Film 120 in the "1001 Films to See Before You Die" challenge is 1962's "Lawrence of Arabia." Written by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson, this film looks at the life of T.E. Lawrence and his experiences in the Arabian Peninsula during World War I, in particular his attacks on Aqaba and Damascus and his involvement in the Arab National Council. Holy crap this was long! 3 hours 37 minutes and that's with an intermission thrown in there! And it was 3 hours 37 minutes well spent. From the start to the end was fantastic. Even the little bits of detail were great. The music, the cinematography, the acting, the whole thing was just brilliant to watch. Even the music was great to listen to. Would have loved to have heard it in surround sound rather than the Beats Headphones I had on. Do I personally feel that the film should be shorter? Nope! Do I feel like this film deserves winning 7 Academy Awards including "Best Picture?" Yes! The other nominees were "The Longest Day", "The Music Man", "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "To Kill a Mockingbird". This film maybe over 50 years old but it still holds up as an absolute classic. Overall, I would defiantly recommend this! In 2008, Steven Spielberg had this to say about the film, "I walked out of the theater stunned and speechless... it just pulverized me." One critic who was very outspoken about the with was A.W. Lawrence, T.E. Lawrence's brother who sold the rights to the story to be made. If you have seen this film then let me know what you thought of it in the comments. Here is what I had to say while watching 1962's "Lawrence of Arabia"
Film - Lawrence of Arabia
Year - 1962
Director - David Lean
Written by - Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson
Staring - Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn
IMDb Rating - 8.4/10
My Rating - 8.65/10
Length - 217 min (3h 37min)
Genre - Adventure, Biography, Drama
This is gonna be a long one
Is it meant to have a black screen with no picture?
Over 4 minutes later and we finally get a picture
Better do some checks on my motorcycle before I ride away
So... Are we in England?
Nothing says England like road works with no one working on them
You idiot bikers!!! You made me crash!
Why are we in St Pauls Cathedral?
Is it a requirement for all men to wear top hats/bowler hats?
Let's kill time by painting a map
Now we're in Cairo
Did Lawrence take a stab at The Times newspaper?
Here's a fun trick - Light a match and let it burn your finger
How dare you ruin our game of snooker!
Time for a meeting about why we're in Cairo
The Arab Bureau wants Lawrence!
Sounds like Lawrence is helping them for three months
"How can I fight a bloody war without artillery?"
Lawrence has been tasked to find a Prince
How can you have fun in a desert?
Doesn't matter, we're in the desert
Time to watch the sun rise
SAND!!!!!!! Lots of it! - Well we are in a desert
What is Bedu?
From watching this, riding a camel isn't hard to do
You can get a boat from Oxford to Cairo?
So... everyone from Oxfordshire is fat! - Lawrence's words not mine
Why would you give someone you barely know your gun
Back to riding our camels through the desert
More riding camels
Let's a race to our destination
Good thing this well is here or we would be buggered
If this is filmed in a studio then I want to know where they got all that sand from
Someone's coming!
I can't tell but I think Peter O'Toole is wearing eyeliner
That's his mate dead!
I killed you for drinking from my well
I'll be having his gun now
Lawrence is being confronted by Ali
You won't tell me your name, then I'll be leaving
Good look finding your destination without your compass
Never mind, have it back
So... Lawrence is on his own but still has to travel with two camels?!?
Don't you love it when your all alone and you can sing really loud
Someone else is here
Not again?
Why am I riding camels when I could have got a plane
So... Are they bombing a camp site?
We will defeat these planes with swords
We must get the wounded to Yenbo
So they move the entire camp site 50 miles away from where they were bombed
Haha, you fell for the oldest trick in the book
We'll get our revenge by shoving a sword up your camel's ass
At camp, it's time for a reading of the Koran
Ali has arrived to the meeting
We must take over Aqaba if we can get supplies
Screw that! Head to Yenbo!
Their aim is to get to Damascus
Who's side is everyone on?
Time for Lawrence to have his say
Bloody wind is making my tent move!
Even this guy is wearing eyeliner
We need supplies of a miracle in order to survive
Wait... Lawrence has decided to wonder off into the desert in the middle of the night
Did Lawrence's ass just absorb a rock?
It's day and the two people who have been stalking Lawrence are sat with him
Lawrence has decided everyone should head to Aqaba
You can take Ali and 50 other men to Aqaba
Just don't tell Col. Brighton
Time to see if Lawrence's plan can be put into action
Even the two stalkers are following Lawrence to Aqaba
Let's claim some water by blending in with a camel
That failed!
