Lawrence of Arabia

Released: December 16, 1962

Studio: Columbia

Genre: epic

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 44.82 Worldwide: ?

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 543.89 Worldwide: 545.00

Directing: David Lean

Screenwriting: Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson

Starring: Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Claude Rains, Jose Ferrer, Jack Hawkins

Review:

This “sweeping, breath-taking, cinematic” ^FS “blockbuster biography of enigmatic adventurer T.E. Lawrence is that rarity, an epic film that is also literate.” ^LM “One of the greatest films of all time,” ^FS it is “staggering in its scope, execution and impact” ^BFI and “remains a moving and memorable film-going experience.” ^BFI

The story, which is based on Lawrence’s book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, “follows the true-life exploits of…T. E. Lawrence…and his transformation from an enigmatic eccentric to a hero.” ^FS During World War I, “the complex, English military leader” ^VD “comes to believe he can give Arabia back to the Arabs.” ^A07 He “courageously unites the warring Arab fractions into a guerrilla front” ^FS “to fight alongside the British against the Turks in the 1914-17 campaign.” ^BFI

Lawrence is “played with charismatic brilliance by 30 year-old Peter O’Toole.” ^BFI In his Oscar-nominated performance in his first leading role in his first major film, he became “an instant star.” ^LM The movie also “introduced Sharif to an international audience.” ^A07 In a film “full of scenes and performances to treasure…perhaps the best remembered is the arrival at the isolated well of Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) and the long shot of his ride across the shimmering sand.” ^BFI

The “sumptuous desert imagery” ^T98 was as much a star as the actors. The movie is “stunning in its scope with absolutely awesome” ^VD and “rich cinematography of the immense” ^FS and “shifting desert so superbly photographed in glorious 70mm by Freddie Young.” ^BFI