El Cid (1961) | |
| Director(s) | Anthony Mann |
| Producer(s) | Samuel Bronston, Jaime Prades (associate), Michal Waszynski (associate) |
| Top Genres | Action, Biographical, Drama, Epic, Historical, Romance |
| Top Topics | |
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El Cid Overview:
El Cid (1961) was a Biographical - War Film directed by Anthony Mann and produced by Michal Waszynski, Samuel Bronston and Jaime Prades.
SYNOPSIS
This costume adventure follows the legendary exploits of the 11th-century Spanish knight-errant (Heston) as he battles the Moorish invaders while wooing back his wife (Loren) with his faith and bravery. This marks director Mann's brief excursion into widescreen historical epics after he distinguished himself with his Westerns. (He would begin work on Spartacus only to be replaced by Stanley Kubrick, then later follow these with The Fall of the Roman Empire). Restored under the supervision of Martin Scorsese, who also knows something about the intersection of spiritual inspiration and muscular action.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
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Academy Awards 1961 --- Ceremony Number 34 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Art Direction | Art Direction: Veniero Colasanti, John Moore | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Miklos Rozsa | Nominated |
| Best Music - Song | Music by Miklos Rozsa; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster | Nominated |
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Quotes from
Jimena: Why did you come?
El Cid: I tried not to come. I tried, I told my love it had no right to live. But my love won't die...
Jimena: Kill it.
El Cid: You kill it! Tell me you don't love me.
Jimena: [long pause] I cannot. Not yet. But I will make myself worthy of you Rodrigo, I will learn to hate you.
Jimena: Can you forgive me, Rodrigo?
El Cid: Jimena.
Jimena: Would you take me with you?
El Cid: But... now I... have nowhere to take you.
Jimena: As long as we are together it will not be nowhere. I love you Rodrigo. I love you.
[They kiss]
El Cid: You know what you risk if you come with me, my love?
Jimena: Since my love is not a man like other men my life with not be like other lives.
El Cid: It's only now, only know that I know... how hard the road would have been without you.
[They kiss again]
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Facts about
El Cid's sword "Tizona" can still be seen in the Army Museum (Museo Del Ejército) in Madrid. Soon after his death, it became one of the most precious possessions of the Castilian royal family. And in 1999, a small sample of the blade underwent metallurgical analysis which partially confirmed that it was made in Moorish Cordoba in the eleventh century, although the report does not specify whether the larger-scale composition of the blade identifies it as Damascus steel. In 2006 "El Museo Del Ejércitp" (The Army Museum) was moving from Madrid to Toledo and apparently the sword was not available to be seen in public. El Cid also had a sword called Colada.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Charlton Heston himself was not overly impressed by the finished film, suggesting in his 1995 autobiography "In the Arena" that the film might have been better if William Wyler had directed it instead of Anthony Mann.
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