the visual feast over some stagnant storytelling in this case. Scorsese called it one of the greatest epics of all time. I wouldn't go that far, but it certainly has a massive scope that's undeniable. Also, Sophia Loren absolutely wipes the floor with Heston. Her eyes command attention.