History Film / LawrenceOfArabia

* {{Brownface}}: Alec Guiness, an English actor, plays Prince Faisal, an Arab.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The film's treatment of General Edmund Allenby drew considerable criticism. The real Allenby was a skilled general who was friendly with Lawrence and much more sympathetic to the Arabs than the film suggests. For instance, he served as Egypt's High Commissioner in the early '20s and threatened to resign if London didn't grant Egypt independence. In the movie he's equal parts ArmchairMilitary and ManipulativeBastard who hides behind his military duties to excuse his actions. Creator/RobertBolt wrote that he respected Allenby and tried to make him a sympathetic character, but it's not really evident in the finished movie.

Producer Sam Spiegel purchased the rights to Lawrence's own 1922 account of his experiences in the Middle East, ''The Seven Pillars of Wisdom'', for Lean (who'd previously helmed the Spiegel-produced ''Film/TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai'' to great success) to direct. ''Lawrence'' took two years to make, shooting in locations like Jordan, Morocco and Spain. When finally released, it won many awards including the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Picture, and remains highly-regarded by most critics decades later. The movie is intelligently written and well-acted, although some critics have issues with the historical accuracy. On a visual note, it contains some absolutely beautiful desert scenery, and Creator/PeterOToole is terribly pretty in the title role.

The film was twice [[ExecutiveMeddling subjected to major cuts]], being reduced from its initial 222-minute length down to 187 minutes by the early '70s. Much of the missing footage was misplaced by Creator/ColumbiaPictures until the 1989 restoration (216 minutes). David Lean approved of the first round of cuts, but later blamed them on Sam Spiegel. In 2012, the film was given a limited theatrical re-release both to celebrate its 50th anniversary and to show off a new screen technology known as Ultra-High Definition resolution.

''Premiere'' magazine ranked O'Toole's performance as the title character as the greatest in film history.

* LogoJoke: Sort of -- the Columbia logo is merely [[https://static.miraheze.org/avidwiki/8/8e/Columbia_Pictures_%281962%2C_A%29.jpg a still painting]]. This was because there was no 70mm version of the logo available to use. This was plastered with the standard Columbia logo for some time on re-releases, VHS and on TV, until the 1989 restoration.

* MultiDiscWork: On most formats this film was released on, this film comes on two tapes or discs. This even extends to 4K Ultra HD, which is one of the very few films on the format to have two UHD discs.

--> "I carry twenty-three great wounds all got in battle. Seventy-five men have I killed with my own hands in battle. I scatter, I burn my enemy's tents. I take away their flocks and herds. The Turks pay me a golden treasure, yet I am poor! Because I am ''a river'' to my people!"

** Real life speculation about Lawrence's sexuality seems to oscillate between two extremes: he was either entirely [[UsefulNotes/{{asexual}}, or a masochistic gay man.

** Real life speculation about Lawrence's sexuality seems to oscillate between two extremes: he was either entirely [[UsefulNotes/{{Asexuality}} asexual]], or a masochistic gay man.

* JediTruth: Brought up around midway through the film:
--> "If we've told lies, you've told half-lies. [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech And a man who lies only hides the truth]], [[InsaneTrollLogic but a man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it]]!"

* LogoJoke: Sort of -- the Columbia logo is merely [[https://static.miraheze.org/closinglogosgroupwiki/8/8e/Columbia_Pictures_%281962%2C_A%29.jpg a still painting]]. This was because there was no 70mm version of the logo available to use. This was plastered with the standard Columbia logo for some time on re-releases, VHS and on TV, until the 1989 restoration.

** Sir Creator/AlecGuinness as the Arab Prince Faisal sounds quite British - on the DVD it stated [[AluminumChristmasTrees he was actually copying]] co-star Omar Sharif's real refined Egyptian accent.[[note]]The reason the accent sounds so British is that Egyptians of Sharif's class and generation typically learned English quite young at British schools. Sharif himself, being the scion of a well-to-do family, attended Victoria College, Alexandria, which was expressly intended to be a sort of [[UsefulNotes/BritishEducationSystem Eton]] of the Middle East and was staffed by British teachers.[[/note]]

* BreakTheCutie: The movie is one long string of personal tragedies for Lawrence, as he watches his friends die and does various things that he does not enjoy. And more tragically still, things he wishes he didn't enjoy.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Lawrence.

