50 Years On, Sharif Looks Back At 'Lawrence'
In one of the greatest movies of all time, a World War I-era Englishman and his Arab guide stop at a well in the desert. But as they drink, they hear a warning shot, look into the distance, and see a lone figure in black, galloping toward them on a camel. The Arab man recognizes him and draws a gun. The lone figure brings him down with a single musket shot — now that's an entrance. The men in the scene were of course Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali and Peter O' Toole as the title character in Lawrence of Arabia.
The David Lean film hit screens 50 years ago this month, and a new, boxed Blu-ray edition, complete with a book that's big enough to be a holiday cheese tray, is out this season.
Lawrence of Arabia confirmed Lean as one of the great directors, and starred a whole company of British actors, including Alec Guiness as King Faisal and Jack Hawkins as a haughty British officer. It also introduced O' Toole and Sharif to world audiences. The actor joins NPR's Scott Simon to talk about his first hit film
Interview Highlights
On what made David Lean such a good director
"He was a brilliant person. He didn't think of anything except films. He did not think of theater. He did not think of anything else in his life. He didn't like actors; he hated actors, but he loved me. I don't know why, because I didn't know myself what I was going to do, and the first shot I had to make, I spent the whole night to practice it for the next day — my first shot in the film. And he knew about this, and he loved me for it."
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Omar Sharif received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Lawrence of Arabia.