There are few films in the history of cinema that have had such a lasting influence as Lawrence of Arabia, which remainstoday as one of the most historically-accurate, grande and well-directed historical epics ever crafted. Rotten Tomatoes, in their overall consensus of the film, called Lawrence of Arabia the "the epic of all epics". And that is a rightfully deserved consensus.
The film follows the adventures of the eccentric British Lieutenant T. E Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) during his service in Arabia. While originally supposed to only look over the military forces of Arabian Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness), Lawrence becomes a figure of inspiration to the oppressed Arabian tribes, and taking matters into his own hands, Lawrence unites the Arabians to fight back against the oppressive, occupying Turkish armies. Along the way, Lawrence becomes severely divided in his allegiance
between his homeland, and the Arabians, finding friends among Faisal, Auda abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) and Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish (Omar Sharif), but enemies in his own comrades: General Allenby (Jack Hawkins) and Colonel Harry Brighton (Anthony Quayle).
It doesn't take long for the effects of war and battle to come upon Lawrence, as he both relishes and resents his time in battle, and his eccentric behavior nearly overwhelms him and almost convinces him to quit helping the Arabs.
O'Toole delivers one of the most brilliant performances by an English actor in any film. He so clearly delivers a masterful, Oscar-worthy performance as Lawrence, so that we can fully understand how eccentric and yet brilliant Lawrence was and the trouble he went through. Both Guinness and Sharif deliver nearly equally impressive performances in their respective roles. All in all, Lawrence of Arabia may go down as one of the most well-acted movies in film history, coming in close with enduring films such as the Godfather for example.
The film has such brilliant cinematography, set against the majesty of the Arabian desert. Director David Lean watched the Searchers numerous times to get a visual vision on how to film his movie. The results are hands down some of the best cinematography ever captured on film, turning Lawrence of Arabia into a breathtakingly beautiful film to look at.
Fresh off of success of his WWII commando/POW pic, the Bridge on the River Kwai, Lean had to decide what to do next. He toyed with the idea of making a biopic about Gandhi (which was later turned into a film in the 1980s), but eventually decided upon a movie about the exploits of T.E Lawrence, an idea that itself had been toyed with by Hollywood. Production, filming and editing took up about two years, with the cast and crew going through tough expierences of their own in the deserts, as well as Lean himself disagreeing notably with Hawkins on how to make the pic. What Lean confirmed with Lawrence of Arabia is that he's one of the best movie directors of all time, inspiring other directers like Michael Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, to become remarkable filmmakers of their own.
This is a film that dwells upon you. I watched this four-hour epic over a period of three days, and when the film comes to a conclusion, with a dejected Lawrence, being no longer needed in the Middle East after the war, is driven away in a staff car presumably back to England, and the words 'THE END' appearing on the screen, I felt stunned by the mass, epic scope of the entire movie. I really did feel like I had watched one of the better films in cinematic history, but it took a couple of days before I knew that I had watched one of the best films in cinema history, a pic that so effortlessly depicted the exploits of one man who turned the tide of war, that is steadily paced and unfolding over a period of four hours. Lean has crafted a masterful movie, a movie for the ages, that remains, and will forever remain, an accomplished, memorable, unforgettable and enduring classic.
*****/5
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