One of the absolute highpoints of Technicolor cinema, Blood and Sand is another visually stunning and emotionally resonant masterpiece of the vernacular fantastic conjured on the big screen by Mamoulian. Openly evoking Goya, Velázquez and El Greco, Blood and Sand brims over with rich symbols of Old Spain in the service of an intense and overripe tale of passions dangerously aflame. Mamoulian’s masterful mise-en-scène takes on painterly dimensions through his dynamic and expressive use of noir shadows and vibrant colors, such as the sanguinary crimson of the torero’s cape echoed throughout the film in the red hair and dresses that enchant the bullfighter hero played by Tyrone Power, reunited with Linda Darnell and joined by Rita Hayworth and Alla Nazimova. American matador and future auteur Budd Boetticher was hired by Fox as a technical advisor to give authenticity to the struggle of Man versus Beast.