one of the grandest epics of all time. David Lean's masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (27 November 2008)

Three of my favorite films of all time fall under the category of the epic genre. What they all share in common are their grand scale, a large scale of popularity, and a running length of over three and a half hours. And while The Ten Commandments (1956) is my overall favorite of the three, David Lean's masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia isn't far behind, nor is Akira Kurosawa's marvelous Seven Samurai (1954).
Lawrence of Arabia tells the slightly fictionalized story of T.E. Lawrence, a Welsh soldier who inspired and led an Arab revolt against the Turkish Empire during the times of World War One when his native country was more concerned about fighting the Germans. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the performance that made his career and he commands a supporting cast that includes great actors such as Academy Award-winners Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn as well as Omar Sharif, who was nominated for his performance in this grand epic. While some elements and characters are entirely fictional, invented for the film, director David Lean and screenwriter Robert Bolt did a fantastic job at bringing this true story to the screen so that people other than historians can remember what the real man did.
Like many classic films, Lawrence of Arabia underwent many editing changes after it was first released. Scenes were dropped, plot holes were opened, and somehow the film reel was reversed so that David Lean's intent of making it seem like a journey was lost. Of course, during the eighties, Hollywood went in to restore the film, reinstall the scenes that should have never been taken out in the first place, and flipped that reel so that everything looks like the way Lean intended it. Now the true masterpiece can be seen.
The film is brilliantly made from its acting, to its scenery, right down to the fabulous music score that accompanies it in the background. Many scenes are composed of nothing but camels trekking across the desert under the heat of the sun and yet these scenes do not drag. One thing I really admired about Lawrence of Arabia was the way the filmmakers chose to represent the Arabs. While they did in a few instances cast a Caucasian actor, most of the time, the Arabs are portrayed by people of Middle-Eastern descent. For example, Omar Sharif, who is Egyptian. And in the cases where a Caucasian actor is used, it's still convincing. Anthony Quinn is so heavily clad in makeup that I didn't recognize him until I heard his voice and then I had to check the credits to make sure. Apparently, Quinn was very enthusiastic about making himself look like an Arab since he was portraying a real-life person. That is completely admirable since wearing makeup as well as putting it on is far from comfortable.
Unfortunately, film industries do not make movies like Lawrence of Arabia anymore because audiences these days seem to seek the more modern style, but at least these grand masterpieces are still available for viewing. This is a very long film and I did feel slightly worn-down at the end and I did spot one scene where Lawrence visits a Turkish hospital that really served no purpose in the film and could have easily been cut, but still, I highly recommend it.
This is a masterpiece.