LAWRENCE OF ARABIA -- David Lean, dir

©1962
studio: Sony Pictures
production company: Horizon Pictures (II)
director: David Lean
cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Omar Sharif, Jose Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Wolfit, I.S. Johar, Gamil Ratib, Michel Ray
screenplay: Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson from writings by T.E. Lawrence

Epic rumination on a flamboyant and controversial British military figure and his conflicted loyalties during wartime service. [from IMDb.com]

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I've heard so much about this movie, but had never seen it myself, so decided it was time to move it up the ladder of my Netflix queue.

It took me many days to watch this nearly four hour long movie -- I kept falling asleep through it! Which, I should think, tells you a little something about it.

There is much to like about this movie, but at the same time, I feel it fails to live up to the hype it has generated over the years.

The cinematography is beautiful. Certainly it helps to be filming in such a unique location, but the visual look is stunning.

The acting is certainly top-notch. O'Toole in his debut is perfectly schitzophrenic with delusions of god-hood. The supporting cast, from Omar Sharif to Alec Guinness, can't be beat.

The script and the direction, however, leave me floundering. Not knowing anything about T.E. Lawrence, I went in expecting a hero, but got instead a psycopathic, delusional, soldier.

What I don't ever understand is why this low-ranking soldier is given the chance to take command in the first place; why he is allowed to attempt something that no one thinks can be done (crossing the desert); and why he is worshipped by the Arabs when he is successful.

All the right, intelligent people seem to be wary of him, but he is allowed to continue.

I also never understand why the British Army doesn't put a stop to his efforts earlier, especially once they suspect that he has divided his loyalty between Britain and Arabia.

An interesting movie, full of questions, beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted, that gets a bit tiresome.