Lawrence of Arabia
Epic rumination on a flamboyant and controversial British military figure and his conflicted loyalties during wartime service.
- Director: David Lean
- Genre:Adventure | Biography | Drama | War
- Runtime:207 minutes
Cast
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
The film opens in 1935 with Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) as a civilian gearing up for a ride in his motorcycle at his home Clouds Hill. While riding his motorbike down a narrow English country lane, Lawrence is killed when he tries to avoid a collision with two boys who are cycling on the wrong side of the road. At his memorial service at St Paul’s Cathedral, reporters try to gain insights into this remarkable, but enigmatic, man from people who knew him, with little success.
The film then flashes back to Cairo during World War I, where Lawrence is a misfit British Army lieutenant, notable only for his insolence and knowledge of the Bedouin. Over the objections of a sceptical General Murray (Donald Wolfit), he is sent by Mr. Dryden (Claude Rains) of the Arab Bureau to assess the prospects of Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness) in his revolt against the Turks.
On the journey, his Bedouin guide is killed by Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) for drinking from a well without permission. Near Faisal’s camp, he encounters his superior officer, Colonel Brighton (Anthony Quayle), who orders him to keep quiet, make his assessment, and then leave. Lawrence promptly ignores Brighton’s commands when he meets Faisal. His knowledge and outspokenness pique the prince’s interest.
Brighton advises the Arab leader to retreat to Yenbo after a major defeat, but Lawrence proposes an alternative, a daring attack on Aqaba. If taken, the town would provide a port from which the British could offload much-needed supplies for the rebellion, but it is strongly defended against a naval assault by heavy artillery. However, Lawrence proposes a surprise attack on the lightly-defended landward side. He convinces Faisal to provide fifty men on camels, led by Sherif Ali. As they prepare to leave, two teenage orphan boys, Daud (John Dimech) and Farraj (Michel Ray), attach themselves to Lawrence as his servants. They cross the Nefud Desert, considered impassable even by the Bedouins, travelling day and night on the last stage to reach water. One of the men, Gasim (I. S. Johar), succumbs to fatigue and falls off his camel unnoticed during the night. The rest make it to an oasis, but Lawrence turns back for the lost man alone, risking his own life. When he rescues Gasim, the Bedouins are very impressed, even the formerly sceptical Sherif Ali. Read more
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