Golden Oldie: Lawrence of Arabia.

Well sorry it's late, but I've been real busy lately.(Last two weeks of school).

So In a rather predictable choice I have gone with Lawrence of Arabia one of my all time favourite movies.

David Lean remains arguably the greatest director of epic films in cinema history and I think this is his masterpiece. The story of T.E. Lawrence a flamboyant British soldier who is sent to Arabia during World War I with the vague job of assessing Prince Faisal's army. He rejects his country's initiatives to turn the Arab people into a batalion under the British flag and instead encourages Faisal to embrace the tribal fighting history of the Arabs. In the aftermath of the successes he brings to the Arabs he becomes a legend in their eyes, but more importantly in his own. As the movie progresses so too does the corruption of his personality. Even at the film's conclusion though the question still remains, who was T. E. Lawrence?

The film has some of the most stunnying visuals I have ever seen. David Lean was made the very wise decision of choosing F. A. Young as his Director of Photography. Even from the opening credits you know this movie is going to look damn good:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b99/Cicero89/LawrenceOfArabia1opein.jpg

Once the action actually gets into the desert it becomes even more amazing. I've always found the introduction scene to the desert in the movie amazing. A close up on a match that gets blown out and just as the flame disapears the shot cuts to an endless flat desert the moment the sun rises over the horizon. Lean always made us feel the endless size of the Arabian desert:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b99/Cicero89/LawrenceOfArabia2.jpg

The endless sands, it's as if Lean is telling the audience "any one could become lost in it". I've always loved the line "No Arab loves the desert. We love water and green trees. There is nothing in the desert and no man needs nothing.". Which is of course an insightful contrast to Lawrence's opinions.

The transformation of T.E. Lawrence is in my opinion one of the greatest examples of characterisation in film history. This scene always disturbed me:


T.E. Lawrence: I killed two people. One was... yesterday? He was just a boy and I led him into quicksand. The other was... well, before Aqaba. I had to execute him with my pistol, and there was something about it that I didn't like.
General Allenby: That's to be expected.
T.E. Lawrence: No, something else.
General Allenby: Well, then let it be a lesson.
T.E. Lawrence: No... something else.
General Allenby: What then?
T.E. Lawrence: I enjoyed it.

Peter O'Toole's acting is fantastic, as far as film debuts go this has to be up there with the best of them. He captures the incredible complexity that was Lawrence in real life and I especially like the way he captures Lawrence's inability to fit in with any body. O'Toole is also brilliant at conveying the fact that Lawrence himself doesn't know who he is. Towards the end of the film he is just amazing at capturing the hell Lawrence's mind is going through.

Lean's contrast of Lawrence to Sheriff Ali is another aspect of the film I truely enjoy. The way that Ali is introduced into the film by murdering another Arab simply because of his tribe is so shocking. Then as the film progresses Ali becomes a pacifist and Lawrence becomes a war mongering maniac. I have always found the scene in which Lawrence orders the army to slaughter the Turkish soldiers as Ali begs him not to to be so shocking.

Any way I'll stop for now...and I haven't even begun on Alec Guinnes and Anthony Quinn as Arabs.

What a classic epic movie. I have not watched this for decades, but I will make a point of revisiting it again soon.

David Lean was indeed the master of the epic movie. Not only did he win best director for Lawrence of Arabia, but Bridge on The River Kwai which is one of my all time favorite movies.

Great review of the movie cicero. I can tell you are quite passionate about it.

An interesting snippet from Sian Phillips' autobiography: after his success on stage in The Long And The Short And The Tall, Peter O'Toole was widely regarded as a specialist in Wild Celts. Hence his first screen role as Rob Roy MacGregor's son in Kidnapped. When he was approached for the 1960 film The Day They Robbed The Bank Of England, he was offered the showy art of the IRA boss, subsequently played by Kieron Moore. Instead he insisted on playing the pukka English officer.

Had he had advance information that Lean was thinking about filming Lawrence, or was it some Leprechaun second sight that made him put down his marker just then as an actor who could play such parts?

Any way I'll stop for now...and I haven't even begun on Alec Guinnes and Anthony Quinn as Arabs

They'd never get away with having a blacked up white actor playing an arab these days!!

They'd never get away with having a blacked up white actor playing an arab these days!!

What puzzles me is that David Lean got away with blacking up Alec Guinness as late as 1984 in A Passage To India.

What am I going to say about Lawrence of Arabia? Beyond being ranked Number #13 on the TSPDT Top 100, it is a film that has proven incredibly influential on many of our generation’s most influential filmmakers -- a film that is unanimously regarded as nothing less than an icon and a classic.

