Peter O'Toole's Iconic Role.

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2016)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962): Dir: David Lean / Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins: Extraordinary epic about reputation as British Army Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence treks across a massive desert in the midst of a war between the Arabs and the Turks. He meets with Prince Faisal who leads this revolt against the Turks. The film depicts how these events at first come as a humorous challenge, to gaining respect for saving a life of someone who falls behind, to performing an execution, to being flogged. Director David Lean previously scored success with The Bridge on the River Kwai and now he creates another broad scale film of desert landscapes and riveting war violence where Lawrence leads in the blowing up railroads. Peter O'Toole delivers a masterful performance as Lawrence who experiences the exhilaration of violence to the extremes of human decay. Alec Guinness plays Faisal who looks on at Lawrence with curiosity. Omar Sharif steals scenes as Sheriff Ali who first shoots Lawrence's companion for unauthorized drinking from an Arab well, then they become close companions. Anthony Quinn is also featured as a tribal leader persuaded to join in the revolt. Jack Hawkins is cast as General Allenby. This is a powerful film about the exploits of violence and its wages upon the human soul. Score: 10 / 10