They claim to be Lawrence's servents
Who builds a railway track in the middle of the station
Beyond the tracks is nothing but desert!
Just reached the one hour mark!
Looks like a sandstorm is heading their way
Don't fall asleep on your camel!
Your wasting water so you can shave!!
We must only travel by night to save supplies
So... They can use their capes as tents
Who left all these stones and boulders in our way?
We have to cross the rest of the desert by sunrise tomorrow morning or we are screwed
Looks like someones already feeling the effects and its barely night
We've done the hard part!
Looks like Gasim has disappeared!
Lawrence decides he will go back and leaves Ali in charge
The hunt for Gasim is on
Ali is so mad he's leaving his turban behind
Now it's day
Did both of Lawrence's servents get lost?
One is wandering around on the verge of death and the other is on a camel doing nothing
Meanwhile, everyone else is having a break with some water
I have no idea how he can see that very small blob coming towards him!
I can barely see it!!!!!!
Better head towards it
Lawrence has found both lost men!!!
Meanwhile, Ali and his men have made camp
How to get down a hill quickly - Roll down it!
Lawrence has returned
I don't need water! I'm too busy looking cool
I only accept water given to me by Ali
"Nothing is written"
How nice! You made my bed! Now I'll lie in it
Why does everyone call Lawrence "Aurens"?
Is Lawrence emplying that he is a bastard child?
Let's burn all of his clothes and make him one of our own
Let's try riding a camel in my new clothes
Well... Since I'm alone I can get a proper feel for my clothes and sword
Lawrence is now being confronted by Auda
I hired my son to work for me
I even let him have his own gun
INTERMISSION (I'm having dinner)
And we're back with 2 hour 11 minutes to go
Looks like Auda wants his water back
Ali confronts him
Your friends with the Prince Feisal? Then the water is yours
Auda demands Lawrence have dinner with him at Wadi Rumm
Ok, but I'm bringing my crew with me
So.... They invited everyone to watch them have dinner
Auda has no idea who The Arabs are?
Who is this other man who is with Lawrence and Ali?
"You trouble me like women"
Is Auda saying his dad is a scorpion? "Thy mother mated with a scorpion"
Looks like Auda and his crew have joined Lawrence and his crew to head to Aqaba
Where's that wailing coming from?
It's from the women on the mountain tops
It's giving me a headache! Glad I don't have surround sound
In the night, Lawrence and Ali get a look at Aqaba
They're not that far from it
Someone's been shot!
So... Both tribes will work together but hate each other
Lawrence has to kill Gasim so no tribes are offended!
I don't this gun anymore!
Time to attack Aqaba
Did he die from a horse jumping over him?
I'm guessing Lawrence and co. have taken Aqaba
We need boats from Yenbo for The Arab army
There's no gold in Aqaba!!!!
Lawrence is making The Crown of England pay Auda 5000 golden guineas within 10 days
He'll even give them guns for free
Time to head back to Cairo
Which means we have to cross the desert.... again!!!
QUICKSAND!!!!!!!!!!!
Well... That's him dead
And we've lost two camels
The barbed wire makes it's third straight apperance in the last three films I've reviewed
Looks like this place has been raided
We've found the river
And we're back in Cairo with Lawrence and his servant riding on the back of truck
Everyone looks like they've seen a ghost
Lawrence explains everything to the new General
He then turns down the offer to become Major after admitting he's killed two people
How has Lawrence managed to keep his hair the same throughout the film?
Time for a long walk back to the bar
Lawrence admits he's heading back to Aqaba
Let's have a Custard Cream with our beers
Why is everyone staring at me?
It's to congratulate me? Well ok then
Now it's time for the film to have it's own intermission
FILM INTERMISSION
80 minutes to go!!!!!
And we're back in Aqaba
Who hired the news reporter?
He's from the Chicago Courier newspaper and wants to interview Lawrence
Instead he interviews someone else
37 wounded and 156 dead within 4 months
The reporter says he's here to write a story about Lawrence and the war
Meanwhile, Lawrence is blowing up railway lines
Just casually taking pictures while everyone dies around me
Now is our time to strike
I've found an umbrella
Lawrence has been shot!
Jesus! Auda just chopped someone in half
Don't take a photo of me or I'll break your camera
Here comes Ali and Col. Brighton
"They can only kill me with a golden bullet"
Ali learns politics from children's books?!?
Time for Lawrence to be interviewed
"They hope to gain their freedom"
I like the desert because it's clean
I robbed him for a broken clock
Oh no! Not the train carrying horses!!
