The most beautiful film I've ever seen

Rating: 10/10 (28 May 2006)

When I first saw Lawrence of Arabia, I was 16 and my teacher had loaned it to me as he suspected that I might enjoy it, much unlike students in his previous classes. I actually expected the film to be an incredibly boring four hours in the desert, but my opinion had changed almost as quickly as the movie had started. I was amazed by the characters, the graceful and witty dialog, the never-ending presentation of amazing shots, and of course, the character of T.E. Lawrence.
To understand that a film crew had to go out there and film rare and beautiful desert phenomena, without the aid of modern visual effects technology or even a SINGLE matte painting presented an incredible feeling. Before watching this film, I was under the impression that beauty was better recreated in artifice than actually filmed. I thought that only the skill of a matte painter could produce such beauty. No. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the desert, by the magnificent and colossal natural structures in Wadi Rum and the seemingly infinite vacuous space covering the land. It was difficult to believe that there are actual places on earth like these.
Second, the script was brilliant. I had a bit of trouble following the plot, but it mattered not; I was too busy admiring the visuals and the almost poetic dialog. On my second viewing, I had no trouble understanding the plot.
In short, this is perhaps the most beautiful film I've ever seen.
Though, I must warn: The movie is heavily fictionalized. The historical inaccuracies are numerous, however they don't take away from the film at all.
In fact, not long after purchasing the film for myself, I've done quite a bit of reading about the Arab Revolt, T.E. Lawrence, and the Seven Pillars of Wisdom.