Alec Guinness
Anthony Quinn
Jack Hawkins
Omar Sharif
As far as classics go, Lawrence of Arabia carves a mark in the epic
genre as one of the best epic movies out there.
Based on the life of T. E. Lawrence, this movie depicts Lawrence's experiences in Arabia during World War I, focusing primarily on his
attacks and conquest of Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab
National Council. I should add, the movie took some artistic liberty in the way this was done, and it is not historically accurate.
The movie tries to take you through a journey of
self-discovery, where we are to feel the emotional struggles Lawrence faced and how
the resulting violence caused by war can change a man completely. The problem I saw here is the movie kind of rush through the transition of Lawrence from man to hero, from hero to like saviour and then back to man.
The desert scenes were shot in Jordan and Morocco.
Peter O'Toole, who played Lawrence, delivered a much-awarded
performance. Although he didn’t win the Best Actor Oscar, he was nominated.
Broken into two parts, each over an hour and 40 minutes long, Lawrence
was a British soldier whose flamboyant attitude made him popular among his
fellow colleagues. He was sent to the desert plains to liaise with the Arabs,
and from there he made friends with them.
He fought with them and led them to victory, but his loyalties come into
question as he was caught between two territories—the British government and
his newfound allies, the Arabs.
The script is well plotted, and the screenplay is marvelous. Add to that
the cinematography, the musical score, and the directing.
Lawrence of Arabia is a masterpiece waiting to be
seen by anyone, but the length of the movie is an issue for me it is very long and has some pacing issues, especially in the middle part.
During filming, Peter was having difficulty with the camel saddle, so he bought rubber foam and placed it on the saddle. Many extras copied him, and it has become widespread even till today.
Later, during the filming of the Aqaba scene, O'Toole was nearly killed when he fell from his camel during the charge, but fortunately, the camel stood over him, preventing the horses of the extras from trampling him.
Many Arab countries, including Jordan, banned the film. Egypt, Omar Sharif's home country, was the only Arab nation to give the film a wide release, where it became a success.
This movie launched Peter into the limelight, and the character that catches your fancy may end up being Omar Sharif, who played Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish.
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