Plans for a film about T. E. Lawrence had circulated since the 1940s but never came to fruition until David Lean and producer Sam Spiegel took up the project. Principal photography ran from May 1961 to September 1962, with desert scenes shot in Jordan, Morocco and Spain, and Jordan's King Hussein helped with logistics and visited the set. When illness and costs forced the crew to move, the attack on Aqaba was rebuilt in a dry riverbed in southern Spain with more than 300 buildings. Composer Maurice Jarre was given just six weeks to write two hours of orchestral music, and his score went on to win him an Academy Award. The film's wide-screen Super Panavision format also forced directors to rethink editing, favouring longer, more fluid takes.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.