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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

tomatometer

98

Average Rating: 8.9/10
Reviews Counted: 65
Fresh: 64 | Rotten: 1

The epic of all epics, Lawrence of Arabia cements director David Lean's status in the filmmaking pantheon with nearly four hours of grand scope, brilliant performances, and beautiful cinematography.

94

Average Rating: 8.2/10
Critic Reviews: 16
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 1

The epic of all epics, Lawrence of Arabia cements director David Lean's status in the filmmaking pantheon with nearly four hours of grand scope, brilliant performances, and beautiful cinematography.

audience

91

liked it
Average Rating: 4.2/5
User Ratings: 69,147

My Rating

Movie Info

This sweeping, highly literate historical epic covers the Allies' mideastern campaign during World War I as seen through the eyes of the enigmatic T. E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole, in the role that made him a star). After a prologue showing us Lawrence's ultimate fate, we flash back to Cairo in 1917. A bored general staffer, Lawrence talks his way into a transfer to Arabia. Once in the desert, he befriends Sherif Ali Ben El Kharish (Omar Sharif, making one of the most spectacular entrances in movie

Apr 3, 2001

Columbia Pictures

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All Critics (65) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (73) | Rotten (1) | DVD (33)

It is O'Toole who continually dominates the screen, and he dominates it with professional skill, Irish charm and smashing good looks.

February 20, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It was a big bold project and has turned out a big bold film.

February 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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[It] remains one of the most intelligent, handsome, and influential of all war epics.

December 13, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
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The passage of time has only proved how difficult it is to run ideas, history, characterisation and landscape in harness on this sort of scale.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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Approach it from whatever angle you like, performances, script, cinematography, score; David Lean's sweeping biography of T.E. Lawrence is unarguably magnificent.

November 29, 2004 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Even the flies in the opening Cairo scene jump out at you.

March 4, 2004
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic IconTop Critic

How did David Lean and star Peter O'Toole achieve such perfection? If we could define and distil it, we wouldn't need a special category for those flicks we call 'classics.' Lawrence of Arabia is that, and then some.

March 26, 2013 Full Review Source: Quickflix
Quickflix

This is a movie with the excitement of a cavalry charge.

February 24, 2013 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]
Guardian [UK]

To appreciate the film fully, Lawrence must be seen in a cinema, in 70mm on the widescreen and in stereophonic sound, and the present theatrical revival is not to be missed.

February 24, 2013 Full Review Source: Observer [UK]
Observer [UK]

This seven-Oscar wonder remains exhilarating thanks to Freddie Young's majestic desert lensing, Maurice Jarre's gorgeous score and Peter O'Toole's career-defining portrayal of the feted but flawed protagonist.

February 24, 2013 Full Review Source: Total Film
Total Film

David Lean's movie also works on a personal level, eroding the legend of T.E. Lawrence to reveal the complicated mix of ego and understanding that drove him to perform amazing military feats.

December 12, 2012 Full Review Source: Scene-Stealers.com
Scene-Stealers.com

It may be legend, and it may be romanticized, but "Lawrence of Arabia" feels authentic. It's as stirring an epic as Hollywood has ever produced-one reason why the American Film Institute has named it the Number 1 epic of all time.

November 11, 2012 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

O'Toole, all piercing blue eyes and steadfast idealism, buzzes with charisma in the role of a lifetime.

October 26, 2012 Full Review Source: Digital Spy
Digital Spy

Does it really matter that the sun that rises in the film is a 'real' sun as opposed to a CGI sun?

October 4, 2012 Full Review Source: McClatchy-Tribune News Service
McClatchy-Tribune News Service

...an overlong yet watchable epic...

August 17, 2011 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comments (2)
Reel Film Reviews

Mature teens will appreciate this gripping epic.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment (1)
Common Sense Media

One of the cinema's grandest spectacles, Lawrence of Arabia is at turns exhilarating, devastating, and puzzling as it ponders the mystery of a man who was a mystery to himself.

October 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide
Decent Films Guide

Spell-binding cinema.

March 2, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Sweeping, epic, majestic, awesome, sumptuous, you name the grandiose superlative and you'll be right, with amazing performances and gorgeous visuals, although very, very long.

