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Rating:  - Boring, long, nice scenery, decent acting...
Its suprising that this movie is from 1962. It feels like a movie made in the 40's or 50's. It has that overblown theatrical feel. Kind of like Wizard of Oz. There are some redeeming qualities of this film. The filming and camera angles are excellent. Some of the acting is good, but not great. Its almost like a Monty Python movie except it isn't funny and it's too "old-style". Other than that, Lawrence of Arabia would have made a great parody Monty Python movie if they would have went for that. They should have because there is no historical accuracy, no middle eastern actors, nothing real whatsoever. But thats would people liked back then, fake b.s.
This movie is similar to the movie "Giant". Its way too long and it has good actors but the performances are weak. "Giant" was absolutely horrible though, and this movie is not horrible, just boring, dumb, thoughtless, it also reminds me of Hogan's Heroes, where all the army people talk like they got a gerbal in their throat, or maybe in their pants I don't know. There is one scene where a British officer touches Peter O'Tooles nipple and starts fondling his breast. Peter O'toole hits the officer and then gets whipped while the perverted officer watches and starts coughing, is that like a hernia test innuendo or something? Whats up with the coughing?
There is another scene where Peter O'Toole gets shot with a gun and the gunshot has enough force to knock him off the top of a train car, but then gets up with only a little bloodspot on his shoulder. Is this "Night of the Zombies", or is this supposed to be somewhat historical? They can't make their minds up whether this movie was supposed to be a big joke, or whether they wanted to go somewhere with this. Regardless, there is some beautiful scenery of a bunch of white american actors trying to look Arabic riding camels through the desert. They either talk British or American of course. This would have made a great black comedy if they would have had to eat Peter O'Toole at the end because they got hungry. Oh well, waste 4 hours and watch this junk.
Rating:  - Among the Top-3 Films I've Ever Seen!
This film defies description as it needs to be seen to be believed! Everything about it is magical and if you thought director David Lean's work on "Bridge Over the River Kwai" was good "Lawrence of Arabia" even surpasses that great work handily and is his crowning achievement in an excellent career of films. The cast is brilliant, the screenplay excellent, the camerawork inspired making this a film fully deserving of its 7 Oscars and like a true classic never shows its age making for a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience and greatly rewards repeated viewing.
This Collector's 2-disc version is also a treat as it comes with good making-of documentaries and the picture quality is excellent. The sound quality in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround is also first class. I really like the sand-coloured cloth covering of the dvd case as well as the full-colour 12-page booklet.
No movie-lover can go without having this film in their library and this is a must see for all film buffs. Great film, great dvd version makes this highly recommended. I can only imagine how much better the Blu-ray version will be and I wait with bated breath!
Rating: - A MASTERPIECE
A wonderfull motion picture, masterfull directed by Sir David Lean, (The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago) also, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA a 7 Oscar Winner, now available on a single DVD, low priced, for your enjoyment.
Rating: - T. E. Lawrence as a 1960's Rebel
Those Who Dream By Day
From the beginning of the movie seems non-intellectual, disrespectful of authority, and rebellious. He constantly tells everybody, "I'm different" as if he has a chip on his shoulder. The wardrobe mistress even claimed that they designed Peter O'Toole's wardrobe so his British Army uniform was messy, not ironed, and deliberately baggy. A motorcyclist calls to Lawrence in the desert, wearing his Arab get up, "Who are you?" and Lawrence has a profoundly puzzled look on his face. Isn't this the dilemma of the 1960's when the film was made and released --- who are you? For the rest of the movie this 1960's theme takes over as Lawrence experiments with different identities in a hippie-like fashion, attempting to discover the meaning of life. He confides to Ali, his Arab pal, played by Omar Sharif, that his father didn't marry his mother. His name is Lawrence. His father's name was Chapman. Ali suggests he call himself El Orens. Lawrence puts on new clothes, his Arab ones, and experiments with this identity. When he gets imprisoned and flogged in Deraa, he becomes disillusioned and decides to go back to being a British officer. The film suggests that Lawrence continued in this fashion to the end of his life when he died in a motorcycle accident, experimenting with speed as a new identity. The 1960's anti-war theme is also the theme of Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence starts out idealistic: he risks his life to save one Arab's life. But after Deraa he wants only revenge. He says that he will take no prisoners and engages in a killing frenzy. Instead of bringing out the romanticism of war, this film emphasizes its ugliness just as any draft-card burning campus protester would.
Rating: - Avoid Like The Plague
Despite the sticker hailing "all new digital restoration" this edition is no different from previous offerings- all the edge enhancement is stilll there. Stick with the superbit version
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