EL CID takes its place among the great screen epics that never allow the eye-popping spectacle to dwarf the human characters--just as "Ben-Hur" was able to do. And who else to play the legendary and noble Spanish hero than CHARLTON HESTON. He's magnificent here, playing his central role with an almost Shakespearean grandeur, as do some of the other cast members, including HERBERT LOM, JOHN FRASER and GARY RAYMOND.

So is the epic sweep of the tale and the intimate love story that begins when he is on his way to wed SOPHIA LOREN and finds himself asked to assume the mantle of leadership against the Moors in 11th century Spain. He makes the journey from peace-broker accused of treason to the King's fighting champion and later from exiled hero to legendary martyr.

Aside from the brilliant cinematography, authentic looking locales and colorful costumes, Miklos Rozsa's score adds a great deal to the intensely dramatic intimate scenes as well as the epic battles, all the while suggesting some Spanish motifs amidst the heraldic fanfares and love theme.

CHARLTON HESTON makes an impressive figure of El Cid, especially good in the final moments as the wounded leader who knows what he must ask his wife to do so that his followers do not lose heart after his death. RAF VALLONE as Count Ordonez, GENEVIEVE PAGE as Princess Urraca, JOHN FRASER as Prince Alfonso and GARY RAYMOND as Prince Sancho are all remarkable effective in strong supporting roles. In lesser roles, HURD HATFIELD and FRANK THRING bring their own brand of authority to minor parts.

Anthony Mann and his assistant directors have done an outstanding job on all of the battle scenes and he never falters in telling the tale in strong dramatic terms. There's an intensity in the scenes between Loren and Heston after he has been forced to kill her father for humiliating his own father in front of the court. Whatever friction there was between Heston and Loren on the set, works for them here because her animosity toward him is a chilling thing to watch.

The DVD has been wonderfully mastered and all of the Miklos Rozsa score sounds better than ever with Overture, Intermission and Exit music reminding us all what a treasure he was as a film composer.

In his memoirs Charlton Heston considered this to be a good film, not a great one. He felt that with either William Wyler or Cecil B. DeMille directing this it would have been great. Heston apparently had some differences with director Anthony Mann although it doesn't show in his performance.

There is some differences of opinion whether Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar qualified for sainthood in the way he's portrayed in this film. I like to think of the Cid as akin to certain American frontier legends, whose character has been enhanced by the passage of time. Certainly a lot more time has passed in this case.

Charlton Heston plays him as noble as only Charlton Heston can. Had this film been done 10 years earlier, the guy who should have played it would have been Tyrone Power.

Spain in the eleventh century is a geographical expression, not a country. Various kingdoms both Christian and Moslem occupy the Iberian peninsula and wars are fought between them, not always on religious lines.

But there's the local Osama Bin-Laden of his day named Ben Youssef on the prowl. He's looking to make religious war on Christendom and he's played by Herbert Lom. Lom's clever and ruthless and bides his time and waits till the squabbles between the local Christian factions break out into violence.

The battle scenes are as well staged as anything DeMille could have done. The highlight of the film in the early part is Heston's battle with Christopher Rhodes in a single combat contest over possession of the City of Callahora. Mann borrows a great deal of the scene from MGM's Knights of the Round Table and the final single combat between Robert Taylor and George Sanders.

The three children of King Ferdinand, played by Gary Raymond, John Fraser and Genevieve Page, and their intrigues play a big role in the plot of El Cid. Ms. Page is the Morgan Le Fay of the film. She's crushing out big time on Heston, but of course with Sophia Loren around, Heston can't be bothered with her. Page also borrows from Anne Crawford's portrayal of Morgan Le Fay from Knights of the Round Table.

One actor's performance did suffer because of editing his Raf Vallone as Count Ordonez who is the Cid's enemy and later his supporter. There's no real motive provided for why Vallone switches sides. I'm willing to bet Anthony Mann was told to cut a great deal from the film to bring it down to the 182 minute version I have on VHS. I think Vallone got the worst of the editing. Vallone in fact is killed by Lom after he's captured on a scouting expedition. You see Vallone before Lom kills him and then the action cuts to Heston wondering what happened to Vallone, that he hasn't reported back. No explanation of what led up to his death.

One thing I liked about El Cid was that the Moors were not stereotyped. Lom's Ben Youssef is the villain, but we also have Douglas Wilmer as Lord Moutemayn as Heston's friend and ally and Frank Thring as the feckless pleasure loving King of Valencia. Islam and its people certainly come in all shapes, sizes and character.

Hopefully some of the lost footage will be found and restored to El Cid and we might get the film Anthony Mann envisioned. And maybe it's even better than Charlton Heston thought.

"El Cid" is not a bad film at all. The movie clearly is a huge spectacle and compared to most historical films it is rather accurate. But, on the flip side, it also is amazingly dull when the film shifts to the romance between El Cid (Charlton Heston) and Jimena (Sophia Loren)--such that I really cannot wholeheartedly recommend it.

El Cid was a title given to Rodrigo de Bivar by the Moorish Muslims. This is because as the movie shows at the beginning, he was a merciful man in war and was very open towards Muslims. However, what the film does not show is that he was so open-minded that he ALSO was employed by the Moors and Christians interchangeably. When the film shows the battles he's in, they are impressive and the costumes are lovely. The film also has LOTS of intrigues--such as the murder of Rodrigo's master and his subsequent expulsion. All this is quite nicely done and it looks great.

Apparently, Heston and Loren didn't like each other in real life. This could easily be. But the biggest problem is the terrible dialog. Too often, it comes off as stuffy and dull--and not believable in the least. And, at well over three hours, this is a serious problem. In other words, is it worth watching the fighting and intrigues when you often are forced to slog through one of the least romantic romances in film history. Good but not great overall.