Editing Lawrence of Arabia (film) (section)

== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
During its initial theatrical run, the film earned $15&nbsp;million in box office rentals in the United States and Canada.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=All-Time Top Grossers |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1965-01-06_237_7/page/39 |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=6 January 1965 |page=39 |access-date=29 December 2022 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

=== Critical reaction ===
[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the film "vast, awe-inspiring, beautiful with ever-changing hues, exhausting and barren of humanity". He further wrote Lawrence's characterisation was lost within the spectacle, writing the film "reduces a legendary figure to conventional movie-hero size amidst magnificent and exotic scenery but a conventional lot of action-film cliches".<ref>{{cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/17/archives/screen-a-desert-warfare-spectaclelawrence-of-arabia-opens-in-new.html |title=Screen: A Desert Warfare Spectacle |work=The New York Times |page=5 |date=17 December 1962 |access-date=29 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230032738/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/12/17/archives/screen-a-desert-warfare-spectaclelawrence-of-arabia-opens-in-new.html |archive-date=30 December 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote that the film was "a sweepingly produced, directed and lensed job. Authentic desert locations, a stellar cast and an intriguing subject combine to put this into the blockbuster league." However, it later noted Bolt's screenplay "does not tell the audience anything much new about Lawrence of Arabia nor does it offer any opinion or theory about the character of this man or the motivation for his actions".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/variety-1962-12/page/n141/mode/1up |title=Film Reviews: Lawrence of Arabia |work=Variety |page=6 |date=19 December 1962 |access-date=29 December 2022 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Philip K. Scheuer of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote: "It is also one of the most magnificent pictures, if not the most magnificent, and one of the most exasperating ... The awesome majesty of the landscapes in Jordan and elsewhere, the mass movements of Bedouins and British and Turks with, of course, the ever-present camels, sweep against the eye long after one has lost the ability to exclaim in astonishment over them. And all this is Technicolor and Super Panavision 70, the finest process, under F. A. Young as director of photography. Maurice Jarre composed a score to match."<ref>{{cite news |last=Scheuer |first=Philip K. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76087075/lawrence-of-arabia/ |title='Lawrence' Superb but Exasperating |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |at=Part IV, p. 17 |date=17 December 1962 |access-date=29 December 2022 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910223545/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76087075/lawrence-of-arabia/ |archive-date=10 September 2021 |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref>

A review in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine felt that while ''Lawrence of Arabia'' "falls far short of ''Kwai'' in dramatic impact, it nevertheless presents a vivid and intelligent spectacle". It further praised O'Toole's performance, writing he "continually dominates the screen, and he dominates it with professional skill, Irish charm and smashing good looks".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,829725,00.html |title=Cinema: The Spirit in the Wind |magazine=Time |page=58 |date=4 January 1963 |access-date=29 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314174422/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,829725,00.html |archive-date=14 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' wrote the photography was "no less than superb" and felt the script "is taut and expressive and the musical score deftly attuned to the tale. Director David Lean has molded his massive material with skill, but personally I felt the film was too long, the running time is 221 minutes, or 20 minutes short of 4 hours and in the latter part, unnecessarily bloody."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76132315/lawrence-of-arabia/ |title=Desert Shots Superb in 'Lawrence' |work=Chicago Tribune |at=Part 3, p. 15 |date=17 January 1963 |access-date=29 December 2022 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910223542/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76132315/lawrence-of-arabia/ |archive-date=10 September 2021 |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref> A review in ''[[Newsweek]]'' praised the film as "an admirably seriously film ... The size, the scope, the fantastical scale of his personality and his achievement is triumphantly there." It also praised the ensemble cast as "all as good as they ought to be. And Peter O'Toole is not only good; he is an unnerving look-alike of the real Lawrence. He is reliably unreliable, steadily mercurial."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=All-Star, All-Good |magazine=Newsweek |date=24 December 1962 |page=64}}</ref>

