Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Enigmatic and controversial T.E. Lawrence is a British intelligence officer that goes from observing the Arab-Turk conflict to leading a guerrilla force against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. 

A few years after his excellent Bridge on the River Kwai, David Lean returns to Oscar glory by practically dwarfing that film’s ambition with Lawrence of Arabia. Peter O’Toole’s magnetic performance has stood the test of time as the strong but "accidental" leader of an "accidental" revolution. That's probably the best aspect of this movie- that leaders and heroes are in fact flawed, indecisive and very human; they are not fully aware of what they are supposed to do or what they will mean to people as decades pass and Lawrence is no exception (actually, he has a pretty major flaw in that he's a bit trigger-happy and enjoys killing people- no, seriously, they acknowledge in the film that he likes killing people). Maurice Jarre's score is also likely the best from the era since Ben-Hur and seems to be the musical basis for every Middle Eastern/desert scene of any kind since. There’s not much to say about this film that hasn’t already been said except that the film is an undeniable classic. If you can tolerate three-hour films with overtures, intermissions and the occasional white-person-painted-to-be-ethnic, Lawrence of Arabia is the film for you. 

In the opening scene of Lawrence of Arabia, we see T.E. Lawrence, Peter O'Toole's character, die in a motor cycle accident.  At his funeral, people start talking about his life and most people didn't really know him - and the people that did thought he was kind of a dick.  The rest of the movie shows Lawrence's adventure through flashback, which I think is brilliant.  First of all, you see him die in the beginning, so during this crazy revolutionary Ottomon war that he's sort of leading, we know that he, in fact, lives.  During his daredevil-ish motor cycle crash, we also see his need for excitement, thrill, and danger.  If the crash happened at the end of this huge epic movie, I personally would feel cheated.  It's like, well what the heck did I watch all this for?  But with the crash in the beginning, you accept that before you hear about his past.  I think O'Toole's performance is brilliant and watching it on DVD with his baby blue eyes and the desert, it's pretty cool looking.  But seriously.... look at him, he's so pretty!

Although 227 minutes long, this film has no women in speaking roles. It is reportedly the longest film not to have any dialogue spoken by a woman. 

T.E. Lawrence: "I pray that I may never see the desert again. Hear me, God."