From the early shots laid on the sun-hot sands there is grandeur and awe-inspiring, stark splendor, against which men fight and die, battle for their ambitions and then see their dearest ideals crushed by uncaring, mercenary politicians.

| Apr 20, 2021

The script is taut and expressive and the musical score deftly attuned to the tale. Director David Lean has molded his massive material with skill, but personally I felt the film was too long,

| Apr 20, 2021

A supremely engrossing film, Lawrence of Arabia makes one forget that it runs nearly three and three-quarter hours: and sends one out haunted and shaken.

| Apr 20, 2021

It is hard to recall any film that has put the wide screen to such impressive use.

| Apr 20, 2021

One of the most magnificent pictures, if not the most magnificent, and one of the most exasperating.

| Apr 20, 2021

The honours, then, go to OToole, to Bolt, and to the director, Sir David Lean. The film is technically superb, and the desert photography, in Technicolor, is memorable for its beauty. My only great grief is its length.

| Apr 20, 2021

In Peter O'Toole, we have an actor who can employ the flawless rhythm of a Shakespearean player as well as the argot of his day.

| Apr 20, 2021

The awesome majesty of the desert landscapes, with the camel brigades always sweeping the horizons, linger long after the sated viewer has cause to continue being astonished.

| Apr 20, 2021

The big screen has frequently proved to be only too big; here it hardly seems big enough, and the implied compliment to Mr. Lean and his camera crew is considerable.

| Apr 20, 2021

Lawrence of Arabia is... big, and often beautiful. But it satisfies few of the demands of real drama.

| Apr 12, 2021

No special effects are front and center here, simply the way a master creator of images pulls us into a dramatic story of great psychological complexity.

| Aug 29, 2019

Lean and photographer Fred A. Young have combined their artistic talents in an evocation of the Arabian desert that makes it both terrifying and deeply moving in its lonely grandeur.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Feb 16, 2016

It has an epic hero whom it doesn't hero-worship...[O'Toole] brings flawlessly to life the film's vision of a flawed warrior who is corrupted by pride, soured by empty victories and betrayed finally by the jubilant jump of his heart every time he kills.

| Feb 16, 2016

Of all miracles readily apparent on screen, perhaps the greatest is that the film even got made in the first place.

| Feb 26, 2014

This is a movie with the excitement of a cavalry charge.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 24, 2013

Deathless, and looking as good as new.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Nov 22, 2012

You'll need to dedicate half a day to it - but this deserves to be seen again on the big screen.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 20, 2012

It is O'Toole who continually dominates the screen, and he dominates it with professional skill, Irish charm and smashing good looks.

| Feb 20, 2009

One of the cinema's grandest spectacles, Lawrence of Arabia is at turns exhilarating, devastating, and puzzling as it ponders the mystery of a man who was a mystery to himself.

| Original Score: A- | Oct 29, 2008

Sweeping, epic, majestic, awesome, sumptuous, you name the grandiose superlative and you'll be right, with amazing performances and gorgeous visuals, although very, very long.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Feb 19, 2008