The greatest epic ever filmed... period.

Rating: 10/10 (6 January 2014)

Very few pictures can truly be called, "epic," and few have worn the title so well for so long. It seems the older this film gets, the better it gets, on every conceivable level. May I start by saying that this movie could NOT have been made today. The sheer budgetary concerns, combined with the fact that no studio wants a picture this long, this deliberately slowly-paced, and one that cannot be made into a video game or sequels for prepubescent teenagers. Every great film requires greatness on every level, and this one fulfills that contract in spades - the locations, the actors, the script, the direction, the story itself - all larger than life. But particular attention should be paid to the casting, first-rate from top to bottom. No studio today would have taken a chance on using a relatively green actor as O'Toole in such a role! His choice was truly inspired. And the supporting cast, well, let's just say that it utilized the very best talent alive at the time, perhaps ever. Particularly a star turn by a superb and restrained Alec Guinness as Faisal, another great performance by the always powerful Anthony Quinn, even an underrated job by Arthur Kennedy, who's strong and believable all-American characters seem to capture the spirit of Americans like none other (he's seldom given the credit he deserves). Claude Raines was wonderful as the stoic, tongue-in-cheek politician, and in the twilight of his career, a fitting monument to his accomplishments. And can we forget the short but powerful scene by Mel Ferrer as the Turkish commandant? He's the reason they say, "It's not the size of the part, but the talent of the actor." At first, he turned down the 15-minute part, but we are all the better for it that he agreed. But in the end, this project belongs to the legendary David Lean, who's magnificent vision was only equaled by that of T.E. Lawrence himself.