Lawrence of Arabia (1962) : Classic Movie Hub (CMH)

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Director(s)	David Lean
Producer(s)	Sam Spiegel, David Lean (uncredited)
Top Genres	Action, Adventure, Biographical, Drama, Epic, Historical
Top Topics	Exotic Lands

Featured Cast:

See Full Cast

Peter O'Toole
(as T.E. Lawrence)

Alec Guinness
(as Prince Feisal)

Anthony Quinn
(as Auda Abu Tayi)

Lawrence of Arabia Overview:

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) was a Adventure - Biographical Film directed by David Lean and produced by David Lean and Sam Spiegel.

SYNOPSIS

Here is one of the great Hollywood epics of all time and O'Toole's first major screen appearance, which established him as an international star overnight. He gives a superb performance as T. E. Lawrence, a British military observer who, in rejecting British tradition and adapting Arab attire, became a figure of enduring mystique while helping to unite the warring Arab functions into a guerrilla front against the Turks. The restored video includes 35 minutes of previously missing footage. The 30th anniversary special edition features the original theatrical trailer and a 32-page companion booklet, plus a film short on the making of the film including interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. The laserdisc edition features a collection of production photos, Wind, Sand and Star, a featurette documenting production, footage from the 1962 New York premiere, and silent newsreel production footage.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Lawrence of Arabia was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1991.

Academy Awards 1962 --- Ceremony Number 35 (source: AMPAS)

Award	Recipient	Result
Best Actor	Peter O'Toole	Nominated
Best Supporting Actor	Omar Sharif	Nominated
Best Art Direction	Art Direction: John Box, John Stoll; Set Decoration: Dario Simoni	Won
Best Cinematography	Fred A. Young	Won
Best Director	David Lean	Won
Best Film Editing	Anne Coates	Won
Best Music - Scoring	Maurice Jarre	Won
Best Picture	Sam Spiegel, Producer	Won
Best Writing	Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson	Nominated

Lawrence of Arabia BlogHub Articles:

Field Trip: "Lawrence of Arabia" on the Big Screen at AMC River East 21 September 1

By Stephen Reginald on Aug 19, 2019 From Classic Movie Man

Field Trip: "Lawrence of Arabia" on the Big Screen at AMC River East 21 September 1 Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen Date: September 1 Where: AMC River East 21, 322 East Illinois, Chicago, IL Time: 1:00 p.m. Winner of 7 Academy Awards® including Best Picture of 1962, Lawrence of Ara... Read full article

Win Tickets to see ?TCM Big Screen Classics: Lawrence of Arabia? (Giveaway runs now through Aug 17)

By Annmarie Gatti on Jul 28, 2019 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Win tickets to see ?Lawrence of Arabia? on the Big Screen!In Select Cinemas Nationwide Sun Sept 1 and Wed Sept 4 CMH continues with our 4th year of our partnership with Fathom Events ? with the 10th of our 14 movie ticket giveaways for 2019, courtesy of Fathom Events! This is an extra exciting... Read full article

Blue Eyes in the Desert: Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

By Virginie Pronovost on Jul 20, 2018 From The Wonderful World of Cinema

Ah, Lawrence of Arabia… An?illustrious man and the subject of one of movie history’s best films. It is British movie director David Lean who created this masterpiece. With movies like Lawrence of Arabia (of course), Great Expectations,? The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago and Br... Read full article

1001 Classic Movies: Lawrence of Arabia

By Amanda Garrett on Jun 24, 2017 From Old Hollywood Films

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. David Lean's World War I epic stars Peter O'Toole (left) and Omar Sharif. Each Friday, I'm going to recommend a classic movie you should see (for the reasons behind the 1001 series and reviews of earlier films covered go ... Read full article

Lawrence of Arabia: Part Two ? The Destruction of Myth

By minooallen on Jan 30, 2015 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Lawrence of Arabia: Part two ? The Destruction of Myth Hello dear readers and thank you for coming back to my Lawrence of Arabia blog posts. Last November, as part of the British Empire Blogathon, I wrote Part One of this two-part series. If you did not get a chance to read it and feel the need to c... Read full article

See all Lawrence of Arabia articles

Quotes from Lawrence of Arabia

Jackson Bentley: Is Major Lawrence in there? Is he in trouble?
Mr. Dryden: I would suspect so. We all have troubles. Life is a vale of troubles.

Mr. Dryden: Lawrence, only two kinds of creature get fun in the desert: Bedouins and gods, and you're neither. Take it from me, for ordinary men, it's a burning, fiery furnace.
T.E. Lawrence: No, Dryden, it's going to be fun.
Mr. Dryden: It is recognized that you have a funny sense of fun.

General Allenby: [the British army staff is having a field briefing] Very well, gentlemen. The cavalry's gone through Mazril and Deraa. Very good, by the way, very good indeed. Now your turn.
Artilery general, field briefing: Well, sir, if the enemy's retreating in any kind of order - which we'd better assume...
General Allenby: Certainly.
Artilery general, field briefing: ...Then they can't be further than this Mallud place. In which case I can have them within range by... 0900 hours tomorrow?
General Allenby: Splendid! Phillip.
Infantry general, field briefing: Well, these
[referring to British soldiers marching in the background]
Infantry general, field briefing: are the last of the infantry supports coming up now, sir. But Mallud... could have the fusilliers there by... Wednesday, sir?
General Allenby: That'll do for now. The guns are what matter! Any questions?
Cavalry general, field briefing: This Arab army on the right, sir - what's it consist of?
Colonel Brighton: Irregular cavalry, sir. About two thousand.
Cavalry general, field briefing: Where are they now?
Colonel Brighton: Can only know that by being with them, sir.
General Allenby: Then get with them, Harry! I want to know.
Colonel Brighton: Yes, sir.
General Allenby: Pound them, Charley -
[strikes blackboard with his fist]
General Allenby: POUND THEM!

Facts about Lawrence of Arabia

For the 1989 reconstruction and restoration, many scenes of dialog were missing. As a result Peter O'Toole and a number of living principals returned and re-recorded dialog from more than 20 years previously. For principals who had died in the intervening years sound alike actors were employed (for instance for Jack Hawkins).

Sam Spiegel was much taken with Robert Bolt's successful play A Man for All Seasons. When he and David Lean weren't happy with Michael Wilson's stab at the screenplay, he sent it to Bolt for rewriting. Bolt found the script lacking in good dialog and also character depth. He essentially rewrote the whole thing, using T.E. Lawrence's book 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom' as his starting point.

The film took longer to make than it did for the real T.E. Lawrence to go from lieutenant to colonel, to see the desert tribes united and tip the balance in the Allies' favor against the Turks in World War I.

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)