simply grand

Rating: 9/10 (30 June 1999)

One of the best of the post-WWII historical epics. The grandly sweeping vision of the film is matched by few others (Lawrence, the deMille spectaculars, etc.) and the movie, in my view definitely sustains its length. Superb acting all around from the leads, and Peter Ustinov is wickedly delightful. Definitely has to be seen in the restored, letterbox version; to watch it in TV size format is to miss half the movie. It is quite possible that battle scenes such as the climactic one here might never be filmed again. Devotees of the score are directed to jazz pianist Bill Evan's treatment of the love theme in his great recording, "Conversations with Myself". A classic; yes, even a 'timeless classic'.