This is an epic historical drama with Peter O'Toole as the leading character. The film describes Arabic tribes and their lives in the desert. Lieutenant Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) is deadly bored in his headquarters. So when he is offered a task to get into Arabian desert “to evaluate the situation” he is but too glad to use the opportunity. One should add that the lieutenant is not an easy man to go with commandment but he is courageous and passionate. What else can be desired? Thus he is inserted into this mysterious world and falls in love with it. The film is about how he begins to understand Arabic people, their culture, their way of thinking. It is so unusual. And gradually he finds himself belonging to this strange world, cruel and beautiful at the same time.
The film has excellent scenes, for example, when crossing the desert one of the men gets lost and Lawrence returns to rescue him. But later when a quarrel between two tribes occurs the colonel decides to find the guilty person and execute him. When he finds out that it was the same man whose life he had saved in the desert he is torn by horror and sorrow. And yet he has to kill him. In another episode when Lawrence has to return to his headquarter his "prime-minister" (Omar Shariff) tells him: "so now you will return put on another clothes and forget everything as if we have nothing in common", and the colonel is struck by these words. So he decides to go to the headquarters in Arabic clothes. His chiefs are shocked. Another episode depicts when Lawrence returns to the city and takes two boys with him. One of them sinks in quicksands. What sorrow the lieutenant has to suffer again. And these are just several episodes, the most striking ones, the whole film is made from them, one brilliant episode follows another.
And the point is that Lawrence is a man who doesn't like violence. He always tries to reach a compromise. He is still rather young, this brave lieutenant, but he understands much. He doesn't wish to betray Arabic people - his people but at the same time he realizes that he does not belong to their world and this touches the depths of psychology.
The film has beautiful settings. The episodes of crossing the desert are absolutely striking. And the shots of the desert and the sun and the lonely man in the desert are superb. The landscape of the country reflects the soul of the people living there.
In fact this film manages to avoid all the typical errors of the epic films. The accent is put on the psychology: just look for example with what intense interest Ali (Omar Shariff) always follows Lawrence. It is an interest for stranger that suddenly appeared in their life and with whom they have to deal with. But soon it also becomes sympathy and later friendship. The friendship that began not very beautifully but this is a world with its own rules and Lawrence was able to understand it. The ratio of battle scenes and explosions is right: they are necessary in the epic movie but do not prevail there at all. The mass scenes in the film are excellent. They employed some famous Hollywood actors to act and this is done skillfully. Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn do very well as Arabs.
Though it is a very old film (1962) it still appeals to the viewers. The film depicts life in and of the desert, it shows the soul of Arabia. A wonderful film.
