Lawrence of Arabia
- Director: David Lean
- Writer: T.E. Lawrence; Robert Bolt
- Producer: Robert A. Harris; David Lean
CGiii Comment
One of the greatest films ever made - without any shadow of a doubt.
Watch it again - bearing in mind that Lean was gay and Lawrence had a particular penchant for being whipped by young boys - and thought nothing of paying his whippers for the sensation.
The film has a whole new meaning.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
An inordinately complex man who has been labeled everything from hero, to charlatan, to sadist, Thomas Edward Lawrence blazed his way to glory in the Arabian desert, then sought anonymity as a common soldier under an assumed name. The story opens with the death of Lawrence in a motorcycle accident in Dorset at the age of 46, then flashbacks to recount his adventures: as a young intelligence officer in Cairo in 1916, he is given leave to investigate the progress of the Arab revolt against the Turks in World War I. In the desert, he organizes a guerrilla army and--for two years--leads the Arabs in harassing the Turks with desert raids, train-wrecking and camel attacks. Eventually, he leads his army northward and helps a British General destroy the power of the Ottoman Empire.
Cast & Characters
Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence;
Alec Guinness as Prince Feisal;
Anthony Quinn as Auda Abu Tayi;
Jack Hawkins as General Lord Edmund Allenby;
Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali;
Jose Ferrer as Turkish Bey;
Anthony Quayle as Colonel Brighton;
Claude Rains as Mr. Dryden;
Arthur Kennedy as Jackson Bentley;
Donald Wolfit as General Murray;
I.S. Johar as Gasim;
Gamil Ratib as Majid;
Michel Ray as Farraj;
John Dimech as Daud;
Zia Mohyeddin as Tafas