Customer Reviews
Camel Opera!! - By: MightyBoosh, 02 Dec 2008 
British stiff upper lip stuff,some fine British actors.I saw this as an impressionable young boy & was stunned by it's visual aspect/impact.
Unfortunately, having watched it again, now at a fairly mature age, I honestly found it rather dull.
I actually thought the camels were better actors than the cast!
Perhaps because the actors who played the main characters were new to cinema & more used to stage work, I don't know, but, frankly, it just did not work for me this time around.
I suspect that's not going to be popular so start throwing the rotten tomato's now!!!!
A Classic - By: HBH, 27 Nov 2008 
Lawrence of Arabia is a wonderful film exploring the life of a most extraordinary man. Although it may be a long film it is well worth the effort to watch. Peter O'Toole gives a wonderful performance as the title character & the supporting cast is briliant. Allin all a wonderful film only let downin this form by the fact that the film is split into two discs.
"Miracle of a movie" Steven Spielberg - By: Brendan O. Clarke, 25 Jun 2008 When Omar Shariff enters as a speck on the horizon it takes him five minutes to reach the foreground. Letting a match burn down to his fingers, Peter o'Toole explains, "the secret is not to mind it hurting."
Every frame of this movie, the greatest ever, staysin your mind's eye.
What can I say about this 7 Oscar winner of 1962 that the other reviewers haven't said already? This is a wonderful film & a great epic that was directed by David Lean (Ryan's Daughter, Brief Encounter), he is probably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time & most of his films have some of the best cinematography you have ever seen taking advantage of the landscape. In Lawrence of Arabia there is a breathtaking shots of the desert; the musical score is also amazing by Maurice Jarre (See The English Patient for Jarre's son OST). The best thing about Lawrence of Arabia is the fact that it is flawless; everything from the performances to the script are excellent & is based on a true story although I'm not sure if it is accurate.
The film is about T.E. Lawrence brilliantly played by Peter O'Toole (unknown Irish actor) who is a young lieutenantin the British armyin Cairo during World War One, he is assigned to help the Arabs fight the Turksin Arabia & becomes successful at uniting the waring tribes of Sherif Ali played by Omar Sharifin a role that made him a star & Auda Abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn), together they end up capturing the city of Aquaba & destroying the Turk strong hold.
Allenby: "Whatin hell do you want, Lawrence?"
Lawrence: "I've told you -- I just want my ration of common humanity."
There is no way that enough could be said about this film,in fact Steven Spielberg called it a "miracle of a movie." This is the definitive classic film from a transitional time just before salacious movies became the norm. It is to director David Lean's credit that he chose patently unknown actors (at the time) for his key roles that truly made this film soar. The fact that they performed so exceptionally is a testament to the professionalism & dedication of those actors.
The contributions of "Lawrence of Arabia" to future films are seen to this dayin the cinematographic techniques & similar shotsin recent films. Compared to Lawrence's books, the film, by virtue of its medium can never capture the Shakespearean quality language that T.E. Lawrence possessed. If any book parallels the film it would be Lowell Thomas's 1925 book, "With Lawrencein Arabia," that recounts the journalist's experience as an "imbedded" reporter with Lawrence. Thomas is often credited with spreading the stories of Lawrence's Arabian exploits that made him so popularin the west.
Murray: (Lawrence has just given a rather awful salute) "If you're insubordinate of me, Lawrence, I shall put you under arrest!"
Lawrence: "It's my manner, sir."
Murray: "Your what?"
Lawrence: "My manner, sir. It looks insubordinate, but it isn't really."
Murray: "I can't make out whether you are bloody bad-mannered or just half-witted!"
Lawrence: "I have the same problem, sir."
The desert scenes are beautifully shot, the glowing shots almost familiar because we've seen similar movie shots like these, but they were after this film was made--it clearly inspired many imitators. You can almost feel the desert heat & dirt. The film also offers prescient insights into today's sectarian violence where religious & tribal loyalties & feuds are seemngly more important to many Arab leaders than are national agendas or progress for all their people. The history within the film is mostly accurate & there is no neat wrap-up at the end, no ponderous speeches, no stirring conclusion. I waited too long to see this film but now I know why it is a classic. This is the wide-screen edition, which is essential to appreciating the cinematography.
Lawrence: "I killed two people. I mean, two Arabs. One was a boy. That was...yesterday. I led him into a quicksand. The other was a man. That was...well...before Aqaba, anyway. I had to execute him with my pistol, & there was something about it that I didn't like."
Allenby: "Well, naturally."
Lawrence: "No, something else."
Allenby: "I see. Well, that's alright, let it be a warning."
Lawrence: "No...something else."
Allenby: "What then?"
Lawrence: "I enjoyed it."
Accurate yet.... - By: Abdulla M. Al Qasim, 10 Jun 2008 Truly a magnificent movie! The director is a genius & it is even more evident when you see the documentaryin the second disc which explains how the movie was made. The most facinating thingin the moviein my opinion is the immaculate accurancy & authenticity of the waredrobe.. especially the Arabian wardrobe... recreating that wardrobe even back then was no easy feat as most items have almost faded away from existance.
However, the historical accuracy & value of the movie could benefit from a considerable amount of work. If you are looking for the historical aspect of the story then reading the "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" would be better for you.
Overall, considering when the movie was made & the director's workin that movie it truly is a great moive, one that I have watched over & over & over again & probably will even more.
Good Transfer? - By: MATTHEW BLACK, 08 Apr 2008 Every DVD version of this extraordinary film that I have seen or owned has had a slight 'flicker' problem running through the whole running time. I've seen the Superbit version, the original issue & an another version & all had this flicker. Can anyone enlighten me if they've finally made this go away? And before anyone asks, I have multiple DVD players & TVs & they all did it on each machine.
