Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

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.

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

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

Stars:

Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn

Top Rated Movies #82 | Won 7 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter O'Toole	...	T.E. Lawrence
Alec Guinness	...	Prince Feisal
Anthony Quinn	...	Auda Abu Tayi
Jack Hawkins	...	General 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 Murray
I.S. Johar	...	Gasim
Gamil Ratib	...	Majid
Michel Ray	...	Farraj
John Dimech	...	Daud
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Tafas

Storyline

Due to his knowledge of the native Bedouin tribes, British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence is sent to Arabia to find Prince Faisal and serve as a liaison between the Arabs and the British in their fight against the Turks. With the aid of native Sherif Ali, Lawrence rebels against the orders of his superior officer and strikes out on a daring camel journey across the harsh desert to attack a well-guarded Turkish port.

---

Plot Keywords:

ottoman empire | british military | arab | desert | camel | 

---

Taglines:

BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR WINNER OF 7 ACADEMY AWARDS (post-Oscar)

---

Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | War

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Arabic Turkish

Release Date:

11 December 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

Lawrence de Arabia

Filming Locations:

Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$32,930 (USA) (4 October 2002)

Gross:

$6,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Horizon Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lawrence Kasdan, Steven Spielberg, and Joel Silver all designated "Lawrence of Arabia" as their favorite film for an AFI poll.

---

Goofs

Lawrence rides his camel on beach at the Gulf of Aqaba, after the victory over the Turks. The audience sees big waves in the water coming at Lawrence. These waves signify tide. There is no tide in the Gulf of Aqaba. In this region the water is often is smooth and calm as a windless lake.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Colonel Brighton: He was the most extraordinary man I ever knew.
Vicar at St. Paul's: Did you know him well?
Colonel Brighton: I knew him.
Vicar at St. Paul's: Well nil nisi bonum. But did he really deserve a place here?

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credits read: Introducing Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence. However, O'Toole had already played very noticeable roles in two feature-length films, the Disney 1960 version of Kidnapped (1960), and The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960).

---

Connections

Referenced in Monty Python's Flying Circus: Scott of the Antarctic (1970)

---

Soundtracks

That Is The Desert
Music by Maurice Jarre
Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Maurice Jarre

User Reviews

Review-proof

I first saw this movie on a scratchy VHS almost twenty years ago (I was 10). Liked it (sort of-enjoyed the battle scenes and the train blowing up), but didn't understand why my dad was so crazy about it.

The next time was on laserdisc (remember those?) almost 10 years ago and I was hooked. I finally got it - the conflict, the performances, the music, the dialogue - all mesmerising.

But it was only in 2002, when I saw the 40th-anniversary reissue on 70mm that I was completely blown away seeing the scale, the enormity of Lean's accomplishment. There were scenes that gave me goosepimples (the opening credits, the cut from the matchstick to the desert sunrise, "nothing is written" - others too numerous to mention).

The point of this rather rambling review is this - a movie that can evoke such passion in its admirers stands by itself, beyond reviews or criticism. If you haven't seen it yet I envy you, because you get to experience it for the first time.