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Lawrence of Arabia

  • 1962
  • Approved
  • 3h 38m
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
301K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,329
114
Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Peter O'Toole, José Ferrer, and Jack Hawkins in 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.
Play trailer4:45
8 Videos
99+ Photos
AdventureBiographyDrama

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.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.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
    • Robert Bolt
    • Michael Wilson
  • Stars
    • Peter O'Toole
    • Alec Guinness
    • Anthony Quinn
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.3/10
    301K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,329
    114
    • Director
      • David Lean
    • Writers
      • Robert Bolt
      • Michael Wilson
    • Stars
      • Peter O'Toole
      • Alec Guinness
      • Anthony Quinn
    • 765User reviews
    • 172Critic reviews
    • 100Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #96
    • Won 7 Oscars
      • 31 wins & 15 nominations total

    Videos8

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 4:45
    Watch Official Trailer
    Lawrence of Arabia - Trailer
    Trailer 4:43
    Watch Lawrence of Arabia - Trailer
    Lawrence of Arabia
    Clip 1:58
    Watch Lawrence of Arabia
    Lawrence of Arabia
    Clip 1:32
    Watch Lawrence of Arabia
    Lawrence of Arabia: 50th Anniversary Theatrical Re-Release
    Promo 2:03
    Watch Lawrence of Arabia: 50th Anniversary Theatrical Re-Release
    Lawrence of Arabia
    Promo 0:32
    Watch Lawrence of Arabia
    Lawrence of Arabia: [The 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray]
    Promo 1:32
    Watch Lawrence of Arabia: [The 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray]
    Dennis Quaid Thinks This '60s Classic Is the Perfect Movie
    Video 1:18
    Watch Dennis Quaid Thinks This '60s Classic Is the Perfect Movie

    Photos290

    Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Peter O'Toole and I.S. Johar in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Anthony Quinn, Peter O'Toole, and Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Peter O'Toole and Zia Mohyeddin in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Peter O'Toole and Zia Mohyeddin in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Anthony Quinn, Peter O'Toole, and Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
    Auda's Guards
    A caravan

    Top cast

    Edit
    Peter O'Toole
    Peter O'Toole
    • Lawrence
    Alec Guinness
    Alec Guinness
    • Prince Faisal
    Anthony Quinn
    Anthony Quinn
    • Auda Abu Tayi
    Jack Hawkins
    Jack Hawkins
    • General Edmund Allenby
    Omar Sharif
    Omar Sharif
    • Sherif Ali
    José Ferrer
    José Ferrer
    • Turkish Bey
    • (as Jose Ferrer)
    Anthony Quayle
    Anthony Quayle
    • Colonel Brighton
    Claude Rains
    Claude Rains
    • Mr. Dryden
    Arthur Kennedy
    Arthur Kennedy
    • Jackson Bentley
    Donald Wolfit
    Donald Wolfit
    • General Archibald Murray
    I.S. Johar
    I.S. Johar
    • Gasim
    Gamil Ratib
    Gamil Ratib
    • Majid
    Michel Ray
    Michel Ray
    • Farraj
    John Dimech
    John Dimech
    • Daud
    Zia Mohyeddin
    Zia Mohyeddin
    • Tafas
    Howard Marion-Crawford
    Howard Marion-Crawford
    • Medical Officer
    • (as Howard Marion Crawford)
    Jack Gwillim
    Jack Gwillim
    • Club Secretary
    Hugh Miller
    • R.A.M.C. Colonel
    • Director
      • David Lean
    • Writers
      • Robert Bolt
      • Michael Wilson(originally uncredited: credit restored in 1978 by WGA)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      On his first location scouting trip in Jordan, director Sir David Lean discovered the remains of the Turkish locomotives and railroad tracks T.E. Lawrence had destroyed during the Arab Revolution. After forty years in the sun, they hadn't even rusted.
    • Goofs
      When Lawrence issues the promissory note to Auda he writes right-to-left. Many have interpreted this as the film being processed backwards when in fact he is writing Arabic which is right-to-left. And when he signs his name at the bottom, he does so left-to-right.
    • Quotes

      [Lawrence has just extinguished a match between his thumb and forefinger. William Potter surreptitiously attempts the same]

      William Potter: Ooh! It damn well 'urts!

      T.E. Lawrence: Certainly it hurts.

      Officer: What's the trick then?

      T.E. Lawrence: The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.

