A Filmmaker's Review: 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is one of those films that everyone must watch before they die. It's a movie that even my mother has sat through in its entirety and that's saying something. The movie has become something of a landmark of cinema since the excellence of acting, directing and even music scoring on screen has been revered for over fifty years so far. The entire point of the movie, I believe, is to show us how far you can take cinematic brilliance and to give us all a look at what happens when you have the best of every component that makes a film. From the landscape shots, to the music to the characterisation - there are so many reasons to love this film that I don't believe I could fit them all into a single review. So, I have chosen three I believe are the most important. Let's first have a look at my personal history with this movie...

When I was about 14, I had a wall calendar of old, classic movie posters. This included Casablanca, African Queen, Breakfast at Tiffany's and of course, Lawrence of Arabia. By this time, I'd already seen most of the films on the calendar except for Lawrence of Arabia and I decided to watch the film, in its entirety, during the time in which I had examinations. A movie that almost hits four hours long, during my examinations, think of how much of a bad idea that was. Oh well, we still did it. I never regretted watching that film for four hours when I was supposed to be studying for a chemistry test.

Unfortunately, I didn't actually watch it again after that until recently because of the sheer length of the film, I couldn't find the time to sit there and watch the whole thing through. I don't like watching films in parts and so, the longer movies get one watch and then they're pretty much forgotten. When it comes to Lawrence of Arabia (1962) though, I found it again recently for pretty cheap and so, I remembered the first time I watched it and sat through it once more.

One of the best things about the movie is the very beginning, I mean before the opening credits come on and before the Columbia Pictures lady appears. The five or so minutes of sheer darkness and just the score in the background. It's a beautiful score and it gives a good set-up for the atmosphere of the film. It is a brilliant atmosphere, a great sound and it really puts you in the mood to watch the film no matter how long it is. I have always enjoyed hearing that opening score.

The next best thing is Peter O'Toole's acting. It is considered to be one of the best pieces of acting in a historical film/biopic ever and since it won so many Academy Awards and still has a watch count, we can see that it is still revered even today. It is a brilliant and yet very difficult role to play and O'Toole makes easy work of one of the longest, most epic films in all of cinema history.

The filming is brilliant as well. The cinematography on those landscape shots are some of the greatest landscape shots of all time. The one where we see the sunrise is possibly one of the greatest filmed scenes ever to grace the cinema screen. In terms of cinematography therefore, it is technically brilliant and the way it has been filmed gives extra meaning and grandeur to this epic drama.

So, let's look over what we've got then:

• Epic atmosphere from the score at the beginning of the film
• Incredible acting by the legendary Peter O'Toole
• Amazing cinematography that gives a breathtaking landscape to the audience

It is a film on epic proportions and by the time it was made, it had never been attempted before. The film represents a real landmark in cinema, a milestone of storytelling and still stands to be one of the greatest films ever made. Here, we've only covered three or four of the reasons, but if you watch the film then I can guarantee you that you will think of so many more. It is not just a film, this film is truly an experience to be witnessed by all before they die.