Indelible Images Thirty Five On.

Rating: 10/10 (9 October 2000)

Lawrence has certainly survived the sands of 'time'and many of its scenes seem as refreshingly new when I view it on video today as when I first viewed the film in 1965 when I was 11 going on 12.
For me, Lawrence was the first film to make me think about, criticise and analyse what I'd seen. I'd never seen a film where the 'hero'was so flawed. It forced me to think that there was more to this film and its depiction of its main character than what I'd seen in movies with the usual Hollywood formula of romance.
Its images are indelibly inscribed in my mind. The "cut" from Dryden's office to the sunrise in the desert by the simple act of Lawrence blowing out a match, the introduction of Ali from a mirage image in the far distance, the shot of the well from inside, Lawrence acting the fool with his new robes, the attack on Acquaba, the 'drowning' of boy in the sands, the sudden image of the ship and the Suez...... etc. Unforgettable images from a master director.