It is without doubt that one can say the film, Lawrence of Arabia, is one of the best pieces of film making ever. The film garnered a grand total of 7 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Musical Score, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Art Direction) in the Academy Awards ceremony in 1962, and it certainly did deserve it, since it was a blockbuster film back then. However, the film was clocked at 222 minutes long, which is close to 4 hours! Because of this, Columbia Pictures refused to show the film in the cinemas, since it was so long Therefore, the film was shortened to 187 minutes, which although was still over 3 hours long, was short enough to be played in cinemas. The film's director, David Lean, disliked this but had to allow this in order to get the film and film watchers into the cinemas to get money from the film. Having only been shown at 187 minutes for the next 20 years, the President of Columbia Pictures restored the film back to its original 222 minutes, adding scenes that were not put in the cinema, and to allow true film lovers to watch the film in its entirety.

Being the film lover I am and having never watched the original version of the film, I wanted to watch the film and wanted to see the complete version of the film, despite fully knowing that the film would be slow at almost 4 hours. I have to say after watching the film, I have never been so impressed by any film before, and to me, this was one of, perhaps, the most complete film I have ever seen to date.

However, despite being such a complete film, the film's plot is as simple as it can be. The film basically tells the story of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), a soldier who led an Arab revolt against the Turkish army. The story starts off by showing the eccentric character of Lawrence, and it is clear that his general, General Murray (Donald Wolfit), dislikes him for being undisciplined. Therefore, to put him out of his worry, he agrees to a proposal made by Mr. Dryden (Claude Rains), who is part of the Arab Bureau, to send Lawrence to find the Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness) in Arabia (Lawrence is currently in Egypt), who is already in battle against the Turks. Lawrence, who has vast knowledge of Arabian affairs, is sent to act as a "communication device" between the Arabs and the English.

Soon, Lawrence sets foot on camel, along with a guide, in the extravagant sand of the Arabian desert to search for Prince Feisal. However, halfway through the journey during a rest at a well, the guide is shot by Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif), who tells him that the guide drank from his water and he can get him to Prince Feizal, but Lawrence decides to take it on his own, and he eventually reaches Feisal and his men, and starts to plan an attack in Aqaba (where Lawrence coincidentally sees Ali again). Soon, they implement this plan and lead their attack against the Turks.

Despite disliking each other at first and having disagreements with the plan of attack, Lawrence's and Ali's relationship grows and they become strong allies. As Lawrence gets to know his fellow Arabian army better, the more respect he earns for them.

After they land in Aqaba, Lawrence notices one of the soldiers is missing and turns back to save him, despite the fact they say it is "written that it is his time to die". Lawrence, despite what his army says, turns back anyway and says "it is written in his head" that he was meant to save this member of the army. He turns around, saves him in the middle of the desert and drags him to Aqaba where all the other soldiers are. As a sign of respect for what he did, the army honor him in Arab robes, which he wears for the rest of the film and only strengthens the unity and mood of the army prior to the attacks in Aqaba.

While in Aqaba, the army is strengthened by the addition of another army of Arab men led by Auda abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn). Despite showing initial scorn towards Lawrence's army of Arab men and preparing to attack them for "drinking his water" (similar to the incident where Sherif attacked the guide for drinking out of his well), but Lawrence talks his way out of the situation and manages to get them to join his army of Arab men.

I will leave the plot there, since it more or less sums up what the film is about.

Now, first of all, let's talk about the character of Lawrence. He was a very complex human being, who was an illegitimate son of a wealthy aristocrat. The film shows a few characteristics of Lawrence. He is a very strange person with strange habits (which infers his homosexuality), and because of this, many people initially dislike him for that. The film also makes it clear that he is a masochist. This is shown during a scene at the beginning of the film where he puts out a flame with his thumb and forefinger, and in a very painful scene at the end. The film also shows that he is an intellectual person with a very strange sense of humor, which also annoyed many fellow British soldiers. Despite being a pacifist, Lawrence killed many men, which shows some inconsistencies with the type of person he was. The film showed this very well, and for a biopic, it needed to be shown that clearly.

