Details
Movie Description
David Lean's masterpiece, perhaps the greatest of screen epics, stars Peter O'Toole in one of the most electrifying debuts in film history. The film is less an ordinary adventure than an experience that leaves an overwhelming sense memory of the struggle between two powerful forces: the Arabian deserts, immense, intractable, ever-shifting, punishing; and T.E. Lawrence, humble as a monk, flamboyant as a rock star, protean, polymathic, heroic, enigmatic, mad. While working on the staff of British Intelligence in Cairo in 1916, Lawrence's fluency in Arabic earns him a post on a mission sent to establish contact with Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness), leader of the Arab revolt and ally of the British against the German-sponsored Turks in WWI. Impressed by Lawrence's knowledge of their culture, the prince allows the young officer to join his staff, and Lawrence quickly earns the Arabs' respect after he executes acts of extraordinary heroism. As the Englishman's genius for guerrilla warfare becomes evident, he assumes the role of de facto leader of the Arab revolt, uniting the heretofore warring tribes into a devastatingly effective weapon. But the chaos of war also unleashes the repressed officer's powerful need for self-abasement and mortification of the flesh. A visionary work that unfolds one indelible image after another, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA fuses the conflict of man against man, man against nature, and man against himself into a sublime poem of force. The film features a literate script by Robert Bolt and an outstanding cast, which also includes Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, Arthur Kennedy, Anthony Quinn, Jose Ferrer, and Omar Sharif in his unforgettable desert-crossing debut.
Synopsis
This classic film was based on the real-life exploits of legendary British scholar and soldier T.E. Lawrence. Stationed in Cairo in 1916, Lawrence languished in the mapmaking department of British Intelligence until he was asked to find and gather information on Prince Feisal, leader of the Arab Allied forces in World War I. His desert journey inspired his first military success when he led a small contingent of Arabs against the Turkish stronghold of Aqaba. Lawrence's military career flourished as he attempted to forge a new, united Arab nation out of squabbling tribes.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Theatrical release: November 1962 (England), after a premiere for Queen Elizabeth.
Theatrical release: December 16, 1962 (USA).
Filmed at Shepperton Studios in Middlesex, England, and on location in Jebel Tubeiq and Wadi Rhumm, Jordan; in Sevilla, Spain; Aqaba, Turkey; and in Morocco. The three-year project completed shooting in October 1962.
Estimated budget: $13-15 million.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1991.
John Ford was originally slated to direct the film, with Alexander Korda attached as producer.
Director David Lean died in 1991 shortly after he was awarded the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in March 1990.
Academy Award nominations: 10, including Best Actor--Peter O'Toole, Best (Adapted) Screenplay. Academy Awards: 7, including Best Picture, Best Director.
The restored version contains 35 minutes of previously cut footage.
Producer Sam Spiegel reportedly wanted Marlon Brando for the role of T.E. Lawrence, but he was already occupied with MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. Albert Finney was also offered the role but declined because he didn't "want to be a star." (American Film, March 1990)
Director David Lean once described T.E. Lawrence as "a fascinating character. This Oxford don on camelback--I mean, it was absolutely nutty. Sort of intellectual, with a gang of Arabs on camels, you know." (American Film, March 1990)
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA was named Best Film of 1963 by Italy's David Awards, Best Foreign Film of 1963 by Japan's Kinema Jumpo, and Best English Language Film of 1962 by the National Film Board.
Lean received Italy's Silver Ribbon Award and Japan's Kinema Jumpo Award for Best Director of 1963. He was also named Best Director of 1962 by the National Film Board.
Peter O'Toole received Italy's David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actor of 1963.
Sources for the film included
SEVEN PILLARS OF WISDOM by Thomas Edward Lawrence
REVOLT IN THE DESERT by Lawrence
THE ESSENTIAL T.E. LAWRENCE by Lawrence (with a preface by David Garnett)
SECRET DISPATCHES FROM ARABIA by Lawrence
CRUSADER CASTLES by Lawrence
THE DIARY OF T.E. LAWRENCE by Lawrence
LA BIBLIOTHEQUE IDEALE: T.E. LAWRENCE by Lawrence
THE HOME LETTERS OF T.E. LAWRENCE AND HIS BROTHERS by Lawrence
SELECTED LETTERS OF T.E. LAWRENCE by Lawrence (edited by Garnett)
THE SELECTED LETTERS OF T.E. LAWRENCE by Lawrence (edited by Irving Howe)
THE MINT by Lawrence
WITH LAWRENCE IN ARABIA by Lowell Thomas
LAWRENCE AND THE ARABS by Robert Graves
Chapter 28 of GOODBYE TO ALL THAT by Graves
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA by Richard Aldington
T.E. LAWRENCE IN ARABIA AND AFTER by Basil Liddell Hart
HEROES OF THE EMPTY VIEW by James Aldridge
THE DESERT AND THE STARS by Flora Armitage
T.E. LAWRENCE: BY HIS FRIENDS (edited by A. W. Lawrence)
LETTERS TO T.E. LAWRENCE (edited by A. W. Lawrence)
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA by Anthony Nutting
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA by Alistair MacLean
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA by Robert Payne
PRIVATE SHAW AND PUBLIC SHAW by Stanley Weintraub
Industry Reviews
"...LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, restored to its full clarity and magnificence, is one of the Seven Wonders of the cinematic world..."
Los Angeles Times - Sheila Benson (02/15/1989)
"...What a bold, mad act of genius it was, to make LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, or even think that it could be made....It is a spare movie in clean, uncluttered lines..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (09/02/2001)
"...It's pretty damned good..."
Entertainment Weekly - Ty Burr (04/06/2001)
"...With grand, sweeping desertscapes, huge battles and Robert Bolt's Oscar-winning dialogue, this is as shockingly beautiful and hugely intelligent as any film ever made..."
Total Film - Ceri Thomas (05/01/2000)
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