CRITICS' PICKS

Director David Lean would do many films in his 83 years, but he would become a master of sweeping historical dramas, "Doctor Zhivago" and "A Passage to India" among them. On Friday night, the Egyptian Theatre will have one of Lean's greatest in "Lawrence of Arabia." The 1962 film won seven Oscars and became a career changer for its star, Peter O'Toole. The tragedy is that too many movie buffs have never witnessed O'Toole as Lawrence on the big screen -- racing on horseback across an endless desert, battered by winds, changed by time. The sheer beauty and magnitude of the images will truly take you away. For those of you who've never experienced Lean in breathtaking 70-millimeter (and no, a 60-inch plasma doesn't count), celebrate the day after Thanksgiving watching instead of shopping. Who knows when Lawrence will return again?

-- Betsy Sharkey

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