History YMMV / LawrenceOfArabia

* FridgeBrilliance: Creator/PeterOToole was primarily a stage actor before this, and it shows. But think about the way in which ''Lawrence'' is trying to create a larger-than-life persona for himself, and suddenly his grandiose way of carrying himself makes perfect sense.

* GeniusBonus: [[ViewersAreGeniuses The film doesn't feel the need to go out of its way to explain many of its references.]] In their first one-on-one conversation, Feisal compares Lawrence to "Doughty, Stanhope, Gordon of Khartoum," referring to British explorers Charles Doughty and Lady Hester Stanhope, as well as General George Gordon who was sent to govern the then-colony of Sudan, and failed at the cost of his life. Later, when talking with Lawrence, a throwaway line has Allenby remark that "You fight like Clausewitz, I fight like Saxe," referring to writers Carl Von Clausewitz and Maurice de Saxe, both of whom wrote extensively about military strategy.

** Additionally, Creator/OmarSharif was seen as the frontrunner to win Best Supporting Actor, even winning the Golden Globe that year. However, in a stunning upset, he lost out to Ed Begley for the film adaptation of Creator/TennesseeWilliams' ''Theatre/SweetBirdOfYouth''.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The inexplicable Mr. Perkins, who praises Lawrence on a job well-done while only being shown from the waist-down (and is never seen or heard from again). Odd in and of itself, doubly so as MoodWhiplash during a very tense scene between Lawrence and Allenby.

** While there have long been historical animosity between Europeans and Middle Easterners, this film brings to the forefront an alliance between the British Empire and Arab tribes, which is rendered complicated due to British and French colonial ambitions. This conflict only magnified in the decades after the movie was made, further detailed in pages like UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror.

** [[WickedCultured Mr. Dryden]] is an official of the Arab Bureau, using his wit and apparent reasonability to [[BitchInSheepsClothing cover up his plans]] to lay claim to Arabia. Having sent T. E. Lawrence into Arabia to serve as a spy, Dryden makes use of Lawrence's growing instability and status as military leader to push him into greater acts of warring against the Turks. Orchestrating an agreement between England and France to split Arabia once the Turks are out, Dryden [[ObstructiveBureaucrat ensures the Arabs don't receive proper armaments]] to become independent once the war is over, and correctly deduces that the Arab clans' conflicting ideologies will prevent any united front once they drive out the Turks. Dryden then organizes a final deal with Faisal himself, splitting Arabia between their forces while [[DeadpanSnarker snarkng]] that all of the double dealing has left him wishing he had stayed home.

** Creator/JoseFerrer's scene-stealing cameo as a [[DepravedHomosexual perverted]] Turkish general. Ferrer himself reportedly considered this his best film performance, while Creator/PeterOToole claimed that he learned more from Ferrer's five minute role than he could from years at a drama school.
** Hugh Miller's R.A.M.C. Colonel has less than a minute of screen-time and is the last character in the credits, but openly protests how Allenby is refusing medical treatment to the Arabs and Turkish prisoners, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight threatening to treat them in spite of Allenby's orders]]. Upon being sent to Lawrence, he makes an emotional appeal to him about how overwhelmed the medical facilities are, with Lawrence's visit to them completing his DespairEventHorizon.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/MauriceJarre's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr4ydFsIs9o sweeping orchestral score]] (originally recorded by the London Symphony) has long been regarded as one of the best in cinema history.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Peter O'Toole was a hard-drinking playboy, while T. E. Lawrence was a CelibateEccentricGenius teetotaler.

* SignatureScene:
** Lawrence's journey across the desert, with its soaring signature theme music.
** The taking of Aqaba.
** The attack on the (first) Turkish train.
** The noteworthy shot of Lawrence standing on top of the train in his flamboyant white robes, framed against the bright sun with his arms outstretched, as his men cheer him on.
** "''No prisoners! No prisoners!''"

* HoYay: Lawrence and Ali, intentionally so.
** Also, Lawrence, Ali, and Auda when the three dine in Auda's tent. Lawrence in particular behaves flirtatiously when trying to convince Auda to join his side. Auda even tells them, "You trouble me like women!"

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Were the Arab tribesmen proud warriors who were manipulated into exchanging Turkish masters for English ones? Or backwards, amoral thugs who were incapable of administering Damascus, much less a country of their own?

** Lawrence's journey across the desert, with it's soaring signature theme music.

* ValuesResonance: In the wake of the UsefulNotes/TheArabSpring and the Arab Winter, the film's criticism of imperialist meddling and fomenting uprisings for short-sighted political gains regardless of the feelings of the people on the ground, has made it timelier than ever. This is especially the case since many people cite the Sykes-Picot Agreement discussed in the film as one of the main causes for the crisis in Syria.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: In Britain, many critics treated the movie as a reaction to the Suez Crisis of 1956, which marked the end of Britain's dominant role in the Middle East, and ongoing Western tensions with the Pan-Arab movement led by Egypt's Abdul Nasser. This may well have been intentional, as Michael Wilson's original script included several pointed references to the Crisis, and the Suez Canal itself plays a not-insignificant role in the finished movie.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Daud, Farraj, and Gasim are all introduced as comedic characters. Good luck with that.
* HarsherInHindsight: While there have long been historical animosity between Europeans and Middle Easterners, this film brings to the forefront an alliance between the British Empire and Arab tribes, which is rendered complicated due to British and French colonial ambitions. This conflict only magnified in the decades after the movie was made, further detailed in pages like UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror.

** Hugh Miller's R.A.M.C. Colonel has less than a minute of screen-time and is the last character in the credits, but openly protests how Allenby is refusing medical treatment to the Arabs and Turkish prisoners, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight threatening to treat them in spite of Allenby's orders]], and upon being sent to Lawrence making an emotional appeal to him about how overwhelmed the medical facilities are, with Lawrence's visit to them completing his DespairEventHorizon.

** Jose Ferrer's scene-stealing cameo as a [[DepravedHomosexual perverted]] Turkish general. Ferrer himself reportedly considered this his best film performance.

** Additionally, Creator/OmarSharif was seen as the frontrunner to win Best Supporting Actor, even winning the Golden Globe that year. However, in a stunning upset, he lost out to Ed Begley for the film adaptation of Creator/TennesseeWilliams' ''Theatre/SweetBirdOfYouth''.[[note]]

** Additionally, Creator/OmarSharif was seen as the frontrunner to win Best Supporting Actor, even winning the Golden Globe that year. However, in a stunning upset, he lost out to Ed Begley for ''Sweet Bird of Youth''[[note]]Never heard of it? There's a reason why.[[/note]].

** Hugh Miller's R.A.M.C. Colonel has less than a minute of screen-time and is the last character in the credits, but openly protests how Allenby is refusing medical treatment to the Arabs and Turkish prisoners, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight threatening to treat them in spite of Allenby's orders]], and upon being sent to Lawrence making an emotional appeal to him about how overwhelmed the medical facilities are, with Lawrence's list to them completing his DespairEventHorizon.