Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia

Director: David Lean

Year: 1962

Starring: Peter O'Tool, Alec Guiness. Claude Rains, Omar Shariff and Anthony Quinn

     The word "classic" best describes this film, as it has withstood the test of time, and is still beloved and hailed to this day, half a century later. Lawrence of Arabia tells a different story in the First World War, one that many may not realize even happened. When you think of World War I, the images that come to mind are the Western Front, and the British against the German army in the trenches. There was much more than that going on during the war, and Arabia is just one of those many stories.

     The film is the true story of T.E. Lawrence, a British officer who helped unite the Arab National Council against the invading Turks. Lawrence is sent in to gain a foothold in the middle east, and to help establish British Military operations in the area.  

     Peter O'Tool (in his film debut) gives an excellent performance as the originally naive T.E. Lawrence. His character grows through the entire course of the film, and O'Tool's performance creates a subtle transformation as he goes from a young, inexperienced officer to a hardened and wiser person. O'Tool's performance is crucial to the film, because the character's development is mirrored in the events surrounding him. Had O'Tool not pulled it off, the film would have been a lot less effective. 

     Showing up in a supporting role is Alec Guiness doing what he does. He never gives a bad performance, and his role as Prince Faisal is on par with O'Tool's Lawrence.  The two play off each other rather effectively, showing a real relationship as the film progresses, which makes the ending even more emotional. 

     The only thing that would detract a lot of people from seeing the film, is the film's length. At 3 hours and 42 minutes, it is the longest film on this entire list, and probably the longest war movie ever made. It is definitely an endurance (it took me three sittings to get through the entire thing).The film is mostly dialogue as well, which makes the film feel slightly longer than it actually is, but given that this is a war movie, there are some combat scenes which are pretty impressive. The final battle near the end of the film is a grand-scale battle that almost reminds you of the battles in Lord of the Rings. 

    Lawrence of Arabia has certainly left it's mark in cinema history. It won the 1962 Best Picture Oscar, and O'Tool receiving a nomination for Best Actor (he lost of Gregory Peck for To Kill a Mockingbird). Ridley Scott even references the film several times in Prometheus, by making it the android David's favourite film, and even basing the character (right down to his hairstyle and mannerisms) on T.E. Lawrence.