Lawrence of Arabia

The famous little brother of all the big movies of old Hollywood. Few films can match this one in terms of production costs (perhaps only the flagship "sandal" films of the 1950s and 1960s, such as Wyler's Ben-Hur, Bondarchuk's epic War and Peace, or Lean's Doctor Zhivago). The director's chair was occupied by David Lean, the greatest master of expensive monster productions. Steven Spielberg referred to it as "The Miracle of Film", which I think is accurate, notwithstanding the not-so-impressive last act, which is more political. Thank God for the careful digital restoration. The widescreen screening at my favourite cinema Hvězda during LFS, with a carefully polished image, was one ecstatic experience. No film has such impressive desert scenery, the production design is unprecedented (the logistics and security of the whole event must have been unbelievable), and the beautiful music by Jarré! Peter O'Toole endowed Lawrence with stubbornness, hard-heartedness, even fanaticism, which makes the character so vital, plastic and therefore interesting. And a film without a single female character it’s not something you see every day :o) (22/07/2012)

An epic film about personal identity and a moral drama about war. (17/10/2022)

Four hours of breathtaking shots of the desert are more than I can currently bear. It's pointless to beat around the bush, David Lean directs very deliberately and drawn-out, not to mention the editor. Beautiful images accompanied by solid music are not everything. For some an icon, for others a hard-to-pass borefest. And let's face it, I'm in the latter group. (17/07/2004)

Lawrence blows out a burning match... and there you have it. Brilliant editing to match that of Kubrick's 2001 is followed by easily the best thing I've ever seen. In fifty years, no film has surpassed Lawrence of Arabia. And none will. The direction, the cinematography, the music, the actors, the whole atmosphere that splashes from this gem to all sides of the world, the scenes with the crossing of the An Nafud desert, the rescue of Gasim, the destruction of the train, the ship "sailing" through the desert... This is how biographies are made, this is how epics are made, and this is how gems are made.__P.S. Today, on July 4, 2012, I finally got to see Lawrence on the big screen. Thank you, Carlsbad Festival. (18/09/2007)

A great film as crystal clear and breathtaking as the Arabian deserts are endless and dry. The runtime may seem excessive, and the last half hour devoted mostly to political speeches puts the viewer's patience to a test, but hand on heart, it couldn't have been made better. The truly excellent direction of Lean, unique setting, perfect cinematography and the music!...You just have to experience it. Plus Peter O'Toole in the role of his life, into which he imprinted such a measure of his personality and talent that it gave me chills at the end. The DVD format and the Czech dubbing probably took a lot of the shine off it, but on the big screen and with a proper sound system it must be awesome. 95% (31/03/2013)

I'm not really sure what I was expecting from that movie, but I guess I didn't get it. I wasn't blown away by it, I wasn't amazed, it just surprised me that it is much more focused on the human aspect rather than the epicness of the film itself, even though that is also important. Peter O'Toole is excellent, Claude Rains pleased me, but it just didn't blow me away. A big film like "Ben Hur" got to me much more. (18/04/2015)