    • Crazy credits
      The opening credits read: Introducing Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence. However, that "Introducing" credit is false as O'Toole had already played roles in Kidnapped (1960), The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960) and The Savage Innocents (1960).
    • Alternate versions
      There are technically four versions of the film: the original 222 minute print, then cut to 202 minutes after its 1962 premiere, the 187 minute 1970 theatrical re-cut and the 228 minute including the overture, entr'acte music and play-out music in the 1988 restoration. Full details as follows: Originally released at 222 minutes for the UK premiere in December 1962. Shortly after premiere which took place in London in December 1962, David Lean, reportedly under the orders of producer Sam Spiegel, cut 20 minutes from the film to 202 minutes. Cuts included the shot of goggles on the tree, Brighton's "remarkable man" line to the priest, early shots of the drafting room scene, the whole officer's mess sequence where he's called a clown and upsets water on someone, and some dialogue between the General and Dryden. The 1970 theatrical re-release cut the film further to 187 minutes. The film was restored in 1988 at 228 minutes. This version, supervised by David Lean, was advertised as a Director's Cut and has been the version made available to home video formats since.
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963)
    • Soundtracks
      The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo
      (1892) (uncredited)

      Music and Lyrics by Fred Gilbert

      Sung a cappella by Peter O'Toole

    User reviews765

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Majesty in the Desert
    The moment David Lean makes you aware you are in the hands of a master comes early on in "Lawrence of Arabia." Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) holds a lit match close to his lips and with one quick puff of air blows it out. Before the action is even completed, however, Lean has cut to a shot of a desert vista, with the sun slowly rising over the lip of the horizon. It's one of the most famous elliptical edits in cinema history, second maybe only to the bone/spaceship cut in "2001: A Space Odyssey." And it's only the first of countless memorable moments in "Lawrence of Arabia." The appeal of David Lean epics has always been his ability as a director to maintain an equilibrium between the scope of his films and the characters in them. Character development is never sacrificed to massive set pieces or knock-your-socks-off action sequences. "Lawrence of Arabia" has these elements too, but at heart it's a character study of one remarkable man. Lean seemed to understand that impressive landscapes alone are not inherently interesting; but if you place a fascinating character among those impressive landscapes, you can have movie magic.

    "Lawrence" feels unlike other historical epics of its time. In most "big" films--I'm thinking of movies like "Ben-Hur," "Spartacus," "Cleopatra," all movies that premiered roughly around the same time as "Lawrence"--one gets the sense that directors framed compositions based on how much they were able to fit into their widescreen lenses. One rarely sees characters filmed from anything closer than a medium shot, and usually the background is stuffed to overflowing with garish art direction. Everything feels static and wooden. But in "Lawrence," Lean keeps his frames constantly alive by juxtaposing huge landscape shots with extreme close-ups of actor faces. In one especially brutal scene, after a battle that results in the slaughter of many people, the action cuts to a close-up of O'Toole, looking panicked and crazed, gripping a bloody knife in his hand as if he's reluctant to drop it, obviously both disturbed and titillated by the carnage he just witnessed. It's moments like that---not just an impressive battle scene but a character's reactions to the results of that scene---that set "Lawrence" apart from other standard epics.

    And of course, I have to reserve space in my review for the performance of Mr. O'Toole. He is perhaps my favorite actor, not one of the most prolific, but certainly one of the most unpredictable. He has a flair for choosing eccentric characters that give him almost unlimited room in which to perform. He carries "Lawrence of Arabia" almost singlehandedly on his slim shoulders. That's not to say the supporting cast isn't great, but O'Toole towers above them all. O'Toole understands that the most influential figures in history could also be the most difficult and ruthless when they needed to be, and he gives Lawrence an incredibly complex characterization, leaving his audience in doubt as to whether he should be worshiped or feared, or perhaps both.

    Lean would never direct an equal to "Lawrence of Arabia" again. His later films are certainly more than watchable, and "A Passage to India" is even quite remarkable in its own way, but we would never get another "Lawrence." Even more reason to appreciate it now.

    My Grade: A+
    helpful•90
    21
    • evanston_dad
    • Apr 29, 2005

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    FAQ3

    • What was Robert Bolt's contribution to the script vs. Michael Wilson's contribution, and why was Wilson denied credit?
    • What are the differences between the Old Versions and the Restored Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 11, 1962 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
      • Turkish
    • Also known as
      • Lorens od Arabije
    • Filming locations
      • Wadi Rum, Jordan(desert - red cliffs)
    • Production company
      • Horizon Pictures (II)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $15,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $45,306,425
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $20,846
      • Sep 22, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $45,720,631
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 38 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Atmos

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    Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Peter O'Toole, José Ferrer, and Jack Hawkins in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
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