See Lawrence of Arabia on big screen
September 27, 2005
KOKOMO, Ind.—The shimmering sunrises and sculpted sand dunes captured in David Lean's classic film
Lawrence of Arabia get lost on a small TV screen, wrote movie critic Roger Ebert. One of the last Hollywood epics to be shot in 70mm,
Lawrence must be seen on a large screen, Ebert stated. Only then can viewers “really experience the actual vastness of the desert and its unforgiving harshness,” he wrote.
Lovers of great movies will have that chance Thursday and Friday, October 6 and 7, when Lawrence of Arabia will be shown in Kresge Auditorium at Indiana University Kokomo. The free showings of the PG-rated film start at 7 p.m.
A reclusive archaeologist who spoke fluent Arabic, the real-life T.E. Lawrence was asked by the British military during World War I to rally Arabia's nomadic Arab tribes against the German-allied Turks. Peter O'Toole plays Lawrence as a charismatic and eccentric desert Napoleon, whose unconventional style convinces rival Arabs to band together and fight under him. Listed among the top 100 movies of all times by several critics, including Ebert, Lawrence of Arabia won seven Academy awards in 1963. It also stars Omar Sharif, Alec Guiness, and Anthony Quinn.
Lawrence of Arabia is one of six movies being presented on campus this academic year, in recognition of the campus' six decades of existence. To see the full schedule of films and learn about other activities celebrating IU Kokomo's 60th Anniversary, visit www.iuk.edu/events.
Persons without campus parking permits should follow signs to free visitor parking for this event.
(Source material from Roger Ebert, http://rogerebert.suntimes.com , and James Berardinelli's Reel Views, http://movie-reviews.colossus.net )
