Lawrence of Arabia

Dir. David Lean. 1962, 227 mins. (plus intermission). 70mm. With Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn. The apex of David Lean’s magnificent career was this unparalleled spectacle which won seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Lawrence of Arabia rocketed Peter O’Toole to stardom as real-life adventurer T. E. Lawrence, a former British officer whose expedition to Cairo in 1916 leads him to side with the Arabs against the Turks, eventually organizing his own guerrilla army. With its overwhelming widescreen desert vistas, this is one of cinema’s most transporting experiences, a film that all but demands the big-screen treatment.