My friends and family all know that epics are easily my favorite film genre. I count Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Ben Hur among my favorite films. What is it about epics that I love so much? I don't know. I love the larger than life heroes, the vast scope of the stories, the brilliant sets, the casts of thousands, the grand music...I just love the bigness of it all. But the very bigness that makes epics so unique is also what often leads to their downfall. Often these movies will get lost in their own grandness, with their characters and storylines often being trampled by the march of what the filmmakers really care about: big heroes and big armies doing big things. The best epics are able to strike the balance between the grand scale and the personal story of the characters. It's not an easy balance, and only a few have truly succeeded.
So how about El Cid, the 1962 film produced by super producer Samuel Bronston and starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren? The film is considered one of the great epics, and is in fact one of Martin Scorsese's favorite films of the genre. It was certainly one of the monster blockbuster hits of the decade. Does El Cid live up to its reputation?
El Cid is based on the legend of Rodrigo de Bivar, a Spanish knight in the 11th Century called "El Cid" because of his nobility and mighty exploits on the battlefield. The storyline of the film is vast, including the wars between the Christian and Islamic kingdoms of medieval Spain, not to mention the looming threat of the Moors, led by extremist Ben Yusuf (Herbert Lom), who threaten to invade Spain and destroy everyone - both Christian and Muslim - who refuse to bend to their will. The "B-Story" of the movie, i.e. the more personal side of the plot involves the evolving and tumultuous relationship between El Cid and the love of his life, Jimena. Unfortunately, El Cid killed Jimena's father in a duel, but she still agrees to marry him so she can make his life a living hell, put herself in better position to someday kill him, but also because she still loves him.
So how is El Cid? Unfortunately, the film does not deserve any sort of classic status. And it is unfortunate because all the right pieces are in place. Charlton Heston is terrific, and Loren is also quite good. The costumes and sets are all stunning. The original score by Miklos Rozsa is brilliant. And unlike many epics, the story is actually very intriguing, full of interesting characters, stirring stands for truth and justice, and also a fair share of betrayals. There are moments in the film that are downright brilliant, such as El Cid's duel with a rival king's champion, and when he forces Alfonso, the new King of Castile, to swear an unwanted oath when he ascends to the throne.
So it is a shame that the film never really works. I think the primary offender is the leaden script which weighs down the otherwise interesting story with hammy dialogue. For example, the love story has great potential. Jimena loves El Cid, but is duty bound to try and destroy him. That is good drama! And Heston and Loren give it their all, and kind of pull it off. But they can't quite get the tragic love story to ring as true as it should. I also have to blame the director Anthony Mann. Mann is generally a fine director, but I think his work is just kind of run-of-the-mill here. Mann is actually studied in film school as a master of mise-en-scene. His framing is the stuff that makes film students go crazy, but I actually think it is distracting (with a few stirring exceptions). It's not that the directing is necessarily bad. Yes, there are a few moments that are laugh out loud awful, but for the most part, there is nothing wrong with the film. It's just that with a cast this big, battles this momentous, castles and sets this visually stunning, and with Heston and Loren leading the charge, shouldn't the movie be better than this? It's really just a missed opportunity that needed a Wyler, Lean or Kubrick at the helm.
So is El Cid worth watching? Yes, I think it is. When it is bad, it is pretty bad. But when it is good, it comes close to soaring. So watch it with your expectations at a reasonable level, and I think you will like it. El Cid does not hold a candle to the titans of the genre, but it is an interesting film, and worthy of being called a true epic.
MVP:
At first, I thought this was an easy choice. Miklos Rozsa composed a masterful piece of music which is every bit as brilliant as his Oscar-winning score for Ben Hur. The main title is fantastic and the love theme is perhaps the finest of Rozsa's career. This score is easily in my top ten favorites. But a conversation with a friend changed my mind. He argued that Heston should be the MVP. This is Heston's movie. He carries it. In fact, he elevates the material. My friend put it this way: would this had been the same movie with a different actor in the role? I thought about that for a second, and almost immediately I realized he was right. Without Heston, El Cid would have been a very different movie. In fact, it would have been another Fall of the Roman Empire. That epic was produced by the same team, including super producer Samuel Bronston, director Anthony Mann, and writer Philip Yordan. In many ways, Fall of the Roman Empire should have been an improvement. The all-star cast was bigger and better, the sets were even grander, the scope spanned two continents of love, betrayal and warfare. And ultimately the film is a colossus of epic boredom. The only real difference between the two films? No Heston. I know there are some who can't appreciate Heston's grandiose style as an actor, and I do understand that. But I don't think anyone argue that he wasn't tailor-made for the epic genre. Whether it is Judah Ben Hur, Moses, Rodrigo de Bivar, or Michaelangelo, Charlton Heston takes on the larger than life persona and makes it his own. And he makes El Cid better than it has any right being. And that really is the very definition of a MVP, right?
BEST LINE:
El Cid: "Soldiers! People of Valencia! You must not be frightened by the sound of a few drums. In a few hours, they will be silenced forever. I promise you, tomorrow morning, I will ride with you!"
TRIVIA:
Heston also thought that El Cid was a bit of a missed opportunity. He has been quoted as saying that it would have been better with William Wyler (director of Ben Hur) at the helm. He even thinks he could have won another Oscar had Wyler directed it. I have to admit, he might be right. The dramatic potential was in the story.
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