"Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) __The British HQ Scene

One of my favorite scenes from a great epic film, David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia". This depicts Lawrence and an Arab lad crashing the British Officers Club in Cairo during World War One after a grueling trek across the Sinai Desert to inform General Allenby's headquarters that the united Bedouin army has taken an important port city on the Red Sea from the Turkish forces. Peter O'Toole is magnificent here.

Fifty years ago last month, "Lawrence of Arabia" opened at the Odeon Theater in London and five days later in New York City.  Probably the best example of a "thinking person's epic" film, it's been one of my favorites and one of a handful of films I feel MUST be seen at least once on a big screen if possible.  It garnered numerous British,  American and international awards and remains a classic.    

The film depicts an enterprising, brilliant but troubled British scholar/officer in the Middle East, T.E. Lawrence. He was  an improbable figure who jumped on the world stage during the bloodiest war (then) in human history and became both a romantic figure and a controversial agent of colonialism. His personal life showed a mix of being both a cross-cultural wonder, shameful showman,  and just an ordinary man all too aware of his own defects.