Film Reviews

Lawrence Of Arabia

• Rating:
• Director: David Lean.
• Starring: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle.
• Details: UK/ 216 mins / (No Cert).

Shown as part of the IFC season of 70mm films, Lawrence of Arabia is a lengthy but majestic piece of work, and arguably the high point of all its participants' careers. First released in 1962, and restored some 27 years later, this slightly longer version of the movie is a must see on the big screen - if only for the epic vision of the director, David Lean. A youthful Peter O'Toole takes the central role of T.E. Lawrence, a man who managed to unite several Arab tribes in defiance of the attacking Ottoman Turks in the First World War. This is no simple biopic, however. Lawrence of Arabia is a massive picture in every sense of the word, with Lean utilising the vast expanses of the desert in a way no other director had, or indeed has, since. If you haven't seen it before, there is no excuse. If you have, there's still no excuse.

Review by Garreth Murphy