The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 7 wins & 13 nominations total
Geneviève Page
- Princess Urraca
- (as Genevieve Page)
Gérard Tichy
- King Ramírez
- (as Gerard Tichy)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to the legend of El Cid, in his youth Rodrigo came across a leper sinking in quicksand crying for help, but none of the bystanders dared touch him. Rodrigo pulled him from the bog, clothed him in his cloak, housed him in a barn, and went to get him some food. When he returned, he found the leper had transformed into an angelic figure that identified himself as St. Lazarus. He said "For your bravery and kindness, you will enjoy success as a warrior. You will win battles upon battles and never know defeat." In a nice nod to the legend, this movie contains a scene wherein the banished Rodrigo encounters a thirsty leper who begs a drink. After unhesitatingly offering his own pouch, the Leper thanks him by name. "Who are you?" asks Rodrigo. "I am called Lazarus", the leper answers. Then he crosses Rodrigo with his staff. "May helping hands be extended to you everywhere you go, my Cid."
- GoofsAlone and on horseback, Rodrigo confronts a group of mounted guards escorting the prince to a dungeon. In response to Rodrigo's demand for the release of the prisoner, the captain of the guard laughingly says, "There are thirteen of us, and you are alone!" In the ensuing fight, Rodrigo, with some help from the prince, unhorses sixteen guards, and two remaining mounted ones flee, for a total of eighteen.
- Alternate versions1993 reissue restores 16 minutes of "lost" footage.
- ConnectionsEdited into Wizards (1977)
- SoundtracksThe Falcon and the Dove
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Music by Miklós Rózsa
Performed by Chorus
Featured review
For me, El Cid is a wonderful movie, great story, magnificent action scenes and shot very close to where the original saga is believed to have taken place. I'll never forget the image of the dead El CID riding along the beach into eternity on his magnificent white horse. Taking all this into account,I was very surprised to read where Charlton Heston said he was very disappointed with this particular movie and believed the director was not equel to the task of directing such an epic undertaking. This was not obvious to me as I found the battle scenes very exciting and very well executed, but the late MR. Heston stated that had the directing duties been undertaken by David Lean, who was his preferred choice, the movie could have been really great, rather than just "adequate" Hestons own words. Still, it remains for many people a great film and in these days of boring CG effects, it is a great example of movies as they should be made.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Ель Сід
- Filming locations
- Torrelobaton Castle, Valladolid, Castilla y León, Spain(for Vivar, El Cid's home town)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $6,250,000 (estimated)
- Runtime3 hours 2 minutes
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