Rating: 
Summary: Some Details Which May Alter Your Vision...
Review: I have read several biographies of Lawrence. This film, of course, is the best ever made (in my opinion). But instead of my going on and on about it with rants and raves, I think that some points can be pointed out that will enhance your viewing and even help you to wear a different pair of glasses (a more accurate pair) as you watch this film. Lawrence loved castles. Before World War I, he would bicycle all around Europe examining castles. Making maps and writing details about them. Then an opportunity arose. Oxford offered him a chance to be a real archeologist! To go to Arabia and dig up Sumerian pottery. He did so and loved it. Because of his experience, "Ned" (what his friends called him) was therefore sent to Egypt to be, of all things, a spy! I'm sorry to say, he was not like James Bond. This was hard "detail" work. Decoding. This is what he is doing in the beginning of the movie. And you can tell from his history, he didn't like it! He wanted to be active like his brothers (2 out of 4, I believe, died on the front). The movie is an entirely accurate portrayal of Lawrence. Even the blood. War is a little different than a John Wayne movie. The torturing that he received at the hands of the Turks would stay with him until the end of his days. There were no abberations in regards to his being "a violent man". When people start killing, it has a "herd" effect. Everybody goes crazy. He does seem to have done the entire Arab Revolt alone. There is one slight "flaw" in the movie. Not really a flaw. But it is easily viewed as such. Lawrence liked Allenby and Fiesal. If you can view this movie again, try to look through their eyes. Fiesal knew that Lawrence could go English at anytime. Allenby knew that Lawrence could go Arabic anytime. He was a threat. But he met the challenge. He worked as an aide for Winston Churchill after the war. Then he joined the ranks as an ordinary soldier. He was offered the Victory Cross. He turned it down and gave it to the Arab Republic. He was offered a knighthood. He turned it down, and once again, dedicated it to the Arab Republic. He was not gay. He was celibate from the day he was born until the day that he died. Except for many incidents afterwards. After Arabia when he joined the armed services for the rest of his life. He always made friends through kindness. He would have friends in the service beat him until he had an orgasm. Oddly enough, this was almost an exact enactment of what happened in Arabia when he was tortured. They would whip him hard on the back under the directions of an "alledged uncle" who would send him letters. The soldiers loved Ned. Not in a "carnal fashion". But because of his kindness and generosity. So they would follow the orders at Ned's requests. To be punished. They, of course, were written by Lawrence himself. Lawrence was very short! About five feet and he had a "high-pitched" giggle. O'Toole and director Lean do an uncanny job with his characterization. In one of the early scenes of the movie, I could swear that they had gotten rid of O'Toole and put Lawrence in as a stand-in. The resemblence is remarkable! O'Toole even handles the high-pitched giggle well. Listen carefully throughout the movie. O'Toole will have a "high-pitched" giggle (actually a middle "range statacco laugh") to measure Lawrence properly. For all purposes, the movie is flawless. No. He was not illegimate. That part is very complicated. But you can be sure that from the beginning of the film to the entire end, the portrayal of Lawrence as a man during this period is 100% accurate. View it again. And if I helped increase the movie's enjoyment for you, this review was well worth writing. Thank you.
Rating: 
Summary: Lawrence of Arabia is waiting in the wings..
Review: C.S. Lewis remarked that a negative review is a tricky business; there is always someone for whom the panned item really does work. This film doesn't work for me, but I recognize many people are tres fond of it; I intend no disrespect to their enthusiasm. Peter O'Toole is impeccable and inspiring as a shunned individualist emerging from shadows to show his peers, and the world, his hidden greatness. The supporting cast are magnificent: Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif. And, the film is a compelling vignette of the life of T.E. Lawrence set amid spectacular scenery. ACTING/CINEMATOGRAPHY: 5 stars. But there are several monotonous scenes -- e.g., the desert crossings -- which should have been edited because the opportunity cost was (much-needed) character development of the film's brilliant actors. The lack of both imaginative dialogue and engaging storyline compounds this difficulty; there is neither one memorable spoken line nor any humor. I find it hard to believe the conversations of the stellar T.E. Lawrence were so pedestrian -- Chaim Weizmann described Lawrence thus: "His personality was complex and difficult. He was profoundly shy; his manner was whimsical, and it was difficult to get him to talk seriously. He was much given to the Oxford type of sardonic humour. But when one did manage to get him into a serious vein he was frank and friendly, and his opinions, especially regarding the affairs of the Near East, were really worth having." EDITING/SCRIPT/DIALOGUE: 1 star Just as the movie's filming ran far overtime (from five months to two years), the film itself feels protracted at over two and a half hours. One yearns to see this wonderful group of actors actually engage in memorable thespian pyrotechnics -- which never are delivered. The film's tepid, jive ending also just doesn't jibe for me: the political power players bid a peremptory farewell to Lawrence of Arabia. The reality was more sinister and film-worthy: Lawrence's enlightened efforts to free Arabia from predatory European colonialism methodically were back-stabbed by the British Empire at the Versailles Conference and the League of Nations. The consequent British drawing-up of national borders with little geopolitical or ethnic relevance has been exacerbating Mideast turmoil ever since. Just as T.E. Lawrence's great idea of freeing the Arabs from European colonialism failed, this film fails to liberate its powerful cast and fascinating subject from a banal storyline. Perhaps my difficulty with this film is that, achieving so much, I cannot help feeling it could have done more. I strongly commend this film with the reservations noted.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Movie ever made!!!
