The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
- Won 7 Oscars
- 31 wins & 14 nominations total
- Turkish Bey
- (as Jose Ferrer)
- Medical Officer
- (as Howard Marion Crawford)
- Director
- Writers
- Robert Bolt
- Michael Wilson(originally uncredited: credit restored in 1978 by WGA)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Best Picture Winners by Year
Best Picture Winners by Year
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis movie was banned in many Arab countries as they felt Arab historical figures and the Arab peoples were misrepresented. Omar Sharif arranged a viewing with President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt to show him that there was nothing wrong with the way they were portrayed. Nasser loved the movie and allowed it to be released in Egypt, where it went on to become a monster hit.
- GoofsWhen Lawrence is being escorted across the desert on his way to Faisal's camp, his Bedu guide offers to share his food with him. Lawrence is somewhat reluctant but is anxious to show that, unlike other Brits, he is at one with the desert people. He reaches into the guide's proffered dish and takes a morsel - but with his left hand, and he does it twice. The Bedu shows no reaction, but he should: among the desert Bedouin tribes, who eat by hand, the left is kept away from the food as it is the hand with which they clean themselves after defecating. It could be that the guide is observing another Bedouin custom, that of warm hospitality and unstinting generosity to strangers, and is too polite to mention the gaffe (he would probably be aware that many outsiders do not know of the taboo), but it is more likely that it is a genuine error. Peter O'Toole is left-handed, and though he goes to great lengths throughout the rest of the movie to do things right-handedly (T.E. Lawrence was right-handed), this was probably a momentary lapse that no one noticed, or thought to mention.
- Quotes
[Lawrence has just extinguished a match between his thumb and forefinger. William Potter surreptitiously attempts the same]
William Potter: Ooh! It damn well 'urts!
T.E. Lawrence: Certainly it hurts.
Officer: What's the trick then?
T.E. Lawrence: The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.
- Crazy creditsThe opening credits read: Introducing Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence. However, that "Introducing" credit is false as O'Toole had already played roles in Kidnapped (1960), The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960) and The Savage Innocents (1960).
- Alternate versionsThere are technically four versions of the film: the original 222 minute print, then cut to 202 minutes after its 1962 premiere, the 187 minute 1970 theatrical re-cut and the 228 minute including the overture, entr'acte music and play-out music in the 1988 restoration. Full details as follows: Originally released at 222 minutes for the UK premiere in December 1962. Shortly after premiere which took place in London in December 1962, David Lean, reportedly under the orders of producer Sam Spiegel, cut 20 minutes from the film to 202 minutes. Cuts included the shot of goggles on the tree, Brighton's "remarkable man" line to the priest, early shots of the drafting room scene, the whole officer's mess sequence where he's called a clown and upsets water on someone, and some dialogue between the General and Dryden. The 1970 theatrical re-release cut the film further to 187 minutes. The film was restored in 1988 at 228 minutes. This version, supervised by David Lean, was advertised as a Director's Cut and has been the version made available to home video formats since.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963)
- SoundtracksThe Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo
(1892) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Fred Gilbert
Sung a cappella by Peter O'Toole
"Lawrence" feels unlike other historical epics of its time. In most "big" films--I'm thinking of movies like "Ben-Hur," "Spartacus," "Cleopatra," all movies that premiered roughly around the same time as "Lawrence"--one gets the sense that directors framed compositions based on how much they were able to fit into their widescreen lenses. One rarely sees characters filmed from anything closer than a medium shot, and usually the background is stuffed to overflowing with garish art direction. Everything feels static and wooden. But in "Lawrence," Lean keeps his frames constantly alive by juxtaposing huge landscape shots with extreme close-ups of actor faces. In one especially brutal scene, after a battle that results in the slaughter of many people, the action cuts to a close-up of O'Toole, looking panicked and crazed, gripping a bloody knife in his hand as if he's reluctant to drop it, obviously both disturbed and titillated by the carnage he just witnessed. It's moments like that---not just an impressive battle scene but a character's reactions to the results of that scene---that set "Lawrence" apart from other standard epics.
And of course, I have to reserve space in my review for the performance of Mr. O'Toole. He is perhaps my favorite actor, not one of the most prolific, but certainly one of the most unpredictable. He has a flair for choosing eccentric characters that give him almost unlimited room in which to perform. He carries "Lawrence of Arabia" almost singlehandedly on his slim shoulders. That's not to say the supporting cast isn't great, but O'Toole towers above them all. O'Toole understands that the most influential figures in history could also be the most difficult and ruthless when they needed to be, and he gives Lawrence an incredibly complex characterization, leaving his audience in doubt as to whether he should be worshiped or feared, or perhaps both.
Lean would never direct an equal to "Lawrence of Arabia" again. His later films are certainly more than watchable, and "A Passage to India" is even quite remarkable in its own way, but we would never get another "Lawrence." Even more reason to appreciate it now.
My Grade: A+
- evanston_dad
- Apr 28, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Lawrence de Arabia
- Filming locations
- Wadi Rum, Jordan(desert - red cliffs)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $45,306,425
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $20,846
- Sep 22, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $45,754,427
- Runtime3 hours 38 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Dolby Atmos
- Magnaphone Western Electric(original version)