Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Director:

David Lean

Writers (WGA):

T.E. Lawrence (writings)
Robert Bolt (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 January 1963 (Canada)

Genre:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Desert Classic. (1983 Video Release)

Plot:

Epic rumination on a flamboyant and controversial British military figure and his conflicted loyalties during wartime service.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Arab | Army | Turk | Motorcycle

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Peter O'Toole	...	T.E. Lawrence
Alec Guinness	...	Prince Feisal
Anthony Quinn	...	Auda Abu Tayi
Jack Hawkins	...	General Lord Edmund Allenby
Omar Sharif	...	Sherif Ali
José Ferrer	...	Turkish Bey (as Jose Ferrer)
Anthony Quayle	...	Colonel Brighton
Claude Rains	...	Mr. Dryden
Arthur Kennedy	...	Jackson Bentley
Donald Wolfit	...	General Murray
I.S. Johar	...	Gasim
Gamil Ratib	...	Majid
Michel Ray	...	Farraj
John Dimech	...	Daud
Zia Mohyeddin	...	Tafas

Also Known As:

Lawrence de Arabia (Argentina) (Mexico) (Spain) (Uruguay) [es]
Lawrence av Arabien (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Lawrence d'Arabie (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Lawrence da Arábia (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Arábiai Lawrence (Hungary) [hu]
Arabian Lawrence (Finland) [fi]
Lawrence Ish Arav (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Lawrence af Arabien (Denmark) [da]
Lawrence d'Aràbia (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Lawrence d'Arabia (Italy) [it]
Lawrence von Arabien (West Germany) [de]
Lawrence z Arábie (Czechoslovakia: Czech title) [cs]
Lawrence z Arabii (Poland) [pl]
Lorens od Arabije (Yugoslavia: Serbian title) [sr]
O Lawrence tis Aravias (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

216 min | UK:228 min (director's cut) | UK:187 min (1970 re-release) | UK:210 min (original version) | UK:222 min (premiere version) | USA:227 min (restored roadshow version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Arabic | Turkish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (RCA Sound Recording) (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints) (restored version) | Mono (35 mm prints) (original version) | 4-Track Stereo (magnetic prints) (35 mm) (original version) | DTS 70 mm (70mm restored version)

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIA | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1971) | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | USA:PG (edited for re-rating) (1988) | West Germany:12 (f) | Japan:G (2009) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M (Special Edition DVD) | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Ireland:PG | Norway:15 (director's cut) | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate, Morocco

Company:

Horizon Pictures (II)

Trivia:

David Lean didn't see his first royalty check for the film until 1978.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Lawrence issues the promissory note to Auda he writes right to left. Many have interpreted this as the film being processed backwards when in fact he is writing Arabic which is right to left.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Vicar at St. Paul's: Well nil nisi bonum. But I find something... disproportionate in all this.
Colonel Brighton: He was a remarkable chap. By any counts, remarkable.
Vicar at St. Paul's: Did you know him well?
Colonel Brighton: I knew him.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "American Dad!: Stan of Arabia: Part 2 (#1.13)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo

Heroism brilliantly shown

When it come to making epics, David Lean is the master and what better proof than this masterpiece. "Lawrence Of Arabia" was first shown in 1962 and after almost 40 years later, it is still beautiful. The story of T. E. Lawrence is wonderfully brought to us by David Lean, director of another masterpiece called "The Bridge On The River Kwai".

David Lean has shown us a man's long, yet never boring (at least for me) journey into the deserts of Arabia. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) is an ordinary man that becomes a hero (at least in my eyes) during his extensive tenure in Arabia. He becomes a traveler, a great man, and a leader to the people that he has associated with. Only director David Lean could have given us a movie experience like this.

An assortment of phenomenal actors are collected for this movie and what a cast! Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guiness and so much more portray their characters with intensity and believability. Never have I been so impressed. As Lawrence, Peter O'Toole plays the role of which his name is most associated with and is surprising for me that he made the role his own because before I got a chance to see this movie I imagined a man opposite from someone like Peter O'Toole. Omar Sharif as Ali is one of the most charismatic characters in film history. I will not say anymore about the cast because I'm allowed only 1,000 words to use in my comment.

Will all do respect to classics such as "Gone With The Wind" and even "Bridge on the River Kwai"this is without a doubt the most exciting epic of all time. I highly recommend it!