David Lean's Lawrence Of Arabia

Rating: Null/10 (14 August 2006)

Director David Lean's 1962 epic "Lawrence Of Arabia" is one of the few films hat legitimately deserves to be called not only great,but magnificent. The films appears on virtually all "ten best" lists and reveals deeper layers of meaning with repeated viewings almost every time it it presented. The best way to appreciate this epic biographical adventure than to see it projected in 70 millimeter onto a huge theatre screen. That caveat aside,this is a masterful "desert classic" that is appreciate on home video if viewed on a widescreen format is okay,but to see this in a theatre with a audience is worth the movie-going experience. In 1989,Columbia Pictures re-released this classic back in theatres in a re-mastered format and presented in Dobly Stereo sound not to mention was restored to its original format by Robert A. Harris and the results were brilliant. In 1992,the studio released "The 30th Anniversary" edition exclusively on home video and DVD since this edition of the film was based on the 1989 Robert A. Harris restoration and captures as much of Lean's original intention as any video version can.
Structurally,the film is a standard biography,beginning with the subject's death(in a motorcycle accident),brief interviews with people who knew him,and then a chronological recitation of the high points. The first spoken line of the film is "He was the most extraordinary man I ever knew." But T.E. Lawrence(Peter O'Toole) is not an easy subject. He is a contradictory figure,and the filmmakers properly don't try to pin him down,allowing him to remain a fascinating enigma throughout. In a visual sense,David Lean combines a sure sense of place with approach to the action that he borrows from an unlikely source-John Ford. Lean turns his vast desert canvas into another Monument Valley,and when his Bedouins ride across it,they are not far removed from Ford's cavalry. In many of the early scenes,the stately gait of the camel's walk gives the film a slower pace,and this is precisely what Lean is trying to achieve. Lean even manages to surpass Ford with his understanding of the relationship between his characters and the landscape;how the desert changes those who go into it. The complex character was created by playwright Robert Bolt in his first script,and blacklisted Michael Wilson(who also worked with Lean on Bridge On The River Kwai). This Lawrence is at first ambitious,inexperienced young officer who is transformed by his immersion into the Bedoulin world into a messianic hero. Later he comes to understand himself,though his knowledge comes with a large portion of self-loathing. Lawrence's mission,largely his own creation,is to unite the feuding Bedoulin tribes under the leadership of Prince Feisal(Alec Guinness),and to keep the British politicians,as personified by Mr.Dryden(Claude Rains),from putting the Arabs under their colonial thumb after WWI is over. It is accomplished through a semi-episodic series of battles and raids where Lawrence is sometimes accompanied by Ali(Omar Sharif)and Sheik Auda(Anthony Quinn),and equally difficult bureaucratic struggles he faces with General Allenby(Jack Hawkins).
The two sides of the story are clearly contrasted-the blast-furnace desert exteriors and the cool,echoing marble interiors where the army staff does its work. The initial scene of negotiation,when Lawrence has returned from the desert for the first time and meets Allenby takes place in a courtyard,neither interior or exterior. Its a simple device,but an effective way to set the moment apart. In the same way,changes in clothing color and style are used to reveal changes in character,and Lean's none too-subtly inserts motorcycles at odd moments to remind viewers where all this is leading,and the results are beautifully executed to the fullest extent and it shows in such scope and grandeur of the romance,danger,and allure of the desert with such physical and emotional power. As the filmmakers see it,the central conflict within Lawrence is his simultaneous desire for adventure with is sometimes uncontrollable lust for excitement. The film itself made an unknown actor at the time Peter O'Toole into an international star. His performance is this magnificent epic is worth seeing. The payoff resulted in a total of seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director(David Lean),Best Original Score(Maurice Jarre).