Rozsa and most listeners agree that
El Cid, from the 1961 movie, was his last great score. Overall, it is a surprisingly lyrical and sensitive body of music for what was essentially an epic-scale action film -- much of the material has been most inventively derived from medieval Spanish and Arab sources, and while the recording has an unfortunate softness to modern ears, the playing is exceptionally polished and the 1962-vintage stereo separation still holds some surprises. ~ Bruce Eder