Lawrence of Arabia (film) - Definition and Overview

Lawrence of Arabia is an Academy Award-winning film based loosely on the life of T. E. Lawrence, starring Peter O'Toole as the title character, directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel. (Lean and Spiegel had recently completed the acclaimed film The Bridge on the River Kwai). The score by Maurice Jarre and the on-location cinematography are especially acclaimed.

Shooting began on May 15, 1961 and ended on October 20, 1962. Part of the desert scenes were shot on Almería, Spain. The film premiered in London on December 10, 1962, and was released in the USA on December 16, 1962.

The film was nominated for ten, and awarded seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, in 1962. It was named the number five movie of all time by the American Film Institute. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In 2004 the magazine Total Film named it the 8th greatest British film of all time.

Despite its 216 minute length (in the most recent Director's Cut), the film includes no women in speaking roles. Arab nomad culture at the time of World War I required women to avoid speaking to anyone except their close relatives.

Cast

• T. E. Lawrence - Peter O'Toole
• Sherif Ali - Omar Sharif
• Prince Feisal - Alec Guinness
• Auda ibu Tayi - Anthony Quinn
• Colonel Dryden - Claude Rains

External links

• Lawrence of Arabia (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056172/) at the Internet Movie Database
• Descriptive review at filmsite.org (http://www.filmsite.org/lawr.html)