Brilliant
4/4 stars

The combination of the superb cinematography, fantastic direction and huge sweeping orchestration make this movie a delightful treat for the senses. You cannot make a movie this beautiful these days, especially with directors focusing on tv-sized shots and bad-sitcom-worthy performances from "actors". This movie is a refreshing and sometimes startling contrast to anything of recent 'worth'.

There's violence, adventure, battle scenes, clever dialogue and yet everything is done tastefully. The cast is amazing, especially Peter O'Toole. With one look you know how he feels, and you can see his character progress and change throughout the film. Omar Sharif gives a passionate performance that actors would kill for these days. There is not a performance in this movie that's less than perfect.

Rounding up an all star cast including Academy Award Winner Alec Guiness, Anthony Quinn, the remarkable Omar Shariff, was a debuting actor named Peter O'Toole. Lean was wise to choose a so-called 'beginner'. For no actor of the time could play Lawrence without letting it go to their heads. But Peter O'Toole personified Lawrence to a staggering point of clarity. On film, he IS Lawrence.

David Lean has the power in his films to envoke a sense of grandeur in natural landscapes, and how the environment reflects the characters. One only needs to go so far as to watch A Passage To India, Doctor Zhivago, In Which We Serve or The Bridge On The River Kwai to see such an effect.

In the scene where the Arab party cross the Sun's Anvil in the mighty Nefu desert, the sweat builds up on the audience's skin. And when they finally storm Aqaba, the adrenalin builds in a panning long shot, as the Arabs sweep towards the seaside like a rollicking wave.

Robert Bolt's debut screenplay is the best debut screenplay ever. The intensity of his characters on paper is staggering. Auda abu Tayi's dialogue can send shivers down anyone's spine.

Made for the last generation who preferred different films than those of today's (with Titanic, Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring and Gladiator slight exceptions) and with a running length close to four hours, Lawrence Of Arabia remains one of the greatest films ever made and in my opinion, the best.

And if anyone's worried about how long it is, they really shouldn't be. The movie is paced to perfection and I personally find that by the end of the movie, I'm still wanting more.

Lawrence of Arabia
David Lean
Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif
PG for some language and adult themes
216 minutes, 3 hours 36 minutes.

Review by Wolfman