This film is Based on of the life of T. E. Lawrence who was most famous for leading armies of Arabian tribes in military campaigns going against the Ottoman Empire in World War I. The film was directed by renowned filmaker David Lean and Peter O'Toole starred as Lawrence in one of the greatest performances I've ever seen in a film and I'll go into more detail with that soon. So it was beautifully shot in 70mm with such care and precision, Freddie Young's cinematography is beautiful the look of the sun and the desert in the film is just incredible at creating a constant hypnotic feeling.

Some amazing shots will stick with you forever especially a match cut involving a stricken match transporting us right to the sunrise over the desert. As well as the masterful introduction of Sherif Ali played by Omar Sharif as a blurry black figure slowly approaching from a distance leaving us as uncertain as Lawrence and his guide who are waiting by a well as to what's about to happen. Many more shots or moments if you will could be mentioned but I'll just use the two most iconic examples for this little review as for the well filmed battle sequences and more dialogue heavy scenes they just speak for themselves and the entire film is just masterful visually. Maurice Jarre's fitting Orchestral score is also very important and captivating and it does run at almost 4 hours but I have to say it would be a surprise for anyone serious about film to ever lose interest for me this is one of the most well paced films I can think of.

We are first introduced to Lawrence in a very Citizen Kane way as he dies right at the start and we are then given the story of his life before that up to that match cut my eyes were completely glued to the screen and it even finished before I thought it would so try not to let the length scare you. It's definitely one of those films that you "feel" it is just so poetic visually and with it's writing. You just get sucked right into it's world and admire it's look and feel, It's also massively based on the real T.E Lawrence’s own writings which David Lean and screenwriter Robert Bolt used for the screenplay. One of the most impressive and interesting things about it is Lawrence's character who O'Toole just went so in-depth with, we see flaws and fears, he's not just some untouchable hero like he may have been in lesser hands.

Actually he's Narcissistic and by the second half of the film is not even that likeable yet is very "human" this is an intentional decision and a great one. He is completely fascinating and complex, so as you know he ends up leading Arabian tribes to war which is no easy task at first but he eventually gains their trust and they start to really look up to him as one of their own and somewhat of a hero but at first he seems like a nice enough guy who is just a army officer doing his job but he becomes truly disturbing and his performance is flawless in it's study he's often quivering either angrily, violently or joyfully. Is at first nervous to kill but after his first murder he can't get enough of it.

The film takes another interesting turn in it's second act when Lawrence finally feels like he's had enough and returns back home from the desert only to be forced back by his superiors through manipulation which really means he's ruined and doomed by his own people. Sherif Ali tries to calm Lawrence down who just becomes more out of control as the war does, also just amazing chemistry between Lawrence and Ali. But their's just great performances all-round with important characters played by Alec Guinness as Prince Faisal and Anthony Quinn as Auda abu Tayi but really each character ends up being memorable to me.

All in all Lawrence of Arabia is masterful in it's scope, revolutionary and rarely matched in it's visuals. The narrative is greatly unconventional, it's editing is masterful and the film has subtle symbolism throughout. Various things about the real Lawrence's life make for interesting thoughts upon re-watches which I hope to have many more of.