It doesn't bear the humanity of either character or filmmaker...

Rating: 6/10 (18 September 2005)

British Colonel, and "shameless exhibitionist", T.E. Lawrence, stationed in Cairo during the first World War, is sent by the military into the Arabian desert to locate a reclusive prince; living amongst the soldiers and bandits, he uses his flair for adventure to his advantage, leading an army in the war between the Arabs and the Turks. Sprawling, of course, but also imposing epic drama from director David Lean, with a nearly four-hour length that can be self-defeating. It's a film that should be seen on the big screen to get the full effect, although Lean's staggering grandeur tends to dwarf the plot, which is hardly a study of T.E. Lawrence and more a commercially-viable action picture. The performances are solid and intense, and there are many memorable sequences, but it's far more exhausting than moving. Visually it's always exciting, but we don't sense the broiling hot sun, or the winds whispering over the dunes. It's too much a tableaux. For a director like Lean to slaver over a project for so many years, "Lawrence of Arabia" should be a passionate document. But it doesn't ache, it doesn't bleed--it's a stunningly shaped rock, an unmovable one. **1/2 from ****