Assignment Task:
Film: Part 2 of El Cid (dir. Anthony Mann, 1961, 182 mins.)
Discussion Starters:
Q1. How does the film portray relations between the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula and the Muslim kingdom in Al-Andalus?
Q2. How might the legend of El Cid have been used historically, particularly in Spain?
Q3. How is Islam portrayed in the film? Do you get any sense of what the faith's religious tenets/principles are? How do they compare or differ from reality?
Q4. Have you seen other "epic" films? How do they compare with El Cid's portrayal of a medieval world in conflict?