The film also brings out many themes, most notably, the cultural differences between the Arabs and the Englishmen. First of all, the film shows that the Arabs believe that everything is written on stone, while the Englishman does not believe that everything is written on stone (i.e. the scene when Lawrence goes back to find a soldier in the middle of the Arabian desert, despite the fact the Arabs state it is written that the soldier will die). There is also the idea that Arabs do not place a lot of value on life (executions for bad acts), while the Englishmen place a lot of value on life. The Arab's lifestyle is influenced so much by religion, while the Englishman's lifestyle is influenced by many things and not only religion. This was shown clearly throughout the film, and was shown very well.

One thing that must have mention in my review of this film is the amazing cinematography. I was literally stunned by the camera shots of the desert landscape, the night sky in the desert and by the overall cinematography of the film. Every scene in the desert is filmed so perfectly that you are left speechless by what you see on the screen. The way the camera uses the entrances of major characters in the film is also a major plus, particularly the slow entrance of Omar Sharif into the film (the classic scene which shows him riding a camel towards the well). I would have to say that the camera work in this film is undoubtedly the best I have ever seen!

The musical score is just as impressive. When the orchestra come in with the minor key feel into the scenes in the desert, the music and cinematography just blend together so perfectly! The majestic presence of the strings, woodwind and brass plus the big crash of the cymbals create the film's epic atmosphere, and it has that authentic Arabian desert feel to the music, which is why the music blends in so perfectly well with the scenes in the desert. It feels that the camera work and music blend together like chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

The editing was sound, since the film must have been almost impossible to edit! How in the hell do you edit such a film like this? Can you imagine how increasingly difficult it must have been to choose what should be in the film? If I was editing the film, I would probably have a panic attack and think, "oh my God, what should I put into this darn film?!" Because of this, it goes without saying that the editing in this film is spot-on, and absolutely perfect. The fact the film is 4 hours long shows how much of a challenge it was to edit the film!

Although people may feel that the film is only good in its technical aspects, one is ignorant to the film! There are various one-liners that Lawrence uses such as "nothing is written" and "the trick is not minding that it hurts", the film is surrounded by many famous lines and I find myself regurgitating bits of the film to myself!

The acting by everyone in this film is amazing! Peter O'Toole deserved an Academy Award for his portrayal of Lawrence. He managed to portray the role with as many subtleties as possible (even showing mannerisms with subtlety). Also, he was able to play his character, adding the wit and peculiarity of his character as subtlely as possible. Great performance from O'Toole. Alec Guiness was also superb as Prince Feizal. He is able to put on a solid Arabian accent throughout the film, and like O'Toole, he also adds subtlety to his character, and whenever he enters a scene in the film, his presence can be felt. Omar Sharif as Ali Sherif and Anthony Quinn as Auda abu Tayi were also phenomenal, showing their characters with less subtlety than Lawrence and bringing out the obvious cultural differences between them and Lawrence. Overall, the acting from every actor in this film is superb, and is another strong point for this film.

David Lean's directing is remarkable. Taking on such a huge project like this, and having the challenge of directing such a long, stretched-out epic film is something that no director would dare take on! Lean took this on, and did it in style! Despite the film being almost 4 hours long, Lean directed the film in a way that all the scenes in the film were important, and through his directing, he tries to tell us to sit back, relax and enjoy the Arabian desert. The pacing to this film is perfect, and you authentically feel that you are on the journey with them, preparing to take down the Turkish army! The film is also done with subtlety, and as said earlier about the film's themes and the character of Lawrence and his relationships, Lean showed these clearly and fully deserved his Best Directing Academy Award.

Some people may say the film is slow. No, I don't believe that this film is slow. The film is so well done and should be watched by anyone. Every aspect of the film is so good that it is beyond description, and any film lover should just watch the film, sit back, relax and appreciate all the amazing work that went behind the film!

Thank you for reading this review (see, I even had a hard time keeping the review short; comes to show the film was amazing!).

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS