Product Description

An exploration into the man behind the film-inspired myth, from both Western and Arab perspectives. Thomas Edward Lawrence, a 24-year-old British spy, was a figurehead in the Arab struggle for independence. In 1916, he united Arab tribes and led them in a war against the Turks who ruled over them for 400 years. The consequences of his successes and failures sowed the seeds of conflict that continue to plague the troubled region even today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #80865 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-10-21
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 112 minutes

From the Back Cover
An exploration into the man behind the film-inspired myth, from both Western and Arab perspectives. Thomas Edward Lawrence, a 24-year-old British spy, was a figurehead in the Arab struggle for independence. In 1916, he united Arab tribes and led them in a war against the Turks who ruled over them for 400 years. The consequences of his successes and failures sowed the seeds of conflict that continue to plague the troubled region even today.

Customer Reviews

A Legend in His Own Time & Consequences in Ours
This PBS documentary uses old newsreels, many modern reenactments, and interviews with T.E. Lawrence's biographers and with British and Arab historians to tell the true story behind the legend of Lawrence of Arabia. We learn of Lawrence's background and the archeological interests that first took him to the Middle East when he was 20 years old. Then, as World War I raged in Europe, Lawrence returned to the Middle East, where his knowledge of the region's culture and language would help him advance British efforts against Turkey, which by that time had allied itself with Germany. Lawrence became instrumental in securing British support for the Arab Revolt against the Turks and served as the Revolt's strategic and technical advisor and one of its soldiers in arms. It was Lawrence who conveyed to the Arabs Great Britain's promise of self-rule in exchange for their efforts in driving the Ottoman Empire from the Middle East. With Great Britain's assistance, the Arab Revolt was successful. But Britain had brokered the Sykes-Picot Agreement with France behind the backs of its Arab allies, which would place the region under British and French mandates. Britain would later violate its promise to the Arabs again with the Balfour Declaration. T.E. Lawrence, back in Britain after the War, did all he could to convince the powers that be to award the Arabs independence as promised, but succeeded only halfway. He spent his last years trying to make himself anonymous.

"Lawrence of Arabia: The Battle for the Arab World" presents both Arab and British understandings of Lawrence's role in the formation of the modern Middle East. It asserts that Britain's betrayal of the Arabs after World War I and its subsequent carving up of the region for its own convenience is at the root of many of the Middle East's problems today. Historians of both cultures are in agreement on this point, and on most points. And it is interesting to note the similarities between the political situation in the Middle East today and that of nearly a century ago. Although the actions of the colonial powers undoubtedly created longstanding problems in the region and engendered hostility toward Western nations, the Arab ideal of a single unified Arab nation was probably a pipe dream. Arab factions had issues between themselves that would have made an economically and politically unified Arab nation the stuff of utopian fantasy. Still, this documentary is a good easy-to-digest primer on what shaped the Middle East's political boundaries and why. And it's an interesting story of a fascinating but enigmatic man, Lawrence of Arabia, a legend in his own lifetime and in ours. Recommended viewing for those interested in understanding some of the background of the current crises in the Middle East.

The DVD: There is a very short "making of" documentary that is shown in widescreen but appears to have been filmed full screen, so the images look slightly stretched. And there is an interview with director James Hawes. Watch them if you're interested, but there really isn't much to them. There's no need to regret it if you missed the bonus features.

Outstanding, insightful, balanced
This skillfully done documentary was a nice surprise. I expected either hero worship or irresponible debunking. Instead what I got was a very thoughtful examination of Lawrence's remarkable career. Interviews with historians, biographers, bedouins, military experts and others give it a real sense of authenticity. The reenactments are well produced, historically accurate and tasteful. The existing film footage of the real Arab Revolt is used very well. This complicated man is given the detailed examination his monumental achievements and tragic failures demand. It's good to see the shallow, poorly researched and politically motivated attemps at debunking Lawrence (i.e. David Fromkin and Desmond Stewart) have not sucessfully obscured the truly remarkable adventure that was his life.

Excellent supplement to Hollywood Classic
I just watched (again) David Lean's 1962 classic followed by "Lawrence of Arabia: The Battle for the Arab World"... The new documentary is superb & a wonderful supplement to the theatrical movie, adding depth & context as well as presenting fascinating newsreel footage... It is interesting to compare the history of historians to the "history" of Hollywood... (In this case, it must be said that the commercial film makers acquited themselves very well indeed... Surely a rare, if not unique, event...)

The story told is essentially the same one in both the theatrical movie & the factual film, although the former is "larger than life" & the latter covers the entirety of Lawrence's life including the scholarly prequel & disturbingly bizarre & socially marginal sequel to the war years... The reenactments in the documentary are very carefully done & not intrusive or melodramatic... The "talking heads" offer a variety of perspectives: western & mid-eastern, academic & political, even a pair of "tribal historians" & a 106 year old Arab eye witness! Some of the comments of the former Jordanian Foreign Minister may grate on the viewer as biased, but I certainly didn't detect any anti-Semitism on the part of the film makers (anti-Zionism, yes!) & the "expose" of Lawrence's homosexuality is hardly that: The possibility is suggested along with the proviso that we will probably never know for sure...
I doubt that a documentary of this kind can be much better done than this one is.... All in all, I was so impressed that I've bought the DVD so I can watch both Peter O'Toole's immortal performance AND the real McCoy!!