The teardrop of Sofia Loren is the hallmark of the movie. No man uses Agua Brava aftershave anymore but boy it was OK then. In our post post era we could take this away from the movie that good storytelling will never be outdated. A role model pur sang for people that have need for deepness in their lives.

'El Cid' tells the story of Rodrigo Diaz (Charlton Heston), known as El Cid by his followers, a Spanish hero who helped unite the entire country by spearheading an effort to drive out the invading Moors. Branded a traitor by his Christian kingdom, and exiled from wife Jimena (Sophia Loren), El Cid still becomes a legendary figure.'El Cid' is, for all intents and purposes, an epic. Sweeping landscapes, majestic scores, massive battle scenes and extravagance galore, all those same ingredients are there. But, for a film that clocks in at over three hours, it's a complete waste of time. Of the epics I've seen in my time, this ranks near the bottom. Despite the ingredients being there, the recipe was all wrong.It's because it goes on far too long. Yes, it's the story of the man's life, but it just drags and drags. The El Cid story is a fascinating one, and it's remarkable what he achieved, but it could have been chronicled in two hours. It's as if the film was an epic for the sake of making an epic, not because the film needed that grandeur. It's not helped by the fact that Charlton Heston is cringingly bad. In a performance soaked in ham, he just doesn't do well. Watching Heston play Rodrigo was like watching an am-dram actor recite Hamlet: needlessly over-the-top. He's very good in Planet Of The Apes, so I was really disappointed in this.There is good. The music is amazing, so rousing and majestic. Sophia Loren looks fantastic and acts quite well. There is a supporting cast of actors I don't know, but who do a decent job. But everything hinges on Mr. Heston and he doesn't pull his weight.There are some very good epics out there, which are just as long but are engrossing and entertaining. I fell asleep for about twenty minutes during the movie and wasn't bothered about rewinding the movie. And I pretty much spent the last half hour of the film talking with my housemate. Is 'El Cid' one hour too long? Absolutely. Is 'El Cid' three hours too long? Arguably, yes.

Charlton Heston's most underrated movie. This is not only a great medieval movie, but a great war movie as well. The story takes place during the tumultuous Reconquista (Reconquest) era in Spain. A civil war has broken out between the Christians and the Moores, and who better to save the day than another epic hero played by Charlton Heston. This time he plays the legendary warrior El Cid, and yes, this is a 3+ hour movie. My only complaint is its length, because the story is superb and action-packed battles abound. There's also a really good one-on-one medieval combat scene that is awesomely choreographed. More people need to see this epic action movie, which is a pretty even mix of "Ben Hur" and "Kingdom of Heaven." It's a shame it has gone under the radar for so long. 3.5 out of 5 action rating

*Spoiler/plot- 1961, A heroic almost proto-religious film showing the uniting of Medieval Spain under Moorish and Spanish cultures with a palpable emphasis on ethical leadership with personal integrity at the leader's core. *Special Stars- Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren *Theme- Leaders should lead by example with integrity no matter the personal price. *Based on- Medieval Spanish and Moorish histories of the early many kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. *Trivia/location/goofs- Heston and Loren has a small rift over the director's choice with Heston's apparent aging of "El Cid" while in kingly exile. In the film's informative commentary, Miss Loren did not want her early film career beauty and marketability marred by a big budget film use on her of heavy make-up to simulate her character's aging. Such demonstrates the huge differences in Heston's complete use and need for his actor's 'tools' and Miss Loren's leading lady mindset coming from their differing film careers experiences. Very enlightening! This film is very reminiscent of the themes of Mr. Heston's other big budget film classics like "Khartoum", "War Lord", "Will Penny" and "55 Days in Peking". *Emotion- Great lasting film at all levels. This film is a big film treat for the film buff viewer or reviewer. Perhaps 'too preachy or religious' for today's audience tastes, expertly cast and performed by a great European cast. This film is very timely today with the Muslim influence and War on Terror in the news daily.