Lawrence of Arabia (2002)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Did you know that Cary Grant had been approached to play it? Yes, as well as Albert Finney and that made a lot more sense but it was Albert Finney who said, have you considered Peter O'Toole? Who? - Yes, I love that story. It goes to prove that certain things are meant to happen. I'm sorry if I'm going on about it. But I saw Lawrence Of Arabia for the nth time in a 70mm print in a crowded theater and what came across as the one major reason this film will be relevant forever is Peter O'Toole. His performance is timeless because it is unique. Cinematic and theatrical but always true. David Lean brilliantly created a sense of intimacy in O'Toole's eyes within the vast, arid landscape. I know the film has its detractors. I heard once director Michael Apted call it a "silly movie" Wow, I had Michael Apted's quote in my mind when I saw the film last and for the life of me, I don't know what he meant. I love this film.

The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks. Lawrence of Arabia has some terrific shots and cinematography plus O'Toole gave a pretty good perfomance however the film's running time was painful and almost reached 4 hours and it shouldn't be that long plus the rest of the cast wasn't as strong as the main protagonist and overall the movie simply doesn't hold up as perhaps it used to decades ago even tho it does have it's plus. (4/10)

With only a few television credits and bit parts in Hollywood, Peter O'Toole made his breakthrough performance in Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence of Arabia is one of those movies that everyone remembers a scene from even if they haven't seen the four-hour epic all the way through. Between the famous theme from Maurice Jarre, the iconic rooftop silhouette, "No prisoners!", the appetizing order of lemonade, Omar Sharif's entrance, Peter O'Toole's beautiful blue eyes sparkling in the middle of the desert, and the hundreds of fight scenes, there are plenty of memorable moments to choose from when you relive the movie as you talk about it with your friends.In case you don't know, David Lean's sprawling, dazzling epic is about T.E. Lawrence's time fighting in the Arabian Peninsula. This is much more than just another WWI movie. Peter O'Toole is not a gung-ho commanding officer who joyfully leads his men into battle. He's incredibly conflicted and disgusted by war. To him, a dead soldier is not a statistic, it's a man. During the famous "No prisoners!" scene, in which he only utters those two words, his face shows an incredible array of emotions. If you watch that scene and don't simultaneously think he was robbed of his Oscar and fall in love with him, well, watch it again. Guys, feel free to develop a man-crush; no one will blame you. After all, Noel Coward famously quoted, "If *he* had been any prettier, the film would have been called Florence of Arabia."Unfortunately for Peter O'Toole, this incredible epic was released during the same year as To Kill a Mockingbird, and no one else stood a chance come Oscar time. He was in pretty good company, though, since Burt Lancaster and Jack Lemmon also lost out that year after giving excellent performances in Birdman of Alcatraz and Days of Wine and Roses, respectively. The good news is Lawrence of Arabia did win Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, among others. This a great compromise movie for date night, if you don't mind a four-hour running time. Ladies will get to drool over the ridiculously handsome Peter O'Toole-as Robin Williams said in Aladdin, "Pick a feature!"-and gents will get lost in the endless fighting and strategy scenes with nary a woman in sight. This is definitely a man's movie, and if it weren't for the perfect piece of eye candy, no woman in her right mind would probably watch it. If you're considering renting it, check out the preview. Usually, old movies were chopped into terrible previews, but this one is pretty good. It gives a pretty good representation of the film and shows off the supporting cast, including Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Arthur Kennedy, Jose Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, and Claude Rains.

The sandy front of World War I, set amongst the dunes and political turmoil of Syria, Egypt and Jordan, as seen by a cocksure British army officer with maybe a little bit of a messiah complex. A true epic, from the breath-stealing long shots of an unimaginably vast desert to the explosive, well-outfitted battle scenes, it lives up to the billing and then some. I was mesmerized by the photography in particular, which constantly discovers new ways to portray what could have been a rather redundant, flat, boring landscape. Truly beautiful, almost ruminative at times, with an appreciation for the artisanship of film.As for the plot, well... it's a bit slow. Particularly so in the nearly four-hour director's cut, which feels completely unnecessary. I've never seen the theatrical release, which is noted for being incomprehensible in places due to the awkward cuts, but it seems suspicious that half an hour or more couldn't have been lopped off somewhere to improve the pace. It's an exhausting watch, and not just because of the draining personal transformation we see in Lawrence himself. There's good material, of course, plenty of it. The hopeless inner squabble of an Arab population that's desperately close to the unified independence they seek. The protagonist's progression from philosophical humanist to enraged berzerker to shattered shell. We get plenty to think about, long after the credits have finally, mercifully rolled, but it's a marathon to reach that point.A Best Picture winner that's technically marvelous, thematically challenging and open-minded, but the ending left me feeling cold and there's really no excuse for it to run for as long as it does.