Issue date: 9/29/04 Section: Arts

This is the first in a weekly series of columns reviewing the greatest films of all time. The series will culminate with a list of the top 10.


Before "Braveheart" and "Lord of the Rings" there was "Lawrence of Arabia." "Lawrence of Arabia" is the epic film upon which all others are measured and makes a very strong bid for the title of "Greatest Film of All Time."

Director David Lean depicts the true story of one T.E. Lawrence, a lieutenant in the British army during World War I and his rise from ordinary officer to organizer of an Arab army.

Peter O'Toole provides one of the best acting performances of his career in the namesake role earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

O'Toole was accommodated by a star-studded supporting cast: Omar Sharif earned an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor for his role of Sherif Ali ibn el Kharish, Alec Guiness, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Quinn.

Shot over the course of a year and a half on location in Egypt, the film contains some of the greatest cinematographic work ever.

When one takes into account the year this film was produced, 1962, it is almost unfathomable how it was made.

Lawrence and his entourage of Arabic guides are shot against a backdrop of barren and unforgiving desert that defines their scale.

No director has matched Lean's ability to film in such miserable conditions.

Cinematographer Freddie Young earned an Oscar for his, well, great cinematography.

However, his vivid shots would not have been as powerful without the strong and dramatic score of Maurice Jarre.

Jarre received an oscar for his original score as well. In all Lawrence won seven Oscars out of a possible 10 nominations.

With a run time of 227 minutes this is not a film you can just causally borrow from someone across the hall.

You must mentally prepare yourself for a film of this magnitude.

A small television screen is not appropriate for a film of this scale because the shots will not translate as well; their profoundness will be lost.

Widescreen mode is a must as well. Don't worry about the long run time; this film is from an era when intermissions were a necessity.

"Lawrence of Arabia" is a masterpiece that will never be matched.

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