Great, but could have been greater

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 1999)

"Ben-Hur" won more Oscars, "Spartacus" had a more accessible cast, but "Lawrence of Arabia," David Lean's 1962 biography of the enigmatic British officer known as much for his flamboyance as he was for his bravery, is regarded by most critics and film historians as the greatest of all epics. Originally 222 minutes long, then cut and recut for various re-issues, the winner of 7 Academy Awards was restored to a nearly intact running time of 216 minutes and re-released to great acclaim in 1989. What makes "Lawrence" so special? The general consensus seems to be that the film is "literate," while so many of these big scale epics are not. True enough, but it seems to me that "literate" is often a euphemism for "dull."
"Lawrence" does make good use of its 3 hours and 36 minutes, so it isn't dull, but I am at a loss to find one truly exciting moment. Even the battle scenes are subdued, and nothing really stirred my emotions the way "Spartacus" managed to do. What is fascinating, however, is the portrait--fairly ambiguous--drawn by Peter O' Toole, who achieved international stardom as a result of this role. His Lawrence is somewhat ethereal, yet brave and compassionate. The alleged homosexuality of the real Lawrence--a taboo for on-screen exploration back in 1962--seems to be suggested by O' Toole's occasionally fey manner and by some of the dialogue in the script. "I'm not an ordinary man," Lawrence tells one of his superiors in the British service. The man's reaction is enlightening: "I'm not talking about THAT!" he says.
Otherwise, "Lawrence" features the usual roundup of British actors one usually finds in these things (Alec Guiness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quayle, et al), and Arthur Kennedy, basically reviving the newspaperman role he essayed two years earlier in "Elmer Gantry." Does it sound like I'm panning Mr. Lean's epic film? I hope not. "Lawrence of Arabia" IS a great film, but it would have been greater if it had worked on the emotions as well as it does on the intellect.