Review: This is the greatest movie ever made. No other film can compare to LOA in all aspects of movie-making. The cinematography is stunning(you can feel the wind in the desert), the acting perfect, the music invigorating....I could go on and on..... You will have to sit through four hours, but believe me, it will be worth it!!! The movie itself is about 228 minutes long. Beware of shorter prints!
Rating:
Summary: One Of The Ten Most Magnificent Films Of All Time!
Review: No one was a more masterful film maker than was David Lean, the British director who brought us such unforgettable classics as "Bridge Over the River Kwai", "Doctor Zhivago" ""Ryan's Daughter", and of course, "Lawrence of Arabia"(see my reviews of all these films). The cinematography is always spectacular and breath-taking, and one has to agree with the comments of a previous reviewer that here the desert plays a well-scripted supporting role in the unfolding drama that was T. E. Lawrence's experience during the First World War in Arabia. Lean always focused his films on the ways in which individuals and their personal characteristics clash and meld with the larger social, cultural, and historical surround in which they are located, and so each film is a particularly captivating study of the specific dynamics of each such situation. Each of these films is also a well-choreographed and photographed excursion into the topography, climate, and landscape of the geographic location in which the drama unfolds. The eyes and ears are always delighted by what Lean displays. Here young and bookish Lawrence is faced with the unenviable and unlikely prospect of trying to unite the multitude of Arab Bedouin tribes in support of the Allies in the regional warfare associated with WWI. The film captures this unlikely and somewhat quixotic personal odyssey most memorably, and a very young Peter O'Toole is masterful in his edgy portrayal of the enigmatic Lawrence as a time-trapped romantic caught by whimsy and circumstance in the most mind-boggling adventure of a lifetime, an adventure that broke all the rules of convention and upper-class British expectations. He meets his match with other characters played by Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, and Sir Alec Guinness. And in capturing the comically mismatched skills, expectations, and romanticism that Lawrence launched into the larger picture of what was going on, by viewing his personal odyssey in the context of the much larger cultural framework of Arab ambitions, jealousies, and cultural differences, we are magically transported into the strange and marvelous world of the desert and all the romance and mystery of that region. Viewing each of David Lean's splendid and classic films is a treat and a privilege; no one was as prolific, as consistent, and as engaging a storyteller as he. Lawrence of Arabia is one of his finest films, and as such represents a wonderful standard of excellence in storytelling and film experiences. Sit down and relax, for you are in a master's hands. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest of all time
Review: This is THE greatest film of all time. It is simply amazing and nothing short of breathtaking! Wonderful cinematography, haunting music and dazzling performences. This film has influenced many modern films that work in its shadow. Again, this is THE GREATEST film of all time!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking - Never seen anything like it, never will
Review: The title of my review says it all. I saw it for the first time when I was about eight years old, and seven years (and many viewings of LoA) later, I believe it still hasn't lost its magic. It's the most amazing film I've ever seen, with a FANTASTIC score (the main theme with the strings is GORGEOUS) and probably the best acting I've ever seen in my life. Never before have I admired a character like I have with Peter O'Toole - purely phenomenal acting (and Omar Shariff was wonderful, too!) I will always think very highly of this film.
Rating:
Summary: As Movies Go, This Is The Best
Review: This is quite simply the best movie I have ever seen. One of the best directors of our time tells the true (if dramaticized) story of a remarkable man in a remarkable time and place. The time Lean spent developing the environmental backdrop and the characters was well worth the effort, as it adds a complexity and depth to the plot rarely seen in movies today. The desert itself provided all the "Special Effects" necessary. The scene at the well, early on, where Lawrence befriends his bedou guide, only to see him killed a short time later, is a shocking, if accurate statement of the situation in Arabia at the time. But don't confuse this with the plot itself, which occurs at a much higher level. Otherwise the movie's length will get to you after a while. It's very easy to get lost in the details, and that's one of the lessons about humankind you will get from this film. Oh, did I mention that O'toole and Sharif are at their very best in this film? (Among others...) It is unfortunate that the film was - had to be - as short as it was. Lawrence as the "Miracle Worker" seems almost superhuman, when in fact the events that transpired did so in a slightly less awe-inspiring speed. If you are interested in a more accurate picture of the events, I suggest you read "The Seven Pillars Of Wisdom", written by Lawrence himself. (Then go back and see the movie again.) Then see "Breaker Morant" - a comparable film, and even "Dune" - which seems to share some of its roots with the "Lawrence" story. If you haven't seen this film, and you like complex stories, you're in for a real treat.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful visuals, wonderful score.
Review: This movie has one of the best original scores in the history of cinema. The wide screen shots of the desert are amazing. Truly an epic, worthy of Homer. Ironic, I suppose, considering T.E. Lawrence went on to write a translation of The Oddysey(under the pseudonym T.E. Shaw).
Rating:
Summary: Greater than great
Review: This movie is awesomely super. It should be on DVD though, but since its not yet, watch on tape. I've had the pleasure of seeing it on the big screen, but video is where I first fell in love with it. It is not boring, if you can pay attention to the lovely detail and great everything in this movie. Watch it NOW!!!
Rating:
Summary: Lawrence of Arabia
Review: Just the most perfect film to watch, great direction, great performances, wonderful scenery and a true story to boot. Just one moan though, when are they going to get around to releasing it on DVD, it deserves this format.
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