Why does one white horse get it's own carriage?
Nice to see Lawrence's servent is going well
Time to steal us the horses
Or at least set them free
Let's set them free
Auda says he's leaving because he has what he wants... a new horse!
You can keep the train as an award
Time to blow up and rob another train
I just had the detonator and now I've lost it!
The servent has been detonated!
We have no choice but to kill him
RUN AWAY!
Meanwhile, Col. Brighton has a chat with the General
You spitting is not how we settle arguements
Lawrence and Ali have now been captured by the Turkish
Why does one of the Turkish guards look like Carlos Tevez?
You're 27? BULLSHIT!!!!
So... We're in Deraa?
Why does the cut on his arm look like an eye?
If Lawrence has been in the desert for so long why is he pale?
You guys whip Lawrence while I use the toilet
All that whipping and not even a flinch
Meanwhile, Ali listens on from outside
They've chucked Larence out on the street in a puddle of shit
How did we get into the mountains?
Have we gone from Egypt to Switzerland?
I've been lying to you! My skin colour is proof
Time to see the General in Jerusalem for a better job
Lawrence has put Ali back in charge of his men and leaves them
Where did Lawrence get the suit from?
Oh great! The reporter's back!
Don't talk about the French!!!!
I'll leave through the back door
Time for the Sykes-Picot talk
Where did the blood on his back come from?
The reporter is taking credit for Lawrence's popularity
So... Has Lawrence returned?
The reporter arrives on a delivery truck
I've started my own tribe with purple
To Damascus!
Bloody hell! The reporter's truck has broken down!
Bet he makes it to Damascus
Meanwhile, The English army are planning their attack
So... Has this film been everyone versus Turkey?
Where did the Scottish Army come from?
Back with the Turkish who have killed all the woman and wounded all men
Fuck this shit! I'll kill them all myself!
And that guy is dead!
Now it's time to attack the Turkish
One sword swing can kill four people?!?
I killed that guy without even touching him
That the Turkish dead!
How did those sheep survive?
Did Lawrence turn into a murderer?
What did I say? The reoprter would find Lawrence
He's arrived on a camel!
Excuse me while I steal a grape from you
Lawrence has already taken Damascus and set up a base in the town hall
The town hall is now the Arab National Council
I can't focus on anything with all this racket
Meeting on hold to sort out a fire
How many petitions?
Who needs war when I can practise my fishing skills?
Everyone is leaving
Just the leaders of each tribes stay behind
Auda leaves saying Lawrence will return to the desert sooner than he thinks
Ali is staying so he can learn politics
Back with the British Army
Lawrence has called a meeting with the General's mate
Somehow Lawrence finds Turkish in pain funny
Prince Feisal has a chat with The British
Lawrence is now a Colonel in The British Army
And he's being sent home
Feisal wants to be king!
British water ran by The Arab Army!
Lawrence has left and is one his way home via the desert
THE END
Film - Lawrence of Arabia
Year - 1962
Director - David Lean
Written by - Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson
Staring - Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn
IMDb Rating - 8.4/10
My Rating - 8.65/10
Length - 217 min (3h 37min)
Genre - Adventure, Biography, Drama
This is gonna be a long one
Is it meant to have a black screen with no picture?
Over 4 minutes later and we finally get a picture
Better do some checks on my motorcycle before I ride away
So... Are we in England?
Nothing says England like road works with no one working on them
You idiot bikers!!! You made me crash!
Why are we in St Pauls Cathedral?
Is it a requirement for all men to wear top hats/bowler hats?
Let's kill time by painting a map
Now we're in Cairo
Did Lawrence take a stab at The Times newspaper?
Here's a fun trick - Light a match and let it burn your finger
How dare you ruin our game of snooker!
Time for a meeting about why we're in Cairo
The Arab Bureau wants Lawrence!
Sounds like Lawrence is helping them for three months
"How can I fight a bloody war without artillery?"
Lawrence has been tasked to find a Prince
How can you have fun in a desert?
Doesn't matter, we're in the desert
Time to watch the sun rise
SAND!!!!!!! Lots of it! - Well we are in a desert
What is Bedu?
From watching this, riding a camel isn't hard to do
You can get a boat from Oxford to Cairo?
So... everyone from Oxfordshire is fat! - Lawrence's words not mine
Why would you give someone you barely know your gun
Back to riding our camels through the desert
More riding camels
Let's a race to our destination
Good thing this well is here or we would be buggered
If this is filmed in a studio then I want to know where they got all that sand from
Someone's coming!
