It really is a spectacular film, and I'm sure I love it also because I'm half Arab (my father was born and raised in Lebanon). The acting is fantastic (O'Toole is a marvelous actor) the battle scenes are exciting, and every frame looks like it's a painting. Not to mention the amazing picture quality and color rendition that comes from 70mm filmstock. 70mm blows everything else out of the water. Not even HD can come close to it.
Interestlingly enough, even though it's almost 4 hours long, there's not a single female speaking role.