Re-screening Lawrence this past Christmas morning (my third viewing of the film), I re-realized a couple of things:

First, and foremost, Lawrence of Arabia epitomizes the art of cinematography. There are few films (if any) that capture the cinematographical aspect of filmmaking so favorably and so magically. It goes without saying that Lawrence is a visual wonder… to be sure. But the cinematographical achievement of the movie reaches far beyond merely being pretty.

There is probably no other film that better rewards being seen on the big screen than Lawrence of Arabia. In fact, I would go so far as to say that in order to truly appreciate Lawrence as one of the greatest films ever made, it is necessary that it be seen in the proper context, as the vastness of the Arabian desert (and the awe that accompanies it) is simply lost without the scope of a theatre screen. David Lean could have easily called the movie “Desert of Arabia,” as the Arabian desert is the real star of the picture -- always upstaging the not easily upstaged Peter O’Toole.

And it is precisely this line of thinking that leads to Lawrence being considered one of the greatest films of all time. For, much like Citizen Kane (1941) or Vertigo (1958), Lawrence of Arabia accents aspects of the storytelling process that are exclusive to film. Where the former emphasize clever camera placement, Lawrence employs panoramic cinematography. That is to say, film, as a story telling medium, has certain properties that are specific to itself, and the best films emphasize these properties. Lawrence of Arabia is one of such films, pressing the boundaries of cinematography as a story telling tool.

But beyond the cinematography even, Lawrence of Arabia works as a definition of the epic/character-study genre. With 228 minutes of sweeping Arabian landscapes, thousands of extras, and no less than 500 camels (not to mention the horses), the word “epic” seems an understatement. Building on the tradition of Ben-Hur (1959) and Spartacus (1960), Lawrence holds an important place in the epic canon, blazing the trail for such contemporary classics as Braveheart (1995) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003). And Lawrence is no less important as a character-study, rivaling the depth and complexity of characterization usually reserved for trilogies. Auda abu Tayi and Sherif Ali are just as rich as a Gandalf or a Gollum, and O’Toole’s T.E. Lawrence is every bit as dynamic as Pacino’s Corleone. It is a characterization that extends far beyond the capacity of most contemporary movies.

All of that being said, the only thing that detracts from Lawrence of Arabia is its lack of universal appeal. Being an epic, we grant it a clemency for its engulfing length, but Lawrence ultimately proves narrow in its ambition as a universal expression.

If I am not mistaken, Lawrence of Arabia holds the dubious honor of being the only Best Picture winner without a female cast member. Nil. None. Not a hand maiden. Not a prostitute. Not an extra. That’s not to say that a prerequisite for “Greatest Film” stature is equal opportunity casting, or even equal opportunity issues (See: Kubrick’s 2001). But the fact that Lawrence doesn’t have one female role in a cast of thousands is indicative of its lack of universality.

Lawrence never tackles the big philosophical problems of mankind, nor does it approach the essence of humanity or what it means to be human. Or, even if it does, such aspiration is overshadowed by the overwhelming strife of a man struggling with the trials and tribulations of greatness… which, at its core, is what Lawrence is all about.

And therein lies the rub, for it’s ironic that what makes Lawrence of Arabia such an outstanding movie is precisely what impedes its success as an effective film. In being such an incredibly entertaining character-study, the movie forgets its artistic obligations to express something universal.

Nonetheless, Lawrence of Arabia is, in fact, an icon and a classic. As a movie, it pushes the parameters of perfection, showcasing peerless cinematography and rich characterization. While I feel that it falters as an artistic expression -- and, in turn, as a film -- its place in the cinema canon is undeniable. Lawrence of Arabia is in a class of it’s own and rightfully deserves to be categorized as one of the greatest movies of all time.

Excellent movie !!! I saw this movie when it opened first on Broadway in
Times Square in 1962. I had just immigrated to US from Canada and was
flabbergasted by such a gigantic, curved movie screen with sound in stereo.
The screen seemed to curve around half the theater - my intoduction to
Cinemascope. The desert scenes were so realistic that I kept going out to the lobby every half hour to get some water. After seeing the movie, I found
it fascinating to read biographies of T.E. Lawrence as well as reading his own
book, "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom".

Just wanted to say that I am watching Lawrence of Arabia right now...I have seen it before, but I just finally bought it this previous wknd for four bucks.... Anthony Quinn can play any character, any day of the week....