Best Picture: "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962

Movie Stats:

Released 1962 (UK a few days before US)

American & British, in English

Director – David Lean (It was the first movie he’d directed in 5 years, the last one being another Best Picture winner, The Bridge on the River Kwai.)

Stars – Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Claude Rains

Plot Summary:

Follows the exploits of British military man (later author) T.E. Lawrence (O’Toole), who helped unite Arab tribes in an uprising against the ruling Ottoman Turks during WWI. Sharif co-stars as Sherif Ali, an Arab leader who becomes Lawrence’s friend; Quinn as Auda Abu Tayi, another Arab leader who Lawrence convinces to join the revolt; Guinness as Prince Feisal, the man tapped to rule the united Arabs; Hawkins as General Allenby, Lawrence’s superior; and Rains as Mr. Dryden, a politician (I think).

Bad Stuff:

O’Toole’s male equivalent of the “breathy little girl voice” was super distracting. Did he always sound like that when he was younger or was that an affectation for the film? The only other movies I’ve seen him in, he was an old man, and I don’t recall him sounding like that. Anyway, it was really annoying.

I always feel uncomfortable when white men play non-whites. At least in this movie, the characterizations weren’t cringe-inducingly racist.

This is another long one, more than 3.5 hours. I didn’t get bored per se, but with about 40 minutes left in the film, I realized I just really wanted it to be over.

Good Stuff:

The cinematography was absolutely breathtaking. I had to look up all the awards the film won to make sure it won for that. It did.

Breathy voice aside, O’Toole was magnificent. With just one expression, he conveyed how deeply Lawrence was changed by war, bloodshed, loss, and the pitfalls of politics. Same goes for Sharif: he didn’t need words to show how saddened he was by the change in his friend’s demeanor. It was both beautiful and heartbreaking.

For what feels like the first time in a long time, I heard some great dialogue.

The Verdict:

Once again, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve been dreading the 1960s because I thought all these movies would be awful, but so far they’ve been pretty good. Other than the lengthy run-time (you might want to take a break halfway through), I wouldn’t say that there’s much to dislike about this one. Good story, good dialogue, great acting, gorgeous scenery, and both O’Toole and Sharif were pretty easy on the eyes (although you might want to prepare yourself for the copious amounts of guyliner you’ll see, lol). All in all, one of the most solid picks for Best Picture that I’ve seen.

I give the movie 4.25 stars.