Steven Spielberg on LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

Steven Spielberg talks about David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia.

[@garyfleming5156]

The real conundrum of this move was that Peter O'Toole didn't win the academy award for best actor. In my humble opinion, one of the greatest acting performances of all time without doubt.

[@planetdisco4821]

I agree with Mr Spielberg, I think Omar’s first scene in the movie as he rides a camel out of the heat shimmer and ruthlessly guns down Lawrence’s guide is one of the greatest character introductions in cinematic history:

[@westfield90]

I watched this movie for the first time in 2020 during quarantine and I’m overwhelmed by its magnificence

[@ffrederickskitty214]

Masterpiece is a greatly overused word in the film industry, but it’s the only appropriate word to describe Lawrence of Arabia

[@206Seaman]

I met Peter O’Toole, briefly, at a book signing years ago. When he looked at me and asked me my name and how I was, he made me feel like I was the only person in the room. Great actor, loved his movies! Lawrence of Arabia, Lord Jim and The Lion in Winter are my favorites.

[@ZIALANDER63]

David Lean is indeed a master craftsman, but let us not forget Robert Bolts screenplay. He brings to life even the smallest characters.

[@Steve1734]

I was a teenager when the film was released. EVERYONE went to see it. Years later I have watched it and I am blown away by it every time. Each time you watch it you notice more details that you didn't see before and you get more out of it. In my long lifetime its probably the greatest film ever made.

[@xepfeon]

The fact that David Lean mastered both the colosal and the intimate, is at testament to the quality of this film

[@abushenob]

I was surprised how exactly Spielberg's immediate reaction to seeing the film the first time mirrored my own immediate reaction. I was so overwhelming thrilled and awed by the movie that I just sat in my theater seat speechless. Had I not been with others, I sometimes feel that I would be sitting there still. I lived in the Eastern US and never had seen any desert; I knew I had do so and within a week I had hitchhiked through NM, AZ and Southern CA. I played the sound track over and over - I don't think any soundtrack ever caught the exact feeling of the action of a film as well as this one. It was almost inevitable that one day I would get to Arabia and sure enough, for more than eight years I lived and worked in Saudi Arabia. At the time (80s and 90)s, the film was banned there. Once a Saudi man told me that his grandfather had spoken of Lawrence - he called him Lawrence al-Arab; it was so cool to hear that. I was disappointed at first because where I was the desert looked more like a stony whitish gray parking lot that stretched forever, but eventually I came upon a huge dune of red sand that looked exactly like the ones in the movie, just east of Riyadh. I have loved many movies since, and thought they were amazing, but nothing ever moved me nearly as much as Lawrence. The greatest movie I ever saw.

[@ajl12no]

Love Steven's childlike enthusiasm for what has to be one of the most inspirational directorial movies ever made.

[@capismama2922]

I watch Lawrence of Arabia at least twice a year. I have done this for YEARS. First on VHS, and now on DVD. I NEVER get tired of it, and it ALWAYS amazes me. The sheer beauty of it; the way the story was told; and the amazing actors...I just simply NEVER get tired of it.

[@jimmyj1969]

David Lean's major films are the proof one can make movies intelligent AND crowd-pleasant at the same time!

[@robertcatesby8420]

The greatest film ever made and the best performance by an actor ever. O'Toole was in almost every scene of this 4 hour epic and if he hadn't been brilliant the film would bombed. I agree with Mr. Spielberg about "The Bridge On The River Kwai" and "Dr. Zhivago"; both are stunning masterpieces.

[@gilmer3718]

My cousin texted me this one day "Because I am a river to my people!" and I replied, "Oh great Lawrence of Arabia!" and he replied, "No, 'Better Call Saul'. It was in one of the episodes." I just put my head in my hands....

[@scottbarron2934]

Lawrence of Arabia is one of my favorite films. I was too young to see it in theaters but discovered it later. What I love is that it was filmed in the days before CGI so every thing you see was real life. Some of the panoramic shots of the Arabian dessert are breathtaking. Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Sir Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Claude Rains, and Jose Ferrer make this cast one of the best ever assembled. It is a classic, must see.

[@skyweimar]

In the actual town of "Aqaba" I talked about the film with locals, who did complain about the historical accuracy of the picture, though I think they hadn't actually seen it. To me, it is no more important than the consideration of whether or not Bizet got Napoleonic Seville right in Carmen or Mozart accurately represented the same town in his operas. David Lean created a work of myth inspired by events that becomes a romantic equivalent of the fevered dream of Lawrence himself. The movie remains a landmark of romanticism in the same way as Delacroix's painting of "Liberty Leading the People" represents France in 1830: a work of art summarizing a human vision.

[@1959Berre]

Peter O' Toole, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif and Alec Guinness, such a wonderful combination of supreme actors.

[@chrismorrison2805]

Music, screenplay, direction, acting, production design, make this the finest film ever made.

[@davidthom7127]

I too think Dr Zhivago is an extremely underrated movie.

[@jameskolan9195]

I love Mr. Spielberg's excitement in listening to David Lean provide live commentary on the movie. You only get a few moments like that in your lifetime. "Lawrence of Arabia" truly is one of my favorite films: disturbing and inspiring in turns.