Classic Movie Review: Lawrence of Arabia
By Clint Chirpich
July 6, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Lawrence of Arabia is a stunning film - truly a visual treat from beginning to end, especially on the big screen in 70mm - but that only explains part of its appeal. It is also a masterfully crafted film in nearly every regard, from the performances and writing to the direction, score, and editing.
The film starts with a motorcycle roaring down a winding countryside road. The sensation of speed is terrific - it felt like I was riding alongside the nameless stranger, taking the curves at 70 or 80MPH with him. The stranger takes one too many risks and careens out of control. We don't see the crash occur, but we don't need to in order to understand the rider couldn't survive.
In the next scene, it's revealed the speed enthusiast was T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole, in one of his first major roles) and his extravagant funeral is well attended by political and military dignitaries. A newspaper reporter tries to get quotes from those "who knew the man best" but finds that no one really knew Lawrence.
Cutting immediately from the funeral, we're thrown back in time 20 years to Egypt during World War I, where Lawrence is a young, brash, and intelligent officer with the British army. Due to his experience with Arab culture, he is given an assignment to find Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness) and assess his troops in their revolt against the Turks.
Perhaps the most famous image from Lawrence of Arabia is found early on in the film - the iconic "match" cut which transports the viewer from inside a small room on the Army base to the vast desert. I had seen the cut several times in various retrospectives on television or online, but seeing it on the big screen was a sight to behold.
It doesn't take Lawrence long to endear himself to the prince, and soon he's leading a daring expedition across the blistering Nefud Desert to launch a surprise attack against the important port city of Aqaba. Accompanying him are 50 of the Prince's soldiers, led by Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif) who is wary of the pasty-skinned Englishman. The rest of the film is a series of battles - both physical and political - with Lawrence undergoing some serious character changes. Even though the film is more than 50 years old, I have no intention of spoiling anything.
Film is often called a "director's medium," and if you ever need an example of what a director can accomplish, look no further than Lawrence of Arabia. Right from the start, with that exciting motorcycle race, the film shows how talented and detail-oriented David Lean was. Each scene, each camera setup, and each frame was meticulously planned and executed. Lean was known to be a bit of a taskmaster on his sets and would require take after take until he got exactly what he wanted. Like with some of my favorite directors - I'm thinking specifically of Stanley Kubrick and David Fincher - you can't argue with the results. They may be difficult to work with and the cast and crew may end up exhausted, but the final product speaks for itself. Lawrence of Arabia is a beautiful, exciting, well developed, and emotional film with wonderful performances throughout. It is one of the best epic films I've seen and a lot of the credit can and should go to Lean, who won the Academy Award for Best Director for his efforts - his second, after winning previously for The Bridge on the River Kwai.
Peter O'Toole used Lawrence of Arabia as a springboard and launched his career, wherein he built a reputation as one of cinema's greatest actors. For me, though, I had only seen him in two films he probably regretted doing - King Ralph and Troy - and then as a voice actor in the Pixar masterpiece, Ratatouille. After experiencing his beautiful, haunting turn as T.E. Lawrence, I'm eager to see more of his work.
Lawrence is a bit of an enigma - he's quiet and reserved, but can be shrill and emotional, as well. He blends into the background, but also stands in front, leading his men into battle. He seeks out publicity and adoration, but can't seem to handle it all that well. O'Toole is completely believable on an emotional and physical level. He uses his physicality - his height, his lankiness, his practically glowing white skin, and his piercing blue eyes - as a way to stand out from the crowd. He seems like a born leader of these men and quickly proves himself capable of that enormous charge. Near the end of the film, Lawrence undergoes a radical personality change and O'Toole handles it with ease. It's just one more indicator of a great character and performance and O'Toole was deservedly nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award, but lost to Gregory Peck's also iconic role in To Kill a Mockingbird. In addition to numerous accolades at the time and over the years, the American Film Institute named Lawrence as the 10th greatest Hero in all of cinema, and it's easy to see why.
