A visually spectacular biopic

Rating: 9/10 (27 January 2010)

Director: David Lean
Writer: Robert Bolt and based on some of the actual writings of T.E. Lawrence.
"Lawrence of Arabia" is a very famous and admired film. It tells the story of a real life British soldier during his adventures in Arabia during World War I.
Peter O' Toole gives an impressive film acting debut here, as the main character of T. E. Lawrence. As for cinematography, this film, to me, ranks as one of the all time greats, in the history of cinema. There's a lot of great shots, scene changes and amazing attention to detail, all throughout the film.
As a biopic, we really don't get to know the real life Lawrence that well. This is a my only minor criticism of the film. We do see highlights of where T.E. Lawrence was and what he did. With a running time of 3 1/2 hours, there was more than enough time available to get to know T. E. Lawrence in a more personal way.
Filmed on location in the harsh desert climates of Morocco and Saudi Arabia, the photographic shoot had to be one of the most challenging ever done for a Hollywood film.