| Lawrence of Arabia |
�Lawrence of Arabia� is one of the most loved epics ever. It is said to be the best epic ever filmed. Is �Lawrence of Arabia� the best epic ever made? It just might be. I can�t say I have seen all the other epics that it is competing with, like �Spartacus�, and �Ben Hur�, but I don�t see how they could surpass �Lawrence of Arabia�. It is also one of the most ambitious movies ever made. David Lean, the director, who also made such classics as �The Bridge on the River Kwai�, and �Doctor Zhivago�, wanted to make a big budget film with no love story, and an actor no one had ever heard of before. Almost every epic I�ve seen has had a love story and the love story made up more than half of the movie. �Dances With Wolves� (My other favorite epic), and Out of Africa (A beautifully photographed but too slow epic) couldn�t survive without one. One thing that Lawrence of Arabia does so well is enthrall us without a love story, and captivate us simply by its beautiful photography Peter O Tool�s performance. I have my own love story to tell since �Lawrance� doesn�t. About a half a year ago, I rented it on DVD. I watched about an hour and a half and didn�t see what was so great about it. I watched a little more and realized I just didn�t understand what was going on. About a month later, I rented it again and tried to watch it, but didn�t understand it still. Then, about two moths later, I noticed it would be on AMC, so I pulled a tape out, pushed record, and walked away (the film had one commercial break and surprisingly, nothing was edited out). A day later, I pushed play on the recorded tape, and sat down (here�s what made the difference) with my father to watch it. He explained the little details I didn�t understand about the political parts of the plot, and the different tribes that existed that Lawrance was with. This helped immensely, and I enjoyed the film on a totally different level. So whenever you don�t �get� a film that you know you would like if you understood it, don�t give up. Have someone of more knowledge narrate it for you a little. That was just a little sermon for the day. Everything I�ve read about �Lawrence of Arabia�, says that you have to see it on the big screen to appreciate it. Well I can�t wait till the day that maybe it will come on the big screen once again, because I loved it on the small screen. I can�t imagine what it�s like on the big screen. The cinematography, of course, is some of the best ever. Some people think it is the best cinematography ever, #1. It puts us in Lawrence�s shoes, and we see what it would be like to watch a person look like a speck in the desert, gradually getting larger by the minute. We can watch as the sun sits highly above everyone�s head, beating down on them like it�s a never-ending sauna. We can watch as Lawrence looks out over the horizon, at the vast desert in front of him that looks like it has no end, as the rock formations are towering above him. These are just some of the films most grand-looking moments. There are many, many others. Roger Ebert said that �Lawrence of Arabia� is more closely related in structure to Kubrick�s �2001�, than a regular narrative type film. The reason Ebert said this is because a lot of the film doesn�t have much talking in it, and �2001� doesn�t have much either. It only needs the talking that it has. Any more would be unnecessary. Like 2001, a lot of the plot develops by just watching, and pondering (although much more pondering was done in 2001) not listening to people converse with one another. We see Lawrance panic as his servant gets sucked into sinking sand just as we panic when we saw the astronaut float aimlessly out into space not to return. We witness the group of Arabs Lawrence leads, ride their camels madly through the desert as the sun shines brightly and hot upon their backs, as the triumphant and well-written musical score plays, just as we saw all the spacecraft floating in space as we listened to classical music. This could also be compared to �Cast Away�, because we see, and take in so much without hearing but a couple words, but we are riveted The plot centers on the developing of a man�s soul, and how the ego can take over one�s life. It can govern every action that we do, and every action we don�t do. It is amazing how quick one can gain confidence of himself. Lawrence goes from being a mere man sent on a mission to help out tribes in the desert to a man that compares himself to Moses, saying he could cross Sinai just like Moses did. Peter O Tool�s performance is one of the most complex and detailed performances ever put on screen. It is O Tool and the photography that carry us through the entire 220 minutes of the film, and they do so commendably, without the viewer once yawning. Within the long desert backdrops of the film, Lawrence meets interesting characters like the powerful Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif), and Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness), who interact with Lawrence throughout the entire film. They just live in the desert, while Lawrence loves the desert, as we learn when a reporter who is interested in how much Lawrence has accomplished with the tribes� interviews him. Lawrence loves the desert because it is clean, which is a very strange reason, but the kind of reason expected from such a different, and in some ways crazy individual such as Lawrence. The screenplay by Bolt, who also wrote the screenplay to the film Lean would direct after �Lawrence� (�Doctor Zhivago�), and wrote the script for the highly underrated �The Mission�, is thought provoking, and truly is a deep character study.. Its political background is admittedly hard to completely understand for a young person�s first viewing, but once understood, becomes completely absorbing, and engrossing. The spiritual investigation in the film illustrates how pride is dangerous to a man�s well-being, and soul (check out Proverbs 11:2, and 16:18), and will lead to destruction of some type. Lawrence�s destruction is the destruction of his mind. He becomes mad, and insane because of his obsession with being a leader. As far as the content of the film goes, there are moments of violence, and maybe a swear word here and there, but there is nothing in the film that should be offensive to a twelve year old and up if they know their moral standings. Lean is a director that will forever be remembered for always bringing beauty to his films, and this film is probably considered the most beautiful of all of them. It is number five on AFI�s great American film list, and is still hailed by critics that are writing reviews of the film to fill their archives. Although mildly savvy filmgoers don�t always laud the film, it will forever be the most respected American epic ever created. |
| ****stars |
| United Kingdom, 1962 U.S. Release Date: 12/21/62 Running Length: 3:37 (director's cut) MPAA Classification: PG (Violence, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.20:1 Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Omar Sharif , Jose Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains Director: David Lean Screenplay: Robert Bolt, based on "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" by T.E. Lawrence Cinematography: F.A. Young |