unparalleled excellence

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2005)

In spite of its length this remains the film I have watched in its entirety more often than any other. It's faultless. Robert Bolt's script is pristine in its economy. Every scene is composed with painterly magnificence and the main acting performances are nuanced in a way that you simply rarely see these days.
It is slightly unnerving in the 21st Century to watch a movie in which white men black up to play Arab characters such as Auda and Price Feisel. However, it seems to me that for a film of its time, it remains fairly untainted by essentializing views of the Eastern 'Other'. All the main characters are portrayed with respect for their intelligence and complexity.
Anyway, that point aside, this film is really a textbook example of great cinematic storytelling, and storytelling that serves a useful purpose. Current political distrust between the West and the Middle East makes a lot more sense when you know something of the seeds of European political meddling in the region.