Director David Lean follows the heroic true-life odyssey of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) in this dramatic portrait of the famed British officer's journey to the Middle East. Assigned to Arabia during World War I, Lawrence courageously unites the warring Arab factions into a strong guerrilla front and leads them to brilliant victories in treacherous desert battlefields where they eventually defeat the ruling Turkish Empire.
There's no getting around a simple, basic truth: watching Lawrence of Arabia in any home-video format represents a compromise. There's no better way to appreciate this epic biographical adventure than to see it projected in 70 millimeter onto a huge theater screen. That caveat aside, David Lean's masterful "desert classic" is still enjoyable on the small screen, especially if viewed in widescreen format. (If your only option is to view a "pan & scan" version, it's best not to bother; this is a film for which the widescreen format is utterly mandatory.) Peter O'Toole gives a star-making performance as T.E. Lawrence, the eccentric British officer who united the desert tribes of Arabia against the Turks during World War I. Lean orchestrates sweeping battle sequences and breathtaking action, but the film is really about the adventures and trials that transform Lawrence into a legendary man of the desert. Lean traces this transformation on a vast canvas of awesome physicality; no other movie has captured the expanse of the desert with such scope and grandeur. Equally important is the psychology of Lawrence, who remains an enigma even as we grasp his identification with the desert. Perhaps the greatest triumph of this landmark film is that Lean has conveyed the romance, danger, and allure of the desert with such physical and emotional power. It's a film about a man who leads one life but is irresistibly drawn to another, where his greatness and mystery are allowed to flourish in equal measure. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A Terrible Distortion of A Man's Life I first saw "Lawrence" when I was a boy growing up in the 1960's. I assumed it was, more or less, a truthful account of a man's life. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is a beautifyl movie, but it has very little to do with T. E. Lawrence. The screen writers had their own political agendas and basically invented most of the scenes in the movie. I mean they made major errors and omissions in the film, didn't even get the geography correct. From a historical point of view, piuece of junk. Check out... more info
A Classic film fest Lawrence of Arabia is a classic film fest of 4 hrs of delight - lots of extras no CGI or other computer animation but the real thing with large scale budget and amazing locations. "The well is everything" - "He is nothing" is a classic catch phrase from the film. A Good film which historically sets the scene for the removal of the Turks leading to Britians rule over Palestine and the re-establishmnet of Israel. One man united Arabs tribesmen to throw of the yoke for their own land. Good camel... more info
Stunning visually in widescreen even on the TV Even seen in a VHS "widescreen" version clocking in at 229 minutes with 2 short documentaries added at the beginning and the opening overture music(like being in the theatre), this is one of the great cinematic masterpieces of all time.
Consider especially,no CGI were used in the desert and battle scenes(computer-generated images)-please correct me if I'm wrong but it was 1961-62 in a remote location 150 miles from the nearewst town according to the short 8-min documentary.Everything was flown in by... more info
I cannot wait for the Blu-Ray version! I hope they use the remastered print! It will be a stunning/mindblowing home theater experience! Watching this movie on today's Big" "widescreen" tv's will be some experience! Who needs a movie theater? Great movie btw! It is fab on a 13 inch tv! ;)
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