Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Deadly masterpiece
"Lawrence of Arabia," one of the most compelling character studies ever captured on film, is the story of T.E. Lawrence, the eccentric British spy who was the prime architect for the destruction of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The story unfolds in the haunting beauty of the vast, harsh, and unforgiving deserts of the Middle East. Maurice Jarre, through eloquent musical composition, gives voice to both the man and the desert. Lawrence was a man conflicted by personal ambition and a romantic image of the Arab cause. In real life, Lawrence was a homosexual who had relations with his beduoin slaves. Jarre's crisp, syncopated musical rhythms vividly portray the exotic Arabian culture that so appealed to Lawrence. The majestic moments of the score, however, are reserved for the desert. Jarre's sweeping orchestrations blend with David Lean's expansive visual images to evoke the raw, physical power of the desert. This unforgettable synergy of sight and sound is perhaps the finest ever recorded on film.
Rating: - A Masterpiece for the Ages
David Lean and Peter O'Toole combined to produce one of the greatest character studies in cinema history. O'Toole captures the tortured mind of T.E. Lawrence, the eccentric British officer who united the bedouin tribes of Arabia against the Turks in World War I. While the historical accuracy of English involvement in Arabian politics may be questioned, the depiction of one of history's most complex characters is beyond reproach. Lawrence is at once a reflective scholar, a reluctant warrior, and driven messiah. He is a man consumed by personal drive, ego, and arrogance in the vortex of war.The production values of the movie are impeccable. The acting and direction are outstanding; yet they pale before the cinematography and musical score. Maurice Jarre, through eloquent musical composition, gives voice to both the man and the desert. Jarre's crisp, syncopated musical rhythms vividly portray the exotic Arabian culture that so appealed to Lawrence. The majestic moments of the score, however, are reserved for the desert. Jarre's sweeping orchestrations blend with David Lean's expansive visual images to evoke the haunting beauty of the vast, harsh, and unforgiving deserts of the Middle East. This unforgettable synergy of sight and sound is perhaps the finest ever recorded on film. This is a masterpeice for the ages!
Rating: - Terrific DVD Version OF A Classic Film!
This newly released DVD edition of this classic film illustrates just how unusual a movie experience was created with this movie. No one was a more masterful film maker than was David Lean, the British director who brought us such unforgettable classics as "Bridge Over the River Kwai", "Doctor Zhivago" ""Ryan's Daughter", as well as this film. The cinematography is spectacular, even breath-taking, and one has to agree with the comments of a previous reviewer that here the desert plays a well-scripted supporting role in the unfolding drama that was T. E. Lawrence's experience during the First World War in Arabia.Lean always focused his films on the ways in which individuals and their personal characteristics clash and meld with the larger social,cultural, and historical surround in which they are located, and so each film is a particularly captivating study of the specific dynamics of each such situation. Each of these films is also a well-choreographed and photographed excursion into the topography, climate, and landscape of the geographic location in which the drama unfolds. The eyes and ears are always delighted by what Lean displays. Here young and bookish Lawrence is faced with the unenviable and unlikely prospect of trying to unite the multitude of Arab Bedouin tribes in support of the Allies in the regional warfare associated with WWI. The film captures this unlikely and somewhat quixotic personal odyssey most memorably, and a very young Peter O'Toole is masterful in his edgy portrayal of the enigmatic Lawrence as a time-trapped romantic caught by whimsy and circumstance in the most mind-boggling adventure of a lifetime, an adventure that broke all the rules of convention and upper-class British expectations. He meets his match with other characters played by Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, and Sir Alec Guinness. And in capturing the comically mismatched skills, expectations, and romanticism that Lawrence projected into the larger picture of what was going on, by viewing his personal odyssey in the context of the much larger cultural framework of Arab ambitions, jealousies, and cultural differences, we are magically transported into the strange and marvelous world of the Arabian desert and all the romance and mystery of that region. Viewing each of David Lean's splendid and classic films is a treat and a privilege; no one was as prolific, as consistent, and as engaging a storyteller as he. "Lawrence of Arabia" is one of his finest films, and as such represents a wonderful standard of excellence in storytelling and film experiences. Sit down and relax, for you are in a master's hands. Enjoy!
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