The only way to fully appreciate Lawrence of Arabia is on the big screen. David Lean’s 1962 film is a true epic, and one of the greatest films of all time.
Based on the life of T.E. Lawrence, the film stars Peter O’Toole as the title character, chronicling his experiences in Arabia during the First World War. Balancing big canvas set pieces, such as the attacks on Aqaba and Damascus, with Lawrence’s own personal struggles between violence, peace and conflicting loyalties, Lawrence of Arabia is both a sprawling historical story and an intimate portrait.
Co-starring Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif and Claude Rains, the film is famous not only for its sweeping widescreen desert vistas but for its stirring musical score by Maurice Jarre and its literate screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson.
Winner of seven Oscars in 1963, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, Lawrence of Arabia was a huge critical and financial success and it remains adored by viewers and critics alike. Hailed by Steven Spielberg as ‘a miracle’, there is indeed something undeniably magical about this masterpiece of cinema.