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.
After settling his differences with a Japanese P.O.W. camp commander, a British colonel co-operates to oversee his men's construction of a railway bridge for their captors, while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.
Director:
David Lean
Stars:
William Holden,
Alec Guinness,
Jack Hawkins
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was insanely jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
Director:
Milos Forman
Stars:
F. Murray Abraham,
Tom Hulce,
Elizabeth Berridge
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.Written by
Jwelch5742
Producer Sam Spiegel wanted Director Sir David Lean to consider the cost-saving benefits of shooting in Southern California or the less volatile political climate in Israel. Lean, however, was determined to film the story where it had happened, in Jordan. One obvious problem was Spiegel's religion. Given the political situation in the Middle East, there was a good chance that a Jewish producer wouldn't even be allowed into the country. The production's British Advisor, Anthony Nutting, who had been England's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the start of the Suez crisis, got around that problem by getting Spiegel a visa that listed his religion as Anglican. When the forthrightly Jewish producer protested, Nutting said, "Sam, just shut up! Here's your bloody visa." See more »
Goofs
On one of this film's many releases on DVD, during the intermission, the title on the screen reads "ENTER'E ACTE"- a French phrase which should actually be spelled either "entre acte" or "entr'acte." See more »
In accordance with a 1995 decision by the Writers Guild of America to give Michael Wilson a co-writing credit (based on documentary evidence that he had been a major contributor to the script), newer copies such as the DVD and the prints made for the 40th anniversary re-release feature the altered credit: "Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson" (previously, only Bolt's name was listed). See more »
Undoubtedly this is very good film. Filled with iconic images, scored with some of the most rousing music and anchored by O'Toole's deeply charismatic performance this is the film most people think about when they hear epic film making. If the 2nd half was as engaging as the 1st half I would wholeheartedly agree. As it stands I only halfheartedly agree. The 2nd half runs out a steam as the screenplay repeatedly decides to make Lawrence fit into the disillusioned soldier tropes. Worse the tensions and ironies of the character, say his love-hate relationship with violence, slowly and surely get resolved. By doing so the film is robbed much of narrative momentum.
As scripted the story needs to be tightened up as the last hour or so simply crawls to a stand still. In particular a reworking of the Deraa assault should have occurred. While that scene is the impetus for Lawrence to be humbled and to realize he was "ordinary" it stands out as utterly unwarranted in the narrative. The film only hints at T.E. Lawrence's masochism and it doesn't imply that scene was an invention of his (as it probably was). It makes Lawrence's eventual descent into barbarism and setting up his disillusionment to pat and straight forward. This is especially true as the 1st half resists giving easy answers.
Nonetheless this is a grand film that everyone should see once. It has a so much pure cinema in it.
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Undoubtedly this is very good film. Filled with iconic images, scored with some of the most rousing music and anchored by O'Toole's deeply charismatic performance this is the film most people think about when they hear epic film making. If the 2nd half was as engaging as the 1st half I would wholeheartedly agree. As it stands I only halfheartedly agree. The 2nd half runs out a steam as the screenplay repeatedly decides to make Lawrence fit into the disillusioned soldier tropes. Worse the tensions and ironies of the character, say his love-hate relationship with violence, slowly and surely get resolved. By doing so the film is robbed much of narrative momentum.
As scripted the story needs to be tightened up as the last hour or so simply crawls to a stand still. In particular a reworking of the Deraa assault should have occurred. While that scene is the impetus for Lawrence to be humbled and to realize he was "ordinary" it stands out as utterly unwarranted in the narrative. The film only hints at T.E. Lawrence's masochism and it doesn't imply that scene was an invention of his (as it probably was). It makes Lawrence's eventual descent into barbarism and setting up his disillusionment to pat and straight forward. This is especially true as the 1st half resists giving easy answers.
Nonetheless this is a grand film that everyone should see once. It has a so much pure cinema in it.