LAWRENCE
of ARABIA

1962 ****1/2 228 mins.

David Lean's masterpiece of the true story of T. E. Lawrence is absolutely beautiful. Luckily, I watched this in its original widescreen format, which is, definitely, the only way this film should be seen. Of course, one problem I had with the video I watched (pictured above) is this: although the film is digitally remastered, the black ovals in the upper right hand corner that signify the end of each reel of film are still in the film. That bugged me. Oh, well.

The only reason this film does not get five stars is that it does seem to drag on a bit too long. It is nearly four hours long. The first half of the film is paced very, very well. After the intermission, though, one can't help but squirm a bit. Otherwise, though, this is a thoroughly enjoyable film experience.
Number 5 on AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Movies.
Number 23 on AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Thrills.
T. E. Lawrence is Number 10 on AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Heroes and Villains.
Rated PG for violence.