A Timeless Classic

Rating: 10/10 (3 April 2020)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - [10/10]
Now this is an epic. An epic of epic proportions. To make a 3 hour and 48 minute film in the 60s, that didn't have many stars, no sort of love story, minimal action, a budget of 15 million dollars, and film it completely in the deserts of the Middle East is a feat in itself. It was shot in 285 days, won 7 Academy Awards, and has an actual intermission! Films simply aren't made like that anymore. Steven Spielberg once said that to film a similar film like this today would cost around 258 million dollars. It's extraordinary - just like T. E. Lawrence. I love this film, and so do many others, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, David Fincher, and Roger Ebert. There's a reason why we are infatuated with this film. It's timeless. This film holds up today, 58 years later, because it was filmed completely naturally. No sort of CGI backgrounds, remote location filming, or absurd action sequences; it was all real. They actually blew up trains in the desert, flew planes through rocky plateaus, and traveled across the desert on camelback. That's why it took 285 days to film! There are plenty of scenes where our characters travel across the scorching desert, and there isn't a human being in sight - let alone prior footprints (it's the small things that really tie this film together). It's spectacular.
Let me begin with one of the many things this film is praised for, the cinematography. It is gorgeous. That is the reason I chose to use 17 pictures in this recommendation (and I wish I could've used more). Not a single shot isn't perfect. The cinematography, from F. A. Young, inserts us into this foreign world (and foreign story) of Arabia with the long, sweeping takes of the desert. Simply seeing the sun rise over the desert is an amazing experience. In (probably) the best shot of the film, we witness a mirage. Up to this point (I can't recall any other films with mirages), no film had ever captured this optical illusion. It's beautiful. A lot of the shots in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) are taken for granted. Just think about having to lug a Super Panavision-70 film camera (it's pretty big) out into the desert and film these complex crane shots, tracking shots, and extreme wide shots. Just the opening sequence is complex, they filmed a motorcycle POV scene. By today's standards that isn't complex at all, but can you imagine having to mount a gigantic camera on the front of a truck, operate it, and film the road in the 1960s?? Revolutionary. The average length of each shot in this film is also fairly long. That has a purpose; it cements us into the desert with our characters. Like I said, it's the small things that tie this film together. The things you may not think about. Those are the extraordinary things about Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
David freaking Lean. What an amazing director. He had a vision, to tell a story that was lost in time, and to tell it with utmost respect for historical accuracies. He's the one that pushed everything to the next level. To film in the desert. To film everything real. He was able to manage all these moving parts, capture small amounts of emotion in large landscapes, and create a masterpiece of filmmaking. There are sequences (many actually) that I sat there and wondered, "How on Earth are they doing this?" There are countless amounts of extras, camels, horses, and sets in this film. I have never seen so many moving parts onscreen. He is a new inspiration for me as an aspiring director. He is the reason we have filmmakers like Spielberg, Scorsese, Cameron, and Fincher. And he is the reason we have this masterpiece that is Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
I need to talk about the score. Maurice Jarre composed the titles that would be performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and it is beautiful. Never have I really been moved by a score like this one. The opening of the film is just a black screen for a period of about 5 minutes. In that five minutes, we hear the Overture of the film. Oh how it places you into this film. The black screen allows you just to imagine what you're going to see on screen and what you imagine is what this film ends up being. If there was ever a sound I would associate the desert with, it would be what we hear in the film. It is beyond iconic and one of the greatest scores in film history. It completely adds to the astonishment and experience that Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is. Listening to it again, I can feel the film playing in my soul. It's brilliant.
The casting is beyond perfect. If you look at actual pictures of the real Lawrence of Arabia, T. E. Lawrence, and Peter O'Toole, it is uncanny. They are pretty much the same person. Alec Guinness actually plays an Arabian Prince in this film, and it is believable (times were different back then, as he was brown-faced). In fact when they were filming, some of the people that actually knew Prince Faisal (Alec Guinness' character) believed it was really him. I would say that is pretty great casting as well (regardless of whether or not it is culturally sensitive right at this time, Alec Guinness was really good in his role as Prince Faisal). Anthony Quinn as Auda Abu Tayi and Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali are spectacular. A lot of the performances are really above their time. This was Peter O'Toole's first mainstream role and he killed it. He carried the story extremely well, and was able to be the imperfect, larger-than-life, T. E. Lawrence. Whenever Alec Guinness was onscreen, you knew he was there. He had such authority in the film and really gave a great performance. The chemistry throughout the entire cast is golden. Especially O'Toole and Sharif. They work off of each other and you can't help but smile when you see them together. You can't help but smile throughout this entire film.
The writing is above its time as well. Spielberg stated that this script is probably the best in film history, and I agree. It is really good. Story elements, important plot points, and key narrative ingredients are set into action within the first 30 minutes if the film. It's perfect. The dialogue is also extremely natural (probably because it was based off of T. E. Lawrence's own writings) but, at the same time expositional. You don't know you're getting these important details until they happen. At 268 pages of script, you would think the story would have moments where it slows down - you would think that. It doesn't. It just builds and builds and builds. I found that the runtime just flew by, and it wasn't a problem at all. I was so engrossed in this amazing narrative that it didn't matter. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.
The last thing I'll touch on is the editing - you do not notice it. According to Scorsese, the best editing isn't noticeable. I 1000% agree. The editing in this film isn't noticeable. It's timed perfectly. Great work by Anne V. Coates. I can't imagine having to look at all the footage that they filmed and trim it down. There are moments in this film that you can't even see the cuts. It's not noticeable, and that's how it should be.
A lot is said in this film without the utterance of a single word. Be it a glance from Peter O'Toole or the heat seen radiating off of the desert floor, a lot is said. The soundtrack serves as the words to the audience's ears. The Arabian landscape serves as the structure of each soundless sentence. The actions and visuals of each character serve as the punctuation at the end of each of these sentences. All of these devices form the sentences that are spoken in Lawrence of Arabia (1962). This film is fantastic on so many levels. It is a great character study. It is a great war film. It is a once in a lifetime experience. I love this film, and I hope you will too. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) is a timeless classic that still holds up today, and in some ways is better than most films being made right now. I highly recommend - no. You need to see this film. This is a film that everyone should watch in their lifetime. This is Lawrence of Arabia (1962).