Classic about a man, consumed by the desert...

Rating: 8/10 (8 September 2001)

It's funny how the production of some films actually goes onto mirror the subject matter. Fitzcarraldo was the story of one man's attempt to bring something beautiful to the masses, at whatever count. The adventures of Baron Munchausen was the story of an aging dreamer, trying to ignore defeat and go on one last escapade before he was crushed by the higher powers, and then we come to Lawrence of Arabia. David Lean's look at a man consumed and fascinated by the desert.
In his story of the life of British lieutenant T.E. Lawrence and his quest across the Saudi Arabian desert, David Lean realised his true cinematic power for the first time. Painting his epic on the biggest 70mm canvas, filling it with hundreds of extras, every performance on the mark, this wasn't just a film to Lean, it represented himself, the single minded vision of Lawrence struck a cord with Lean.
And despite the fact that this is undeniably Lean's film, the cast should not be ignored. This was back when an epic meant, EPIC, in every sense of the word, and Lawrence has an epic cast to die for. Peter O' Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins and the mighty Alec Guinness, there's also Freddy Young and Nicholas Roeg's stunning cinematography, making the vast and empty desert seem almost claustrophobic.
This is full of memorable moments and images, the huge black locomotive moving through the desert, Sharif's first entrance as a shimmering mirage, Lawrence's questioning... And even if it does slump a little in the middle, and it's length will mean this isn't a film you will want to watch every week becomes enough for it lose points, Lawrence of Arabia is still a true classic, too often ignored by today's' MTV standards. See it once, and you will never forget it, and there's a good chance you'll be humming that Maurice Jarre theme tune for weeks.
8/10 masterpiece marred by a weak mid section.