I can't tell but I think Peter O'Toole is wearing eyeliner
That's his mate dead!
I killed you for drinking from my well
I'll be having his gun now
Lawrence is being confronted by Ali
You won't tell me your name, then I'll be leaving
Good look finding your destination without your compass
Never mind, have it back
So... Lawrence is on his own but still has to travel with two camels?!?
Don't you love it when your all alone and you can sing really loud
Someone else is here
Not again?
Why am I riding camels when I could have got a plane
So... Are they bombing a camp site?
We will defeat these planes with swords
We must get the wounded to Yenbo
So they move the entire camp site 50 miles away from where they were bombed
Haha, you fell for the oldest trick in the book
We'll get our revenge by shoving a sword up your camel's ass
At camp, it's time for a reading of the Koran
Ali has arrived to the meeting
We must take over Aqaba if we can get supplies
Screw that! Head to Yenbo!
Their aim is to get to Damascus
Who's side is everyone on?
Time for Lawrence to have his say
Bloody wind is making my tent move!
Even this guy is wearing eyeliner
We need supplies of a miracle in order to survive
Wait... Lawrence has decided to wonder off into the desert in the middle of the night
Did Lawrence's ass just absorb a rock?
It's day and the two people who have been stalking Lawrence are sat with him
Lawrence has decided everyone should head to Aqaba
You can take Ali and 50 other men to Aqaba
Just don't tell Col. Brighton
Time to see if Lawrence's plan can be put into action
Even the two stalkers are following Lawrence to Aqaba
Let's claim some water by blending in with a camel
That failed!
They claim to be Lawrence's servents
Who builds a railway track in the middle of the station
Beyond the tracks is nothing but desert!
Just reached the one hour mark!
Looks like a sandstorm is heading their way
Don't fall asleep on your camel!
Your wasting water so you can shave!!
We must only travel by night to save supplies
So... They can use their capes as tents
Who left all these stones and boulders in our way?
We have to cross the rest of the desert by sunrise tomorrow morning or we are screwed
Looks like someones already feeling the effects and its barely night
We've done the hard part!
Looks like Gasim has disappeared!
Lawrence decides he will go back and leaves Ali in charge
The hunt for Gasim is on
Ali is so mad he's leaving his turban behind
Now it's day
Did both of Lawrence's servents get lost?
One is wandering around on the verge of death and the other is on a camel doing nothing
Meanwhile, everyone else is having a break with some water
I have no idea how he can see that very small blob coming towards him!
I can barely see it!!!!!!
Better head towards it
Lawrence has found both lost men!!!
Meanwhile, Ali and his men have made camp
How to get down a hill quickly - Roll down it!
Lawrence has returned
I don't need water! I'm too busy looking cool
I only accept water given to me by Ali
"Nothing is written"
How nice! You made my bed! Now I'll lie in it
Why does everyone call Lawrence "Aurens"?
Is Lawrence emplying that he is a bastard child?
Let's burn all of his clothes and make him one of our own
Let's try riding a camel in my new clothes
Well... Since I'm alone I can get a proper feel for my clothes and sword
Lawrence is now being confronted by Auda
I hired my son to work for me
I even let him have his own gun
INTERMISSION (I'm having dinner)
And we're back with 2 hour 11 minutes to go
Looks like Auda wants his water back
Ali confronts him
Your friends with the Prince Feisal? Then the water is yours
Auda demands Lawrence have dinner with him at Wadi Rumm
Ok, but I'm bringing my crew with me
So.... They invited everyone to watch them have dinner
Auda has no idea who The Arabs are?
Who is this other man who is with Lawrence and Ali?
"You trouble me like women"
Is Auda saying his dad is a scorpion? "Thy mother mated with a scorpion"
Looks like Auda and his crew have joined Lawrence and his crew to head to Aqaba
Where's that wailing coming from?
It's from the women on the mountain tops
It's giving me a headache! Glad I don't have surround sound
In the night, Lawrence and Ali get a look at Aqaba
They're not that far from it
Someone's been shot!
So... Both tribes will work together but hate each other
Lawrence has to kill Gasim so no tribes are offended!
I don't this gun anymore!
Time to attack Aqaba
Did he die from a horse jumping over him?
I'm guessing Lawrence and co. have taken Aqaba
We need boats from Yenbo for The Arab army
There's no gold in Aqaba!!!!
Lawrence is making The Crown of England pay Auda 5000 golden guineas within 10 days
He'll even give them guns for free
Time to head back to Cairo
Which means we have to cross the desert.... again!!!
