An epic is "a lengthy narrative often concerning itself with a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation." Epics tend to be historical, they traditionally begin in medias res. The genre epic derives from the often grandiose presentation epics have.
Lawrence of Arabia is my favorite movie of all time. I think the most comparable movie might be Apocalypse Now, which is similarly, also "a war movie, a thrilling historical drama, a character expose, and a wonderful story rooted in history."
Ben-Hur and Gone With the Wind are alright, I didn't care for either. Its been a while since I've seen Ben-Hur, but I saw GWTW in recent time, and despite its length, it surprisingly doesn't drag that much.
I gotta say, most epics that exist really aren't worth watching. They're probably the hardest genre to really make good. They cost a shit ton first off, its really easy to screw them up due to budget management, time management, and basically keeping the viewer entertained for an often three hour running time. Out of all I've seen, I really only say Lawrence, 2001, Seven Samurai, and Apocalypse Now are the only must watch.
I've seen Gladiator, Gandhi, Spartacus, Cleopatra, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Patton, Apocalypto, Titanic, Gettsyburg, and a few others, and while they are all enjoyable to watch, they don't come close to Lawrence or 2001.