Considering it's the lead role in a huge production, it's not surprising the young, mostly unknown O'Toole wasn't the first choice for Lawrence. Albert Finney was Lean's initial choice, but he didn't think the film would be a hit and turned it down. Marlon Brando refused the role as well, and Anthony Perkins and Montgomery Clift were each considered for the part before Lean and producer Sam Spiegel decided on O'Toole. I can't imagine any of them turning in a performance anywhere near as wonderful or layered as O'Toole did, and I shudder at the thought of Brando prancing and mumbling through the film. It seems like one of those instances where the chosen actor was destined to play the part.
Omar Sharif, an Egyptian-born actor, is excellent as Ali - he has a quick wit, endearing smile, and imposing glare and uses all these features and more to create a well-rounded and interesting character. Ali is a proud, strong, and determined man and has one of the best introductory scenes that I've ever seen. We first see him from a great distance, riding towards Lawrence and his guide as they drink from a well. He rides directly at the camera - it's a long take with a long lens and the buildup is fantastic - wearing dark robes and brandishing a firearm. From the first moment Ali is onscreen, you just know he's going to be a captivating character. Sharif embodies him with so much heart and fire and humor and was rewarded with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Like O'Toole, Sharif went home from the Academy Awards empty handed, which is a shame.
Going into the film, Alec Guinness was by far the actor I knew best from Lawrence of Arabia's cast, but I was somewhat worried about how he - a white British man - would play an Arab prince. I didn't want it to be a situation like John Wayne in The Conqueror, where he played Genghis Khan. Of course, Guinness is a much better actor and the makeup used was convincing enough to make him look like the real life Prince Faisal, so much so that people who actually knew Faisal were taken aback. The last hurdle in creating a believable foreign character is the accent and Guinness nailed it here. He reportedly based his accent on Sharif's, which was a good choice.
As a character, Faisal goes in and out of the story, and is always a welcome treat. I don't think any of his scenes last longer than five minutes, but Guinness makes the most of his screen time. Just like Lawrence and Ali, Faisal is an interesting, funny, and well written character. Due to the lack of screen time, Faisal doesn't have as much character development as Lawrence or Ali, but he's still a fully developed person, which says a lot about the quality of the writing.
Speaking of the writing, I was very surprised to learn the production had several delays due to Lean and company starting filming without a finished script. Usually, in these types of instances, you can tell while watching the film that there were difficulties, but that's not the case with Lawrence of Arabia. The writing - from the basic plot to the characters and dialogue - is very good for the most part and excellent at times. Considering it's a film set in an exotic location (with exotic sounding places and character names) and deals with a lot of politics of the area, it could have ended up confusing to someone watching it for the first time, like me. The screenplay is structured in such a way, however, that it was never a problem. After hearing the names a few times, it was very easy to keep everything straight and I give the screenwriters, Michael Wilson and Robert Bolt, a lot of credit. Wilson wrote the first draft, which was centered more on the politics and history of the area, and Lean and Spiegel weren't entirely pleased and brought in Bolt to rewrite as more of a character study of Lawrence. In the end, Wilson's contributions amounted to the characters created and the majority of the scenes, while Bolt wrote all the dialogue and changed the focus of the story. Again, the final product just doesn't seem like it went through these issues - it appears seamless. The Academy Awards thought so, too, a Lawrence of Arabia was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, but lost to To Kill a Mockingbird, just like O'Toole did.
One of the most surprising things about Lawrence of Arabia, for me at least, was how humorous the film was. I didn't know a whole lot about the plot or characters going into the screening - which is probably the best way to view any film - but I just assumed it wouldn't be particularly funny. I was very wrong. All the characters are amusing at different times, but Lawrence is easily the funniest. O'Toole delivers dry, sarcastic jabs at everyone from his superior officers to the Arab soldiers to the Prince and everyone in between. These quick and inherently British retorts come at any and all times, whether Lawrence is at ease or in mortal danger. This was a masterful way to break up the tension and I'm sure the film would have been much less enjoyable without the influx of humor.
