 el cid (1961) is a historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the christian castilian knight don rodrigo dÃ­az de vivar, called "el cid", who in the 11th century fought the north african almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of spain. the film stars charlton heston in the title role and sophia loren as doÃ±a ximena. made by samuel bronston productions in association with dear film production and released in the united states by allied artists, the film was directed by anthony mann and produced by samuel bronston with jaime prades and michal waszynski as associate producers. the screenplay was by philip yordan, ben barzman and fredric m. frank from a story by frank. the music score was by miklÃ³s rÃ³zsa, the cinematography by robert krasker and the editing by robert lawrence. the film had its world premiere at the metropole theatre, victoria, london on december 6th 1961. ==plot== general ibn (pronounced ben) yusuf (herbert lom) of the almoravid dynasty has summoned all the emirs of al-andalus to north africa and chastises them for their complacency in dealing with the infidels and reveals his plan for islamic world domination. later, while en route to his future bride doÃ±a ximena (sophia loren), don rodrigo (charlton heston) becomes involved in a battle against a moorish army. two of the emirs, al-mu'tamin (douglas wilmer) of zaragosa and al-kadir (frank thring) of valencia, are captured, but rodrigo releases them on condition that they pledge to never again attack king ferdinand of castile's (ralph truman) lands. the emirs proclaim him âel cidâ (the castillian spanish pronunciation of the arabic for lord: "al sidi") and swear allegiance to him. for this act he is accus
1960s_historical_films 1961_films American_biographical_films American_films American_historical_films El_Cid English-language_films Epic_films Film_scores_by_MiklA3s_RA3zsa Films_based_upon_European_myths_and_legends Films_directed_by_Anthony_Mann Films_set_in_Africa Films_set_in_Spain Films_set_in_the_11th_century Films_set_in_the_Middle_Ages Films_shot_in_Madrid Films_shot_in_Spain Italian_biographical_films Italian_films Italian_historical_films Samuel_Bronston_Productions_films War_epic_films War_romance_films