Lawrence of Arabia is one of the greatest epics in motion-picture history. The film portrays the life of T. E. Lawrence, a British intelligence officer who played a major role in the Middle East during World War I (1914-1918). The film was released in 1962 and won the Academy Award as best picture. David Lean won the Oscar as best director. The success of the movie made an international star of Peter O’Toole, who played the title character. O’Toole won praise for his exploration of Lawrence’s complex personality.
The story is told as a flashback, beginning with Lawrence’s death in a motorcycle accident in 1935. Most of Lawrence of Arabia recounts how the daring Lawrence assisted the Bedouins in their fight against forces of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The movie runs almost four hours. It is filled with superbly filmed battle sequences, magnificent desert scenery, and powerful portraits of real-life individuals who encountered Lawrence during the war. The film was also notable for its dramatic score, for which the French composer Maurice Jarre received an Academy Award.
Lawrence of Arabia featured an all-star international cast. The performers included José Ferrer, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Arthur Kennedy, Zia Mohyeddin, Anthony Quayle, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Omar Sharif, and Donald Wolfit. The noted English playwright Robert Bolt wrote the screenplay.
