Then there's all the political stuff which would have become more apparent on repeated viewings, a dazzling cast, and David Lean's stunning direction: the man sure knew how to fill a frame (horses coming off the train, a train collapsing, the boy sliding into quicksand, etc).
Peter O'Toole is great as the slightly mad Lawrence - though you know, I think Dirk Bogarde would have done just as well, in Rank's aborted 50s version.
In a neat twist for a Western movie, the more human characters are the supporting Arabs - Anthony Quinn's unscrupulous chieftain provides the humour, Alec Guinness' king brings the statesmanship, Omar Sharif's devoted Arab the freedom fighting. Arthur Kennedy's cynical journalist observer is a bit boring (a sop to the American audience, a device that was later used in "Gandhi").
The film goes on too long, with much repetition (scenes staged for their visual effectiveness rather than dramatic weight) - eg. two scenes of trains blowing up, two of Lawrence's young men dying.
In a neat twist for a Western movie, the more human characters are the supporting Arabs - Anthony Quinn's unscrupulous chieftain provides the humour, Alec Guinness' king brings the statesmanship, Omar Sharif's devoted Arab the freedom fighting. Arthur Kennedy's cynical journalist observer is a bit boring (a sop to the American audience, a device that was later used in "Gandhi").
The film goes on too long, with much repetition (scenes staged for their visual effectiveness rather than dramatic weight) - eg. two scenes of trains blowing up, two of Lawrence's young men dying.
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