Lawrence of Arabia
1962 USA Color 222 minutes
73 years ago (May 19th, 1935) Colonel Thomas E. Lawrence died from head injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on a Dorset, England, country road.
Release date: December 10, 1962
The movie was shot in: Jordan, Spain, Morocco, London, Surrey and California.
Oscars:
Best Director -> David Lean
Best Music, Score - Substantially Original -> Maurice Jarre
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Film Editing
Best Picture
Best Sound
Oscar nominations:
Best Actor in a Leading Role -> Peter O'Toole
Best Actor in a Supporting Role -> Omar Sharif
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
The Arabic revolt started in 1916
The film originally 222 minutes long, was subsequently cut to 187 minutes and then restored to the original length in 1989.
Initially the title of the movie was Seven pillars of wisdom (the name of T.E. Larence’s book), but Lawrence’s younger brother and literary executor, A. W. Lawrence said that the portrait of his brother was a willful misrepresentation. So the title was changed to Lawrence of Arabia. Source / More (Book)
Marlon Brando would play the part of Lawrence but he changed his mind when he was offered the lead role in Mutiny on the Bounty being filmed in Tahiti instead of the deserts of the Middle East. Source / More (Book)
The film is based on T. E. Lawrence's (1888-1935) own heroic, autobiographical account of his Arabian adventure, published in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. T.E. Lawrence: “In these pages the history is not of the Arab movement, but of me in it.” Source / More (Book)
Lawrence of Arabia stood five feet three inches tall. (1,60 meter)
Lawrence of Arabia ranks number 67 in the American box-office rankings.
Grossing adjusted for inflation -> $354.4 m
Source: www.boxofficemojo.com Source / More (Web)
In 1990 A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia was released. The film does predominantly feature Colonel T. E. Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) and Prince Feisal (Alexander Siddig), and is set directly after the events of Lean’s film.
Peter O’Toole: “It was the charge at ’Aqaba—a mile and a half, and we were in front of five hundred Arab stallions. The day of the shooting, we turned up to the kickoff. And Omar, a gambling man, Omar, worked out the odds of whether he would fall off. So he tied himself to the camel. And I said, I’m going to get drunk. So we both drank milk and brandy, it was terrifying and a mile and a half later, horses, madness, we both finish up in the sea. And Omar was upside down with his head in the water, still tied to the camel.” Source / More (Web)
The film was banned in the Arab countries. They didn’t consider the Arabs were well represented in the film. Omar Sharif arranged for President Nasser to see it. Sharif: “He liked it, fortunately, and ordered the film to be released in Egypt without cuts. It broke all records there”.
For the 1989 re-release, many scenes of dialogue were missing. As a result director David Lean actually had actor Peter O’Toole return and re-record some of his dialogue from over 30 years ago.
Some Arabs dispute that Lawrence led the campaign that freed them from Turkish rule. Jordanian historian Suleiman Mousa: “He did not lead the revolt, it was an Arab revolt. He was one of many” Source / More (Book)
In 1993 Quinn was dubbed
Antonio Rudolfo Oaxaca Quinn
June 3, 2001
Anthony was born in Chihuahua, Mexico of Irish-Mexican parentage. In the U.S. from childhood, Quinn had a variety of jobs: prizefighter, painter, musician and he was considering to be an architect.
He entered films in 1936 after brief stage experience. Anthony played supporting parts through the 40s, usually as a foreign heavy or indian.
His first lead role came in 1947 in Black Gold. That same year Quinn went to New York City and made his Broadway debut. Then Elia Kazan offered Quinn the role of Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar Named Desire for two years on tour.
Returning to Hollywood, Quinn won an Oscar for Viva Zapata! (1952). His career picked up following his Oscar win; he began playing leading parts in films that emphasized his brute masculinity. Several of these were filmed in Europe, the most notable of which was La Strada (1954).
Back in the U.S.A. Quinn's went on to roles in memorable motion pictures like Lust for Life (1956), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Zorba the Greek (1964). The 1970s saw the beginning of a decline in acting for Quinn, but he became a successful artist and sculptor.
1965 Nominated Actor for: Alexis Zorbas (1964)
1958 Nominated Actor for: Wild Is the Wind (1957)
1957 Won Oscar Best Actor for: Lust for Life (1956)
1953 Won Oscar Best Actor for: Viva Zapata! (1952)
Anthony Quinn -> The Original Sin (1972)
Anthony Quinn -> One Man Tango (1995)