* CelibateEccentricGenius: Celibate BunnyEarsLawyer BadassBookworm.
* CelibateHero: Lawrence, being an [[TheEdwardianEra Edwardian]] British upper-classman.

* NiceHat: Lawrence's turban. At one point, General Allenby is fascinated enough by it to consider trying it on, but then relents, saying it looks better on Lawrence.

Producer Sam Spiegel purchased the rights to Lawrence's own 1922 account of his experiences in the Middle East, ''The Seven Pillars of Wisdom'', for Lean (who'd previously helmed the Spiegel-produced ''Film/TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai'' to great success) to direct. ''Lawrence'' took two years to make, shooting in locations like Jordan, Morocco and Spain. When finally released, it won a ton of awards including the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Picture, and remains highly-regarded by most critics decades later. The movie is intelligently written and well-acted, although some critics have issues with the historical accuracy. On a visual note, it contains some absolutely beautiful desert scenery, and Creator/PeterOToole is terribly pretty in the title role.

* TransitionTrack: Used when the scene cuts from the banks of the Suez Canal to a busy street in downtown Cairo.

* BittersweetEnding[=/=]DownerEnding: [[spoiler: At the end of the movie, Lawrence has succeeded in reaching and taking Damascus with his Arab cavalry. He was also unsuccessful in uniting the Arab tribes, was tortured by the enemy, and his relationship with Sherif Ali ends with Ali storming out of his life in tears. Oh, and he dies years later in a motorcycle crash (as shown in the beginning).]]

* ProphecyTwist: Gasim gets lost in the desert. The Arab army refuses to go after him because "it is written", at which point Lawrence says "Nothing is written" and goes into the desert alone to rescue him. A few days later, Gasim kills a man from another tribe and Lawrence is forced to execute him to prevent a feud. The head of the tribe asks why Lawrence looks so distraught. When someone mentions Lawrence had saved Gasim's life just days earlier, he nods and says, "So it was written, then."

-->'''Lawrence''': They're Turks.
-->'''Ali''': God help them.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Lawrence and the Arabs cut down surrendering Turks [[BlackAndGreyMorality in retaliation for their own massacre of the village of Tafas]]. One of the relatively rare scenes in film where the perpetrators are meant to still meant to retain some sympathy, and it also shows just how much of a toll the war has taken on Lawrence.

** Superego: Sherif Ali, a proud, intelligent leader who is always thinking of what is best for the greater good. He shows rabid opposition when Lawrence [[spoiler:leaves the Aqaba raiding party while they are crossing the Nefud in order to rescue Gazim]], as in this case, the saving of one man might mean the destruction of all the party's men and any resistance to the Turks. He is a Sherif of the Harith tribe, and thus a guardian to his people and its ideals just as the superego grapples with morality and higher realms of thought. He is the most meditative character in the film, and concerns himself so much with matters of what is right that after his land is freed from the Turks, he hopes to become a politician in [[BigGood Faisal's]] new kingdom.

** Superego: Sherif Ali, a proud, intelligent leader who is always thinking of what is best for the greater good. He shows rabid opposition when Lawrence leaves the Aqaba raiding party while they are crossing the Nefud in order to rescue Gazim, as in this case, the saving of one man might mean the destruction of all the party's men and any resistance to the Turks. He is a Sherif of the Harith tribe, and thus a guardian to his people and its ideals just as the superego grapples with morality and higher realms of thought. He is the most meditative character in the film, and concerns himself so much with matters of what is right that after his land is freed from the Turks, he hopes to become a politician in [[BigGood Faisal's]] new kingdom.

** Id: Auda Abu Tayi, a battle-hardened warrior who readily switches the allegiance of the Howeitat to Lawrence's side when offered a greater sum of loot for his labors. He is prone to outbursts of rage, furiously smashing the camera of a photographer who attempts to take his picture (he believes cameras 'steal his soul'). He is extremely self-centered as well, only embarking with Lawrence on his campaigns to destroy the Turkish railways through Arabia so he can plunder their trains' cargo for himself. His BadassBoast to Lawrence and Ali (even if it is completely justified; he proves himself a badass several times later in the film) when they invite him to join the Arab Revolt clearly demonstrates his lofty view of himself, just as the id epitomizes self-centeredness.