A remarkable visual classic

Rating: 10/10 (13 September 2000)

One of the most beautiful films ever made, this biopic of a tortured cult figure became, like "Heart of Darkness" and "Nostromo" (a long-cherished but unrealized dream of David Lean's), a cult project. Many directors tried to bring the story to the screen - Lewis Milestone, Zoltan Korda, William K. Howard, and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger - with numerous stars considered for the lead, including Robert Donat, Leslie Howard, Laurence Olivier, and Cary Grant. With a cast led by newcomer Peter O'Toole and nearly two years spent shooting in the desert, Lean emerged with a vast and compelling study of Lawrence. The film is remarkable for its central character's ambiguous personality, confused motivations and sexuality, his love/hate of violence, as well as its extraordinary design and cinematography.