Lawrence Of Arabia VS Doctor Zhivago

It kills me even trying to pick a favorite here I love both these films so much. Every time I choose one I think of how good the other is. What do you think?

This isn't even close: Lawrence of Arabia

I like Doctor Zhivago well enough, but Lawrence of Arabia is just about the best movie ever made. I honestly can think of nothing I would change in that movie. Just perfection from beginning to end. Peter O'Toole's performance is one of the best ever committed to film, and Maurice Jarre's score is the stuff of legend.

Zhivago has cool Siberian wastelands, and has one of my favorite portrayals of the Russian revolution ever. The romance never did a lot for me though, since Zhivago himself is kind of a cad and the movie doesn't seem to think it's a problem.

This should really be between Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai. Now THAT'S a tough choice.

San Il Defanso wrote:
This should really be between Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai. Now THAT'S a tough choice.

Not for me. Lawrence without hesitation. Bridge is a good movie but I've never been a fan.

Lawrence of Arabia, quite comfortably. I saw it a few years ago at The Heights Theater here in the Cities in its original 70mm format, and it was breathtaking. On top of that I own it and probably watch it once a year.

Lawrence of Arabia. I've seen it recently and loved it even more than the last time I saw it. I haven't seen Dr. Zhivago since my twenties but I'd like to see it again.

I haven't even seen Lawrence of Arabia yet, but I disliked Doctor Zhivago.

Vote: Lawrence of Arabia

I've never been able to successfully use the Search function at F:AT, but I know that sometime in the last six months or so, I did a review slamming Zhivago. Great cinematography, but a tedious story that telegraphs every plot twist from a mile away, giving the whole movie a feel of plodding inevitability. I dozed off for 20 minutes near the end, but didn't seem to miss anything important.

Both are great movies. I own copies of both.

I prefer Doctor Zhivago. Call me a romantic. And the visual perfection of the dacha that he and Lara go to live in when it is all covered in ice is just something that has always stuck with me and is used in my mind as the yard stick I use to measure the visual quality of other films.

Although Lawrence does have the "I am a river to my people" scene which is pretty fantastic.

But no, gonna stick with the doctor.

Vote: Doctor Zhivago

"Good Army compass. How if I take it?"

"Then you would be a thief."

The scene where Sharif and O'Toole first meet left an impression on me years ago when I saw Lawrence of Arabia for the first time. O'Tooles delivery of that second line carries so much disdain . . . such a level of uncaring . . . it really painted Lawrence's character for me.

Doctor Zhivago didn't leave me with the same feeling somehow. Good film, but hit me in the head instead of the heart.

S.

The "NO PRISONERS" battle towards the end is one of my favorite battles in any movie ever, because it allows for no glory. You don't see much besides the aftermath, and he's an empty husk of a man.

"Oh you rotten bloody man. Here. Let me take your rotten bloody picture." is another favorite line, because it says so much about that character.

Man, that screenplay. I've seen Lawrence of Arabia so many times from such a formative age (11? 12?) that I don't think I ever realized how impeccable it is.

I saw both movies when I was much younger and haven't seen either since. I need to fix that. But, I have almost no memories of Doctor Z.
Lawrence of Arabia, on the other hand, stayed with me.

Vote: Lawrence of Arabia

I like Dr Zhivago but it doesn't hold up with the fabulous Lawrence of Arabia.

That wide screen ocean of desert (unlike everything over here btw, which is all rocks and gravel), the impeccable screenplay. It's just fantastic.

Vote: Lawrence of Arabia

I spent four years of my childhood in Jordan, and I've seen a lot of the locations where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed. So there's another personal connection to that one.

al-Aurens all the way.

I love LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, and as noted above, in 70mm? Ridiculous. Just... It's why they make movies.