QUICKSAND!!!!!!!!!!!
Well... That's him dead
And we've lost two camels
The barbed wire makes it's third straight apperance in the last three films I've reviewed
Looks like this place has been raided
We've found the river
And we're back in Cairo with Lawrence and his servant riding on the back of truck
Everyone looks like they've seen a ghost
Lawrence explains everything to the new General
He then turns down the offer to become Major after admitting he's killed two people
How has Lawrence managed to keep his hair the same throughout the film?
Time for a long walk back to the bar
Lawrence admits he's heading back to Aqaba
Let's have a Custard Cream with our beers
Why is everyone staring at me?
It's to congratulate me? Well ok then
Now it's time for the film to have it's own intermission
FILM INTERMISSION
80 minutes to go!!!!!
And we're back in Aqaba
Who hired the news reporter?
He's from the Chicago Courier newspaper and wants to interview Lawrence
Instead he interviews someone else
37 wounded and 156 dead within 4 months
The reporter says he's here to write a story about Lawrence and the war
Meanwhile, Lawrence is blowing up railway lines
Just casually taking pictures while everyone dies around me
Now is our time to strike
I've found an umbrella
Lawrence has been shot!
Jesus! Auda just chopped someone in half
Don't take a photo of me or I'll break your camera
Here comes Ali and Col. Brighton
"They can only kill me with a golden bullet"
Ali learns politics from children's books?!?
Time for Lawrence to be interviewed
"They hope to gain their freedom"
I like the desert because it's clean
I robbed him for a broken clock
Oh no! Not the train carrying horses!!
Why does one white horse get it's own carriage?
Nice to see Lawrence's servent is going well
Time to steal us the horses
Or at least set them free
Let's set them free
Auda says he's leaving because he has what he wants... a new horse!
You can keep the train as an award
Time to blow up and rob another train
I just had the detonator and now I've lost it!
The servent has been detonated!
We have no choice but to kill him
RUN AWAY!
Meanwhile, Col. Brighton has a chat with the General
You spitting is not how we settle arguements
Lawrence and Ali have now been captured by the Turkish
Why does one of the Turkish guards look like Carlos Tevez?
You're 27? BULLSHIT!!!!
So... We're in Deraa?
Why does the cut on his arm look like an eye?
If Lawrence has been in the desert for so long why is he pale?
You guys whip Lawrence while I use the toilet
All that whipping and not even a flinch
Meanwhile, Ali listens on from outside
They've chucked Larence out on the street in a puddle of shit
How did we get into the mountains?
Have we gone from Egypt to Switzerland?
I've been lying to you! My skin colour is proof
Time to see the General in Jerusalem for a better job
Lawrence has put Ali back in charge of his men and leaves them
Where did Lawrence get the suit from?
Oh great! The reporter's back!
Don't talk about the French!!!!
I'll leave through the back door
Time for the Sykes-Picot talk
Where did the blood on his back come from?
The reporter is taking credit for Lawrence's popularity
So... Has Lawrence returned?
The reporter arrives on a delivery truck
I've started my own tribe with purple
To Damascus!
Bloody hell! The reporter's truck has broken down!
Bet he makes it to Damascus
Meanwhile, The English army are planning their attack
So... Has this film been everyone versus Turkey?
Where did the Scottish Army come from?
Back with the Turkish who have killed all the woman and wounded all men
Fuck this shit! I'll kill them all myself!
And that guy is dead!
Now it's time to attack the Turkish
One sword swing can kill four people?!?
I killed that guy without even touching him
That the Turkish dead!
How did those sheep survive?
Did Lawrence turn into a murderer?
What did I say? The reoprter would find Lawrence
He's arrived on a camel!
Excuse me while I steal a grape from you
Lawrence has already taken Damascus and set up a base in the town hall
The town hall is now the Arab National Council
I can't focus on anything with all this racket
Meeting on hold to sort out a fire
How many petitions?
Who needs war when I can practise my fishing skills?
Everyone is leaving
Just the leaders of each tribes stay behind
Auda leaves saying Lawrence will return to the desert sooner than he thinks
Ali is staying so he can learn politics
Back with the British Army
Lawrence has called a meeting with the General's mate
Somehow Lawrence finds Turkish in pain funny
Prince Feisal has a chat with The British
Lawrence is now a Colonel in The British Army
And he's being sent home
Feisal wants to be king!
British water ran by The Arab Army!
Lawrence has left and is one his way home via the desert
THE END