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I just found this film that's supposed to be a masterpiece called "Lawrence of Arabia" on YouTube. You can watch the whole thing, all four hours, starting here:

Part 1 of 26:



In the opening scene, he dies in a motorcycle crash, right after his bike almost stopped in speed. What I don't get is how such a great warrior and poet could drive a motorcycle so recklessly without a helmet, and on the wrong side of the road, instead of simply hitting the brake and stopping normally. Plus before he went off the road, he had almost stopped in speed, so there was no reason for him to get killed even if he did fall off at such a low speed. That made no sense.

But then again, road accidents in movies are always done in a way that make no sense. And cars flip way too easily.

Sorry for being so analytical, but I notice errors very easily. That's why I tend to be very accurate and perfectionistic.

The rest of the film might be a masterpiece, but the opening scene seemed sloppy and didn't make sense.

He wasn't riding his motorcycle on the wrong side of the road. Brits have right hand drive (they drive on the right side of the car), so they drive on the left. It was the bicyclists he was trying to avoid hitting who were on the wrong side of the road.

I've been watching this movie on youtube. The desert scenes are breathtaking, which I can appreciate as a desert fan myself. But like the youtubers say, you have to experience it on the big screen to get the full experience of it.

I'm glad someone mentioned that! This film was shot in real 70mm, like almost IMAX size, and it needs to be seen in real 70mm. Most cinemas today only project 35mm or, now, even digital video. Stephen Spielberg said that the reason they don't make movies like this today is that it would cost $300 million or more to do it. It's all real. NO CGI here.

I saw it in a real cinema, the kind of old style movie house that was just one big room and not a multiplex, back in the 1990's when it was restored and remastered. The last movie house of its kind I think, before they tore it down, ironically after Titanic. On that huge screen you could see every grain of sand in the desert.

Conspiracy theories about about the death of Colonel T.E. Lawrence. Because of all he accomplished, some refuse to believe he could have died in such a simple motorcycle accident.

That director, David Lean has made a few other grand epic films, such as Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago and A Passage to India. He made careers for actors like Omar Sharif and Alec Guiness (Obi Wan Kenobi). Both George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg credit him as the biggest influence on their careers and their desires to do Epic adventures like Indiana Jones.

Terrence,
What do you mean an old house theater that was like one big room? How is that better than a multi-plex or a modern theater? I mean, how were you able to see every grain of sand in an old house theater? Aren't today's screens supposed to be better and higher quality? I'm confused.

Btw all, here is the theme from Lawrence of Arabia. It sounds very legendary and masterpiece-like, doesn't it?





This is the third track on the oscar winning soundtrack to the epic 1962 David Lean picture Lawrence of Arabia. The music was written by Maurice Jarre, and is here played by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by Tony Bremner.

Winston wrote: In the opening scene, he dies in a motorcycle crash, right after his bike almost stopped in speed. What I don't get is how such a great warrior and poet could drive a motorcycle so recklessly without a helmet, and on the wrong side of the road, instead of simply hitting the brake and stopping normally. Plus before he went off the road, he had almost stopped in speed, so there was no reason for him to get killed even if he did fall off at such a low speed. That made no sense.

http://journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/pa ... e=abstract

"WHEN COLONEL T.E. LAWRENCE (Lawrence of Arabia) was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident in May 1935, one of the several doctors attending him was a young neurosurgeon, Hugh Cairns. He was moved by the tragedy in a way that was to have far-reaching consequences. At the beginning of the Second World War, he highlighted the unnecessary loss of life among army motorcycle dispatch riders as a result of head injuries. His research concluded that the adoption of crash helmets as standard by both military and civilian motorcyclists would result in considerable saving of life. It was 32 years later, however, that motorcycle crash helmets were made compulsory in the United Kingdom. As a consequence of treating T.E. Lawrence and through his research at Oxford, Sir Hugh Cairns' work largely pioneered legislation for protective headgear by motorcyclists and subsequently in the workplace and for many sports worldwide. Over subsequent decades, this has saved countless lives."

LofA is a classic amongst classics! I LOVE that film, and yes, it's needs to be seen on the big screen to be appreciated. T.E. Lawrence is one of my heroes!

What about this film makes it a masterpiece? I saw the whole film on YouTube and it was a good film and parts of it were amusing. But what makes it legendary and a masterpiece? I don't get it.

Multiplexes are all business. It's about cramming as many people into as many showings as possible on a given day. They also only play academy 35 film. These old movie houses did keep up with the latest technology, with SDDS or DTS sound and they had phenomenally huge screens. They played Super 35 and real 70 mm. They were the equivalent of what you pay for iMAX today.

There weren't many similar caliber movies of its time so if it's considered great when it comes out then it tends to keep it's lustere for a long time. I've seen it a few times, it's okay but doesn't really do anything for me. I think the acting is good. I think Ben Hur and Sparticus were better though. Those epic type movies if they were halfway decent tend to be selected as the greats. It's similar to if a book is popular when it first comes out hundreds of years ago. So now it's considered a classic even if it isn't really that good or relevant in today's society.

It's like if you watched Gone with the Wind, I don't think it's all that great as the movie critics make it out to be but it's still labeled as one of the great movies of all time. Same with the silent movie Metropolis, okay it had great special affects and a unique storyline for it's time but it's not really a good movie that most people nowadays could sit through entirely without pausing it or stopping it cause of boredom. Classics were considered great for their time period but many don't carry over through the years. The people that initially liked them have to die before they get forgotten, similar to music liked by the older generations, it only disappears once they do and no one is really listening to it anymore.

Check out this desert riding scene at the beginning of Lawrence of Arabia. After the slow sunrise, the masterpiece overture plays and then you see the breathtaking desert backdrop.

Check out this female version of Lawrence of Arabia named Gertrude Bell. There was a movie about her in 2015 called "Queen of the Desert" starring Nicole Kidman. It looks pretty good. Here is the trailer. It looks like an epic and worth seeing, and of course Nicole Kidman is a top notch actress. She meets Lawrence of Arabia in the movie too, their paths cross several times. Wouldn't it be cool to ride a camel in the desert like this all over the Middle East and Sahara desert that that? Doesn't it sound exotic and romantic? lol

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1837636/