A classic film from the short life of the Samuel Bronston studios has finally been released on DVD after years of anticipation. The Weinstein Brothers have created a new line especially for such classics and this title inaugurates it in fine style.
Rodrigo (Charlton Heston) is on his way to his wedding when he comes across a battle and leads his forces to victory. He and his men capture the Moorish kings and he presents them back to his father Don Diego (Michael Hordern) at the family seat. His father tells him that only he can decide what to do with the prisoners since he defeated them on the field of battle, but a representative of King Ferdinand (Ralph Truman) insists that they be put to death.
Rodrigo goes against the wishes of the king and in charity releases the prisoners as long as they swear allegiance to the king. One of the Moors christens Rodrigo “El Cid” meaning “Lord” because of his mercy and swears to be at the call of the Cid whenever he needs him. Rodrigo continues on to the royal court to marry Jimena (Sophia Loren), however the king charges him with treason. To clear his name he challenges the king’s champion, Count Gormanz (Andrew Cruickshank), to a duel to the death.
Unfortunately he wins, unfortunate because Gormanz is Jimena’s father and she swears that vengeance will be had on Rodrigo. So now Rodrigo must win back Jimena, deal with the feuding of Ferdinand’s heirs, Prince Alfonso (John Fraser), Prince Sancho (Gary Raymond), and Princess Urraca (Genevieve Page), when the king dies, and defend the realm from Ben Yussef (Herbert Lom) as he tries to claim Spain for the Muslims.
Charlton Heston plays the Cid of the screen, but the Cid with the money was the one behind the scenes and his name was Samuel Bronston. Bronston had a personality that allowed him to charm the money out of people. One of those people was Pierre Du Pont, heir to Du Pont Chemicals fortune, who promised to cover costs of the production if they didn’t turn a profit.
Bronston had made two movies in Franco’s Spain, John Paul Jones (1959) and King of Kings (1961), and the cost savings on those pictures convinced him that setting up a film studio in Spain would be cost effective. The ability to lend legitimacy to the dictator and to effective launder monies convinced Franco that Bronston and company would be a great asset to the state.
Bronston decided that his first film at his new studio would pay tribute to a Spanish hero and El Cid was put into production. The film was an enormous financial success and we might be hearing of the Bronston studios today if the following films that he sunk the profits of El Cid into had been successes at the box office. When they weren’t, the bills started showing up at Du Pont’s desk and the multimillionaire made it his personal goal to see that Bronston never produced again – to great success.
El Cid is a work that can entirely be described as epic, no expense was spared at the production of the film. This “no expense” being spared would also ultimately be the downfall of the studio, however this first attempt put every penny of the production on the screen and it shows. The acting has Chuck Heston at his most messianic, but Loren seems a bit stiff to me.
According to legend she and Heston didn’t get along during filming, thanks to some jealousy from Heston, and he seems to be staring off into space instead of at Loren during their big love scenes. However the romantic storyline is given secondary status in lieu of the spectacle – which the film has in spades.
Both fans of classic films and Bronston have been clamoring for the film to be released onto DVD and the brothers Weinstein, in the Bronston tradition, deliver in spades as well in a new line named after their late mother – The Miriam Collection. A line that I’m sure that mother would be proud of.
The film has been digitally remastered and loaded with special features. El Cid is presented anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. The film is spread out over the two discs (2 hours on one and the final hour on disc two). The feature has a commentary from Samuel Bronston’s son Bill and historian/Bronston biographer Neal M. Rosendorf.
Disc one also has 16 minutes of vintage radio interviews with Heston, Loren, and Heston’s missus Lydia. There are also filmographies and still galleries. Disc two has a collection of grand documentaries. The first is the 23-minute “Hollywood Conquers Spain” which chronicles the massive production. The 52 minute “Samuel Bronston: The Epic Journey of a Dreamer” chronicles the life of the dreamer who dreamt big and eventually found his wing melted for flying too close to the sun.
The 17 minute “Behind the Camera: Anthony Mann and El Cid” delves into the legendary director. The 30 minute “Miklos Rozsa: Maestro of the Movies” is a touching look at the famous composer. The 7 minute “Preserving Our Legacy” has Gerry Byrne discussing the preservation and restoration of the film. Finally there’s the 1961 original trailer (3 minutes) and the 1993 reissue trailer (1 minute) and trailers for other films in the Miriam Collection (coming soon I assume – Fall of the Roman Empire, Cinema Paradiso, and Control).
If you buy the regular version you get the above but the limited collector’s edition adds some physical swag including a text introduction from Martin Scorsese, reproduction of the 1961 souvenir program, the 1961 El Cid comic reproduction, and reproduction of six production stills. The limited edition also comes in a nice oversized box.
The regular two-disc edition is quite the production and will make a fine addition to your collection. Depending on the size of your wallet you’ll have to decide which one you will purchase, but both are well worth your attention. You know that Sam Bronston would buy the limited edition.
El Cid - 2-Disc Limited Collector's Edition is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
Your Talkback on this Story