David Lean's 1962 masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia is truly a masterpiece. Any film list that you will ever read will generally put this one in the top ten of all time. From the vast epic scope, to the beautifully sweeping score, to the iconic shots of Peter O'Toole as T.E. Lawrence himself, this film is one of a kind, the type of film that is made only once every couple of decades. David Lean has made many fine films, but this, in my opinion, is his master work. I must also point to the fact that Peter O'Toole's performance is truly one for the ages (can you believe he did not win the Oscar that year? The winner was Gregory Peck for To Kill a Mockingbird, also a fine performance, but lets be serious. In fact, although nominated many times [8 to be exact], O'Toole has never won an Oscar). Mr. O'Toole handles the role with unparalleled grace, substance, and candor. Watching his portrayal of Lawrence brings the entire nature of man into question. This man, a man who appears to be decent and honest in every way, once placed into a high position of leadership, begins to transform into a man driven by ambition and desire for more power. The adage that power corrupts takes place right before the viewer's eyes. There are some scenes in films that, for the lack of a better term, are simply magic. In one such scene, the dialogue is as follows: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.
Magic! The transformation of this character, the very complexity of this character, makes this film one of the most fascinating and haunting character studies of all time, one full of complexity and contridictions. That being said, is this a completely historically accurate portrayal of T.E. Lawrence? No! In fact, Peter O'Toole's T.E. Lawrence differs in many ways from the real man. Does that take away from the film's credibility? Does a legendary performance make an inaccurate portrayal forgivable? This once again brings into question why Hollywood chooses to rewrite history in most of the films in produces. In a film this elegant, however, can we forgive the inaccuracies? If that is so, is there an inherent double-standard present in the film community, where we readily applaud a great film that contains inaccuracies, yet we are so quick to jeer a bad film that contains just as many inaccuracies and pummel said film for those inaccuracies? One historic issue that the film does properly address is the issue of Britain's broken promise of political independence for the Arab world in exchange for their support against the Ottoman Empire in World War I, and the chaos that follows. How do you suppose the history of the 20th century may have been different if the British did grant the Arab world the full independence promised? If you did in fact enjoy David Lean's epic style, you may consider viewing his 1957 film Bridge on the River Kwai (which, just for the record, is one of my all time favorites, it's so gripping, especially during the last hour or so), the 1965 classic Dr. Zhivago, or the more recent 1984 film A Passage to India.
6 comments:
Wow, no comments on this movie yet. Well anyways, to be honest with everybody, I was not excited about watching this movie at first. Simply because of the fact that it was made over 4 decades ago. I thought that being 40 years old would make this movie boring. I was proven wrong and even laughed at some points. The story, characterizations, and acting make "Lawrence of Arabia" an instant classic. Parts of the movie may have been a little off of history like Mr. Prill stated, but everything else makes up for it, an example being Peter O'Toole's performance. The violence could have been a little more realistic though. A gunshot to the arm or head wouldn't leave a small red stain on your shirt or a drop of blood on the floor. Overall, "Lawrence of Arabia" was an entertaining movie that showed how the mind of a man can easily be corrupted by power.
Well I personally felt that the movie was a little long and added unecessary parts, such as the extended scene of Lawrence riding through the Kara-Kum desert, but other than the that and a few historical errors the story line was fairly interesting and the fact it is based on a true story makes it that much better and it shows effects of power going to one's head and how that can bring consequences upon you
this from kevin pett...
I really liked Larence of Arabia but i want to know if he got power hungry or just insane by the end of the movie
perhaps power drove him to a bit of insanity?
I'm a little surprised to see how few people watched this movie. Honestly, I only watched it because it was the only one from the list that Blockbuster had in stock... but, to my surprise, it ended up being phenomenal! I agree with Tyler in the fact that there was about 40 minutes filmed in the desert that almost put me to sleep, but I found the rest to be fascinating! In this case, I believe that it was actually a good idea for Hollywood to inaccurately portray T.E. Lawrence. Mr. O'Toole's character really captivated me. Also, to go along with what we've talked about in class the past two days, I think movies like this really change your world view. I've always been taught the "American and European" view of WWI and WWII and how it affected OUR history, but to see it from the Arabian view really opened my eyes to the fact Americans and Europeans weren't the only people that were affected!
Great movie! I'm so excited for this class!!
miss freedman... good connection to some of our discussions for the past couple of days. i agree, film is an excellent artform that can serve the purpose of expanding our worldview. glad you're excited about the class.
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