Expensive and breathtaking screen adaptation of enigmatic adventurer and military T. E. Lawrence

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2015)

Mighty motion picture of action and adventure deals with Thomas Edward Lawrence , following this brilliant , flamboyant and controversial British military figure and his conflicted loyalties during wartime service . He was renowned for his liaison role during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, and the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18 . This blockbuster is a huge accomplishment in every respect . It is a groundbreaking epic that is also literate and intelligent . Tremendous scenes , spectacular battles , intense drama , lots of action and awesome production design and art design from John Box and John Stoll . Still , the only way to really appreciate it turns out to be in Super Panavision and on big screen . Overlong though still knockout and resulting to be an immortal film . Based on T. E. Lawrence's book , ¨Seven pillars of wisdom¨ with interesting screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson . The breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia . Peter O'Toole is splendid in his film debut , and made him an instant star . Colorful and impressive cinematography in Technicolor by Freddie Young . Unforgettable and classic musical score by the great Maurice Jarre . Lavishly produced by Sam Spiegel and masterfully directed by David Lean who bring us an overwhelming show delving deeply the complex personality of the British , semi-Arab leader who led the revolt against Turkey in WWI . Reissued in 1989 , a stunning version which restored a lot of cuts made over years . As many scenes of dialog were missing and as a result Peter O'Toole and a number of living principals returned and re-recorded dialog from more than 20 years previously . An ultimate thinking people's spectacle .
Adding more biographic elements about this rich character T. E. Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) , he was a British archaeologist, military officer, and diplomat . Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) was born out of wedlock . He became a practising archaeologist in the Middle East , working at various excavations and in 1914, before the outbreak of the Great War , Lawrence was commissioned by the British Army to undertake a military survey of the Negev Desert while doing archaeological research . Lawrence's public image resulted in part from the sensationalized reportage of the Arab revolt by an American journalist, Lowell Thomas (Arthur Kennedy) , as well as from Lawrence's autobiographical account . In 1917, Lawrence arranged a joint action with the Arab irregulars (Omar Sharif , I.S. Johar) and forces including Auda Abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) against the strategically located but lightly defended town of Aqaba. On 6 July, after a surprise overland attack, Aqaba (it was recreated in a dried river bed in southern Spain, consisting of over 300 buildings) fell to Lawrence and the Arab forces . After Aqaba, Lawrence was promoted to major, and the new commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, General Sir Edmund Allenby (Jack Hawkins) , agreed to his strategy for the revolt . In1918, Lawrence fought in the battle of Tafileh, an important region southeast of the Dead Sea, together with Arab regulars . The battle was a defensive engagement that turned into an offensive rout and was described in the official history of the war as a "brilliant feat of arms". Lawrence was involved in the build-up to the capture of Damascus in the final weeks of the war. Much to his disappointment, and contrary to instructions he had issued, he was not present at the city's formal surrender, having arrived several hours after the city had fallen. Lawrence entered Damascus around 9am on 1 October 1918 but was only the third arrival of the day; the first was the 10th Australian Light Horse Brigade, led by Major Harry Olden, who formally accepted the surrender of the city from acting Governor Emir Said . In newly liberated Damascus —which he had envisaged as the capital of an Arab state—Lawrence was instrumental in establishing a provisional Arab government under Faisal (Alec Guinness) . During the closing years of the war Lawrence sought, with mixed success, to convince his superiors , General Allenby (Jack Hawkins) , General Murray (Donald Wolfit), Colonel Brighton (Anthony Quayle) in the British government that Arab independence was in their interests . The secret Sykes-Picot Agreement between France and Britain contradicted the promises of independence he had made to the Arabs and frustrated his work . In 1935, Lawrence was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident in Dorset.