Cheap Lawrence of Arabia (DVD) (Peter O'Toole) (David Lean) Price

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Customer Reviews of Lawrence of Arabia

A Soul Divided: Lawrence story.
This film is 7 Oscar winner, and well deserved. A huge production effort, 10 M dollars, a record for year 1962. To fully appreciate this opus, you should see it in a theater, no doubt, but if that is not possible don't miss it. VHS or DVD will allow you to taste many of the great features of the movie.
First a collection of actors performing in an unusual high level: Peter O'Toole as Lawrence, Omar Shariff as Sheriff Ali (his best character composition, in my opinion), Jack Hawkins as General Allenby, Anthony Quinn as Auda abu Tayi, Alec Guinness as King Feisal, but not only those performances, lots of secondary characters are also paramount: the two kids that followed Lawrence; the expression of the Turk soldier that holds Lawrence while he is whipped, in a scene that takes no more than three minutes; the first guide to Lawrence; the British officers showing their elitist attitudes; almost all performances are remarkable one way or the other.
Second the music of Maurice Jarre with some remarkable compositions, also the more than beautiful photography from Freddie Young, desert pictures are overwhelming, both winning Oscar .
Third the film director, David Lean (also Oscar winner), conducts with the same allure mass battle scenes and intimate dialogues between Ali and Lawrence, Feisal and Lawrence among others. No doubt he influenced the generalized high quality of actor's performance.
Fourth the story: a forceful recreation of a critical war period with its political implications (still unresolved after almost 90 years). The intimate description of Lawrence divided loyalties: to Arab Cause and to British Empire. Of Lawrence's spiritual suffering: he was an intellectual and a mystic thrown in the middle of a bloody war conflict and having to lead human beings to death, suffering and destruction. Lawrence's internals contradictions: he enjoyed killing a man; afterwards, he was incapable to refrain his vengeance desires. His failure to fulfill his promises. All this kaleidoscopic emotions are shown by Peter O'Toole with a compromise rarely seen, he gives real flesh and blood to his historical character.
There are some minor historical inaccuracies (poetic licenses may we say?), King Feisal is shown as an elder man, in reality he was only a couple of years older than young Lawrence. Peter O'Toole was (approximately) 6 feet high (or 1.80 meters) and Lawrence was (approximately) 5 feet 3 inches high (or 1.65 meters), this is in a way minimized by the manner in which O'Toole managed his corporal demeanor.
An unforgettable film!!!

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Lawrence of the World
See it in a theater!

A vastly experienced guerilla leader with a gifted political and cultural understanding of the the desert... sad that he died shortly before England's entrance into World War II. They could have used him. This movie caused me to read Lawrence's wordy Seven Pillars of Wisdom, an ordeal painstakingly describing every piece of sand and plant in the vast Arabian desert. But the book, just like the lengthy movie, is worth the effort for a peek into the desert nomad's mind. Amazing how the movie reflected Lawrence's personal accounts! Alec Guiness' Prince Faisal and the Sheik portrayed by Anthony Quinn bore remarkable likeness to pictures of the actual people found at the library.

After visiting some parts of Arabia and United Arab Emirates, I find the movie still holds true to the geopolitical area it covers. The Arab world is unique and fascinating: a barren, unforgiving land that creates basic, philosophical, and spiritual human conditions- stark beauty, hardship, violence, survival, devout worship, and completely vivid memories.

If more subject matter experts such as Lawrence were in positions where a deep personal knowledge of native culture could be applied, the world might have better peace, and a reality-based understanding of war and violence.

Lawrence the movie and related literature are still applicable today in the complexity of the Muslim cultures which constantly clash yet somehow co-exist. Stretching from Morocco to Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and beyond, this part of the globe has an enormous influence on the rest of the world, both the past and right now.

Tank of gasoline, anyone?

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Conservatives support slavery? This movie makes the case
Hi. My name is Steven Thulen. You might know me from such reviews as "Bowling For Columbine" and "My Life." I am here today to talk to you about "Lawrence of Arabia." While this may shock and astonish you, I will offer a long-winded review without actually discussing this film.

I am that good.

First, a history lesson. In the year 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He landed in Haiti and raped the native there, then enslaved them. Later, many Africans were captured and made slaves by white people. White people continued to terrorize other races throughout the latter half of the 19th Century.

Finally, World War I took place. During that war, many people died, including white people. Some people who were too cowardly to serve in the world fled to California, where they became subpar sports writers. Later, World War II took place. In that war, white people dropped atomic bombs on Asians.

Peter O'Toole was probably gay and acted really well in this movie.

STEVEN THULEN
AUTHOR OF "JIMMY KEY: BASEBALL'S BATMAN"
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