If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I'm a listaholic. I'll make lists for just about anything movie related, but one such topic I haven't covered (yet) is my Favorite Film Scores. When I get around to compiling and publishing that list, you can bet Lawrence of Arabia will be featured, possibly near the top. Composed by Maurice Jarre over the span of six shorts weeks, the score does what the best scores aim to do - it evokes an emotional response, highlights the action on screen without overpowering it, and helps to create atmosphere. At times, Jarre's score is bombastic and powerful, but it works just as well during its quieter and more subtle moments. In addition to Jarre's original music, which earned him the first of three career Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Lawrence of Arabia also features the march The Voice of the Guns, composed by Kenneth Alford in 1917. This piece is used several times throughout the film to denote the power and breadth of the British army. It's a stirring piece, but I think it pales in comparison to the beautiful music Jarre brought to life, which is used throughout the film - including during the overture and intermission. The American Film Institute listed the score as the third best of all-time, just behind Star Wars (hard to argue against that selection) and Gone with the Wind.
The main reason I wanted to see Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen was because I knew its reputation as such a stunningly photographed film. I had seen clips and a handful of still frames, but those can't compete with viewing the whole thing, from beginning to end on a screen that engulfs your entire field of vision. Even though the print I saw was heavily damaged in parts and mildly damaged throughout, the majesty of Freddie Young's cinematography shone through. The shot composition and the length of the shots - credit to the superb editing work of Anne Coates, who is still active after 50+ years in the business - combined to make some of the most breathtaking visuals I've ever had the pleasure to see. Young and Coates both won Academy Awards for their work - the first of three career wins for Young - which shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has seen this masterful film.
One of my few complaints about the film is the poorly timed intermission, which occurs very late in the film. Since the film runs almost 3.5 hours, you'd expect the intermission to happen close to halfway through. Instead, the intermission - which lasted an ungodly 25 minutes at my screening - occurred after 2.5 hours. The timing interrupted the flow of the film in such a way that the narrative suffered. The first 2.5 hours practically flew by for me - so much so that I was shocked to see what time it was when I got up to stretch and refill my popcorn and soda - but the final act seemed to drag.
I blame this in part due to being so completely removed - literally! - from the film. I understand the point of intermissions in longer films like Lawrence of Arabia, but the timing here really hurt my overall enjoyment. With less than an hour to go, I would have much preferred not having the break at all. When I eventually buy the Blu-ray disc, I will watch it straight through and see how I feel.
One of the repeated complaints I've read about the film is that we don't get to know Lawrence very well, but I think this was done on purpose. Lawrence was a mystery to the people who knew him best in real life, so why should we - as viewers of his biopic - get any additional firsthand knowledge? Or, an even better question, how would we get that information, unless the filmmakers simply made it up? In the end, it didn't bother me since it didn't impact the story we were watching unfold.
Immediately following my showing, my main complaint was the drastic character change that Lawrence undergoes - in the final act, after the intermission - didn't make much sense to me. But after thinking about it more and using a little inductive reasoning, that wasn't really the case. After clearing that hurdle, my appreciation of the film increased and I raised my rating a whole point. Lawrence of Arabia isn't a film that spoon feeds everything to you, but instead relies on your ability to pay attention and think through some parts. In my mind, this is an extremely positive aspect.
In addition to all the accolades I've mentioned so far, Lawrence of Arabia won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Art Direction, and Best Sound. All combined, it was nominated for ten Oscars and won seven of them. A bit of trivia - at 222 minutes, Lawrence of Arabia is the longest film to ever win Best Picture, narrowly edging out Gone with the Wind, which I was surprised to find didn't run 12 hours, despite how it felt.
In 1991, the Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and enshrined it in the National Film Registry. If any film meets all three of those criteria, it's Lawrence of Arabia.
The American Film Institute named Lawrence of Arabia the greatest "epic" and fifth greatest film - in any category - of all-time. While I don't value it that highly, it's hard to argue their choice. It is a classic in every sense of the word and one I hope to revisit very soon.