February 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

It's probably heresy to suggest it's overlong, but if Lean's epic outstays its welcome, there are more than enough magical moments to explain why it enjoys its lofty reputation.

February 19, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

A gorgeous epic with an outstanding performance from Peter O'Toole.

November 15, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinema Sight
Cinema Sight

Lean's epic biography of the enigmatic and complex British hero is visually mesmerizing, even if it omits crucial aspects of Lawrence's life, and it boasts a radical, riveting performance from Peter O'Toole.

July 23, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Audience Reviews for Lawrence of Arabia

T.E. Lawrence binds Arab tribes in the West's battle against the Turks.
While I consider this film necessary viewing for anyone who considers him/herself a student of film, I can't say that it is unquestionably great. Yes, Peter O'Toole's performance is marvelous, and David Lean's direction, particularly the cinematography, is quite strong as he frames beautiful shots and often captures the mood of the environment.
However, at close to four hours, the film is extraordinarily long, and some of its length can be attributed to Lean's penchant for showing people walking great distances in order to carry out the scene. Rather than keep the camera focused on a character as he walks into the scene, it's rather simple to show the character approaching, cut away to an reaction shot, and then have the character present to begin the scene. It's a technique that's so often used we barely notice it any longer. It's true that Lean is trying to capture the vastness of the desert, but he does this in so many other parts of the film that I could see how the film's running time could be trimmed considerably.
More important is the film's relationship to race and politics. Edward Said writes eloquently about Lawrence in Culture and Imperialism arguing that Lawrence follows a tradition of colonialists who treat Arabs and Arabia as racially inferior. The film argues that Lawrence's relationship to these people is far more complex than Said claims. The Lawrence of the film recognizes his white privilege and is in conflict with his own identity. which makes a compelling conflict. If the film's relationship to race and colonization stopped there, then I wouldn't have a problem with it. After all, just because the film's thesis differs from Said's opinion of Lawrence doesn't mean it's a film to be rejected. But the casting is more problematic. Alec Guinness, a Brit, and Anthony Quinn, a Mexican, portray Arabs in - for lack of a better term - "brown face." The only Arab in the film with a major speaking role in Omar Sharif (who coincidentally harassed Edward Said during their school days). While I balk at calling Lawrence of Arabia a racist film, I think that it's fair to say that the casting and the inability of the film to fully question the morality of Lawrence's behavior makes it racially problematic.
Overall, I think you should see this film because its scope and its technical proficiency are extraordinary, but it's not without its ambiguity and flaws.
January 12, 2013
hunterjt13
Jim Hunter

Super Reviewer

With awe-inspiring gigantic sets, great performances from a wide cast, big battles, and a story that more than justifies it's time length; this sweeping war epic hasn't lost a touch of it's magic since it's debut in 1962.
July 13, 2011
Christopher Heim

Super Reviewer

    1. Jackson Bentley: You rotten bloody man. Here let me take your rotten bloody picture for the rotten bloody paper.
    – Submitted by Lucas B (2 months ago)
    1. Prince Feisal: I long for the gardens of Cordoba... but first must come the fighting...
    – Submitted by Greg W (4 months ago)
    1. Mr. Dryden: If we've been telling lies, you've been telling half-lies. A man who tells lies, like me, merely hides the truth. But a man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it.
    – Submitted by Delon L (4 months ago)
    1. Gen. Murray: I can't make out whether you're bloody bad-mannered or just half-witted.
    2. T.E. Lawrence: I have the same problem, sir.
    – Submitted by Delon L (4 months ago)
    1. T.E. Lawrence: My friends, we have been foolish. Auda will not come to Aqaba. Not for money...
    2. Auda abu Tayi: No.
    3. T.E. Lawrence: ... For Feisal...
    4. Auda abu Tayi: No!
    5. T.E. Lawrence: ...nor to drive away the Turks. He will come... because it is his pleasure.
    6. Auda abu Tayi: Thy mother mated with a scorpion.
    – Submitted by Delon L (4 months ago)
    1. T.E. Lawrence: The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.
    – Submitted by Mark B (5 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Lawrence von Arabien (DE)
  • Lauwrence d'Arabie (FR)
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