Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is a British-American historical epic directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel. The film follows T. E. Lawrence, a British officer sent to Arabia during the First World War, where he becomes involved in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Peter O’Toole gives his breakthrough performance as Lawrence, with Alec Guinness as Prince Faisal, Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali, Anthony Quinn as Auda Abu Tayi, Jack Hawkins as General Allenby, Claude Rains as Mr Dryden and José Ferrer as the Turkish Bey. The film is less a conventional war story than a large-scale portrait of myth, identity, ambition and political contradiction, showing Lawrence as both an inspiring figure and a deeply unstable one. With Freddie Young’s desert cinematography, Maurice Jarre’s score and David Lean’s monumental sense of scale, Lawrence of Arabia became one of the defining epics of cinema history.
Lawrence of Arabia was filmed across Jordan, Spain, Morocco and the United Kingdom, with additional desert material shot in California. Jordan gives the film its most famous and authentic desert identity. Wadi Rum provides some of the most recognisable desert landscapes, including the red cliffs and vast open spaces associated with Prince Faisal’s camp and Lawrence’s transformation into a figure of the Arab Revolt. Jebel Tubayq, near the Saudi border, was used for harsh desert trekking and caravan material, while Jafr was used for Sherif Ali’s famous entrance and for Gasim’s rescue. Spain provided many of the film’s Middle Eastern city and battle settings. Seville stood in for Cairo, Jerusalem and Damascus, with Plaza de España used for the British officers’ club in Cairo, Hotel Alfonso XIII for officers’ club interiors, Casa de Pilatos for Lawrence’s meeting with General Allenby, and the Casino de la Exposición as the Damascus council chamber. In Almería, the town of Aqaba was built at Playa del Algarrobico near Carboneras, while the train-attack material used desert and coastal locations around Cabo de Gata, including the Genovese Beach area. Morocco was used for additional desert and battle material around Ouarzazate and Aït Benhaddou, extending the film’s North African and Arabian visual world. In England, St Paul’s Cathedral appears in the memorial service framing sequence, while the opening motorbike accident was filmed at Chobham in Surrey. Rather than relying on one single desert, Lawrence of Arabia creates its vast Arabian landscape from several countries: Jordan supplies the mythic heart of the desert, Spain provides much of the architecture and large constructed action, Morocco adds further desert scale, and Britain frames Lawrence’s story before and after the legend.
Plaza de España
The Plaza de España has been used as a filming location, including scenes for Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.