David Lean's best film

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2003)

What more can you say about a nearly perfect movie? This is my favorite David Lean film, with Dr. Zhivago running a close second. Steven Spielberg has mentioned that this is one of the movies he watches again before he sets out to make a new movie. And one can see why. I think perhaps the test of a truly great movie is that it bears repeated viewings. The desert vistas are stunning and "clean," the characters round and well-developed--even the minor ones, the soundtrack moving, the acting superlative, and the dialogue superb. While this movie may not be 100% accurate to how things really were (Lawrence was short and shy), who cares? It's not often that someone has a destiny to fulfill. This movie, better than almost any other I know, captures a man's destiny. And poor Peter O'Toole. When a film like this is your breakout role, how can you go anywhere else but down? Still, at least he had Becket and Lion in Winter as well as a part in Last Emperor.
A note about the print. The special restored 2-DVD version is superb and accurate but as such it transmits some of the defects that have crept onto the print that could not be eliminated in the restoration. There are also portions of dialogue that had to be re-recorded, and it sometimes shows. We can at least be thankful that the restoration occurred when it did and not any later. Thanks God for digital.
And finally, anyone who finds this movie too long or slow might want to limit their viewing to 1/2 hour sitcoms. If the shoe fits. ..
Score: 10 out of 10