In 1998, the [[American Film Institute]] (AFI) ranked ''Lawrence of Arabia'' in fifth place in their list of [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies|100 Years...100 Movies]]. In 2006, AFI ranked the film #30 on its list of most [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers|inspiring]] movies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-cheers/ |access-date=13 December 2023 |website=American Film Institute |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214154257/https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-cheers/ |archive-date=14 February 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, it was ranked in seventh place in their [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)|updated list]] and listed as the first of the greatest American films of the [[Epic film|"epic" genre]].<ref>{{cite news |author=American Film Institute |title=AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Genres |work=ComingSoon.net |date=17 June 2008 |url=https://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46072 |access-date=18 June 2008 |author-link=American Film Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619034738/http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46072 |archive-date=19 June 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1991, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]].<ref name="USFilmRegistry" /> In 1999, the film placed third in the [[BFI Top 100 British films|British Film Institute's poll]] of the best British films of the 20th century. In 2001, the magazine ''[[Total Film]]'' called it "as shockingly beautiful and hugely intelligent as any film ever made" and "faultless".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/dvd/lawrence-of-arabia-two-disc-set |title=Lawrence Of Arabia: Two-Disc Set Review |date=18 September 2010 |website=Total Film |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119081739/http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/dvd/lawrence-of-arabia-two-disc-set |archive-date=19 November 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

It was ranked in the top ten films of all time in the 2002 ''[[Sight and Sound]]'' directors' poll.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/directors.html |title=The directors' top ten films |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=9 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620112407/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/directors.html|archive-date=20 June 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2004, it was voted the best British film of all time by over 200 respondents in ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'' poll of Britain's leading filmmakers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1469436/Stars-vote-Lawrence-of-Arabia-the-best-British-film-of-all-time.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Stars vote Lawrence of Arabia the best British film of all time |first1=Chris |last1=Hastings |first2=Fiona |last2=Govan |date=15 August 2004 |access-date=2 May 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706021548/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1469436/Stars-vote-Lawrence-of-Arabia-the-best-British-film-of-all-time.html |archive-date=6 July 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> O'Toole's performance is often considered one of the greatest in cinema history, topping lists from ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' and ''[[Première (magazine)|Première]]''. T. E. Lawrence, portrayed by O'Toole, was selected as the [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains|tenth-greatest hero in cinema history]] by the American Film Institute.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/100Years/handv.aspx |title=AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains |website=American Film Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082823/http://afi.com/100years/handv.aspx |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=20 December 2013}}</ref> In 2012, the [[Motion Picture Editors Guild]] listed the film as the seventh best-edited of all time based on a survey of its membership.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The 75 Best Edited Films |journal=Editors Guild Magazine |date=May 2012 |volume=1 |issue=3 |url=https://www.editorsguild.com/magazine.cfm?ArticleID=1102 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317101140/https://www.editorsguild.com/magazine.cfm?ArticleID=1102 |archive-date=17 March 2015}}</ref> In March 2024, [[Robbie Collin]] of ''The Telegraph'' ranked ''Lawrence of Arabia'' as the greatest biographical film of all time.<ref>{{cite web |last=Collin |first=Robbie |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/best-biopics-of-all-time-ranked-oscars/ |title=From Raging Bull to Oppenheimer: The 40 greatest biopics of all time, ranked |website=The Telegraph |date=6 March 2024 |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308121621/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/best-biopics-of-all-time-ranked-oscars/ |archive-date=8 March 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

''Lawrence of Arabia'' is currently one of the highest-rated films on [[Metacritic]]; it holds a perfect 100 rating based on eight reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://metacritic.com/movie/lawrence-of-arabia-re-release |title=Lawrence of Arabia (re-release) |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[Red Ventures]] |access-date=2 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027055940/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/lawrence-of-arabia-re-release |archive-date=27 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has a 94% approval rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 133 reviews, with an average rating of 9.30/10. Its critical consensus reads: "The epic of all epics, ''Lawrence of Arabia'' cements director David Lean's status in the film-making pantheon with nearly four hours of grand scope, brilliant performances, and beautiful cinematography."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lawrence_of_arabia |title=Lawrence of Arabia (1962) |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305211158/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lawrence_of_arabia |archive-date=5 March 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Japanese filmmaker [[Akira Kurosawa]] cited this movie as one of his 100 favourite films.<ref name="farout">{{cite web |last1=Thomas-Mason |first1=Lee |title=From Stanley Kubrick to Martin Scorsese: Akira Kurosawa once named his top 100 favourite films of all time |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/akira-kurosawa-100-favourite-films-list/ |website=Far Out Magazine |date=12 January 2021 |access-date=23 January 2023}}</ref>