Wow! they don’t make them any more like this 3 hour and 40 minute epic that details the true events in the life of British officer T. E. Lawrence during World War I.  This movie won 7 Oscars in 1962 and totally deserved each and every one.  For some reason, I had never seen the whole movie.  So when I had the opportunity to see it this week at Arundel Mills Mall, I jumped at the chance.   You are probably wondering what is so great about a movie that needs almost 4 hours (it went by really fast)  to tell its story?    The plot revolves around T. E. Lawrence, an eccentric British officer who speaks seven languages and is a Middle Eastern scholar.  He is seconded to the British Arab Office to observe the Bedouin tribes that Prince (later King) Feisal is trying to unite to take their land back from the Western powers.  But, this is happening during the First  World  War,  and the British want to use the Arab forces to tie down, or even  defeat, the Ottoman Turks, who are allied with Germany.  Lawrence ends up with the unenviable task of uniting scattered and warring Arab tribes so that they can contribute to this  strategy.  He does it by sheer force of will and example.  In the end, he discovers  more  about himself  than he  likely wanted to. That he is able to achieve so much, feel so much and think so much, all through the force of his personality, is brilliantly portrayed  by Peter O’Toole in his very first major movie.  His portrayal of the quirky, often  misunderstood, but driven and tortured genius and leader is superb!  He is supported by such acting heavy weights as Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Jose Ferrar, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins and the great Sir Alec Guiness.  Even if you have  never heard of these amazing actors, you will want to see more of them after the movie is over.  Everything about this movie is epic- and it all works.  The editing, costumes, scenery, writing and directing- it is all there and more so, especially Maurice Jarre’s marvelous and inspiring score. Even though it was just in the theatres for one night, I highly recommend that you purchase the DVD or see if it is offered on any of the streaming or pay services.  It is totally worth it.