Quite A Spectacle

Rating: 8/10 (2 August 2010)

This is no doubt a magnificently filmed spectacle (that word seems to suit it better than the more mundane "movie" or "film") about one of the more enigmatic characters of the 20th century - the British officer T.E. Lawrence - and his involvement in the Arab nationalist movement during World War I (and after - although the post-War material wasn't included.) The desert scenes are stark and beautiful (as you would expect a desert to be) but also portray the dangers of the desert (again as you would expect.) The portrayal of the Arabs is for the most part accurate (a bickering group of loosely allied tribes rather than any sort of unified nation) and the performances were generally very good. Peter O'Toole (in his earliest role of significance) was brilliant in his portrayal of Lawrence (effectively portraying divided loyalties and a sort of messianic - perhaps somewhat mentally unbalanced - sense of his own destiny.) Alec Guinness was surprisingly effective as Prince Feisal - the closest there was to an accepted leader of the Arabs. There are some excellent desert battle scenes (especially where the Arabs under Lawrence take out an Ottoman train and the attack on Damascus.)
The biggest problem with the movie is its history. The movie glorifies Lawrence (or at least his role) too much. He wasn't quite as central to the movement for Arab independence (or to the Arab revolt against Ottoman rule) as portrayed, for example. At close to four hours, there's also no doubt that all but the most dedicated will suffer a few yawns here and there (and I confess that I watched this in two parts.) Still, this deserves credit for its very ambition and for its high quality (some suspect history notwithstanding.)