Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

David Lean

Writers (WGA):

T.E. Lawrence (writings)
Robert Bolt (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 January 1963 (Canada)

Genre:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Desert Classic. (1983 Video Release)

Plot:

Epic rumination on a flamboyant and controversial British military figure and his conflicted loyalties during wartime service.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Arab | Army | Turk | Camel

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Peter O'Toole	...	T.E. Lawrence
Alec Guinness	...	Prince Feisal
Anthony Quinn	...	Auda abu Tayi
Jack Hawkins	...	General Lord Edmund Allenby
Omar Sharif	...	Sherif Ali
José Ferrer	...	Turkish Bey (as Jose Ferrer)
Anthony Quayle	...	Colonel Brighton
Claude Rains	...	Mr. Dryden
Arthur Kennedy	...	Jackson Bentley
Donald Wolfit	...	General Sir Archibald Murray
I.S. Johar	...	Gasim
Gamil Ratib	...	Majid
Michel Ray	...	Farraj
John Dimech	...	Daud
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Tafas

Runtime:

216 min | UK:228 min (director's cut) | UK:187 min (1970 re-release) | UK:210 min (original version) | UK:222 min (premiere version) | USA:227 min (restored roadshow version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Arabic | Turkish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (RCA Sound Recording) (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints) (restored version) | Mono (35 mm prints) (original version) | 4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) (35 mm) (original version)

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIA | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1971) | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | USA:PG (edited for re-rating) (1988) | West Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M (Special Edition DVD) | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Ireland:PG | Norway:15 (director's cut) | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Company:

Horizon Pictures (II)

Trivia:

The 35mm master interpositive produced by Technicolor in 1966 had reel 2A flipped so that left and right became reversed on screen in all prints, including initial video releases. During the Harris restoration, David Lean himself pointed out this error and it was corrected.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In his interview of Feisal, Jackson Bentley mentions that "certain influential men" in America want their country to join World War I. However, this conversation occurs after the fall of Aqaba, which was in July 1917; by that time, the US had already been in the war for several months.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Vicar at St. Paul's: Well nil nisi bonum. But I find something... disproportionate in all this.
Colonel Brighton: He was a remarkable chap. By any counts, remarkable.
Vicar at St. Paul's: Did you know him well?
Colonel Brighton: I knew him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo

possibly one of the greatest films ever made

This film requires no introduction. It's one of the greatest movies ever made if not the best. Truly inspiring. It leaves me with the feeling that I would have liked to have met Lawrence but being born 37 years after his death regrettably this will never happen! I went to see the movie in the National Film Theatre, London in order to see the panorama on the big screen. Well worth the trip even if you have seen the movie on DVD. He was arguably one of the greatest englishmen to walk the earth. Why doesn't anyone make films like this anymore?! Thank God for David Lean's work. Looking forward to viewing this film again and again on DVD.